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Web ReDesign: Workflow that Works
There are books that attempt to impart the divine wisdom of consulting. There are books that detail best practices in graphic and usability design. There are books that detail the intricacies of software development. There are books that detail project management and surviving the technology lifecycle. But there are very few books that explain how all of these pieces work together successfully. Kelly Goto and Emily Cotler have pulled it off with masterful perfection in their new book Web ReDesign: Workflow that Works.
People, projects, technology, and clients do not work in a vacuum from one another. Process is the magnet that holds them all together. Goto and Cotler offer professionals a comprehensive "Core Process" to guide them through their Web projects. While other books may explain some of the tricks of the trade no book has really placed all of these best practices under the umbrella of a process or methodology. Perhaps that's because a lot of these processes have been closely guarded secrets in the highly competitive interactive services industry. It's almost as if Goto and Cotler are on a humanitarian mission to save clients and projects from future punishment under the hands of companies using poor or in some cases no processes at all.
Web ReDesign's Core Process is a five-step approach to producing successful Web projects. The five steps are Defining the Project, Developing Site Structure, Visual Design & Testing, Production & QA, and Launch & Beyond. And each phase is broken down further into steps and checkpoints in splendid detail. As someone who started out doing this kind of work I found myself making mental checkmarks throughout the book. "Did that. Did something like that. Man, it took me years to learn that I should do that. Where was this book six years ago when I needed it?"
Perhaps a book like this wasn't really possible until now. The profession had to go through its ugly duckling stages where individuals and companies tried to figure out what worked and what didn't. Grafting parts from consulting, marketing, project management, and software development into some freakish process monster that often resulted in turning clients into an angry torch-carrying mob. Thankfully Web ReDesign has finally arrived and it is certainly no Bride of Frankenstein. The processes are spelled out in clear language and the authors repeat certain key points in case you missed something along the way.
It's easy to get sidetracked reading Web ReDesign with all the sidebars, charts, sample forms, and interviews. But this is a good thing! The tips and sidebars along the way spell out in greater detail how to put the process into action, and what to do when trouble arises. The forms and charts are some of the most thorough ever published, and thankfully you can download most of them on the companion website located at www.web-redesign.com. Throughout the book Goto and Cotler call on experts like Lynda Weinman, David Siegel, Jeffrey Zeldman, and Jakob Nielsen to offer their perspective on a given topic. The overall design and layout work done by the folks at New Riders is phenomenal and the visual presentation of the book is really first rate.
The one big question I have about the books is its title: Web ReDesign. That's because this is a book that can be used for first time Internet initiatives just as well as for redesign projects. Perhaps the authors had some dual purpose in mind for the title: If you're doing this for the first time, you need to rethink the conventional wisdom that Web projects are a black art with no best practices. Or if you didn't use a process the first time, then you've probably learned how valuable it is to have a proven methodology to avoid repeating mistakes.
Goto and Cotler have produced a book that no Web professional, whether they're a consultant, project manager, designer, programmer, or specialist, should be without. Web ReDesign is one of those books that should be kept close at hand during projects of all shapes and sizes. It won't take long before your copy is either severely dog-eared or has post-it flags sticking up throughout it. Get your hands on a copy before the competition does.
You can purchase this book at Fatbrain. Have your own book review to contribute? Check out the book review guidelines, then write away!
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All the best,
--Bob
(and don't you dare mod me off topic - its first rule of having a web domain innit???)
Education site replaced by porn
Web posted on 30/10/01 And for once, it's not the work of hackers.
An educational web site run by accountancy group Ernst & Young has been replaced with a site promising '160,000 uncensored XXX Teen Pics'. Before you blame the evil hackers, this little problem has been created by the Ernst & Young accountants, who didn't renew the domain www.moneyopolis.org for another year. If they'd have done it through GetDotted.com it would have cost just £19.99 for 2 years, fully inclusive of all fees. Sorry.
The site used to used as an educational accountancy game (boy, that sounds fun) and was used as a teaching aid by educational establishments. However, when the domain came up for renewal, the bods at Ernst & Young neglected it and anyone who wishes to pop in and check on their favourite accountancy game may find themselves staring at an altogether different kind of education. Ernst & Young have issued a warning to all users of the game, urging them to change their bookmarks. Yeah, let's all change our bookmarks from porn to accountancy.
The power is yours, Proctal Relapse! The power is yours!
Troll Tuesday 2001.
--The Mess
Your posting might have had some credibility if you hadn't over-ridden the DOCTYPE of the document in the links you provided and if you hadn't been quite so selective in the pages you chose to reference.
The Oracle HOWTO page was a quickie that required only a couple of minor edits to bring into compliance.
The sites www.Erskine.edu and www.KentMcCarter.com are no longer under our control but the work we delivered validated. www.GaeaCorp.com does validate.
Perhaps you enjoy wasting your life away trying to put square pegs into round holes (or is it just a way to bill the customer for more hours?) but I will continue to support standards.
Comment removed based on user account deletion