- 1. Function-Driven Web Management Joel Benedict University of
Advancing Technology ENG102-D09JUN24 Composition II Professor Micah
Chabner
2. Definition of strategy 3. Introduction
- A web site ruled by form is like a house without a blueprint.
4. A web site ruled by function is like a custom built house
carefully designed by an expert architect. 5. Through examination
of web development strategy, web developers can see that successful
web projects are built upon goals, which thereby illustrates the
irreversible dominance of function over form in commercial web
design. 6. This essay will show the strategic phase of web projects
built on a functional foundation of goals, research, project
management, and design.
7. Function-driven plans in strategy
- The first aspect of strategy proves a function-driven plan is
better than a form-driven plan. 8. The first section of the
research paper examines the first aspect of web development
strategy and the three phases of strategy: research, project
management, and design. 9. Strategy is the pursuit to align reality
with goals, goals achieved when the one with more advantages wins
[...] strategy is the ceaseless pursuit of advantage (Boar, 2001,p.
4).
10. Strategic Frames
- Strategic foresight begins with a frame of the problem. 11.
Framing enables analysts to define the scope and focus of the
problems requiring strategic foresight (& Bishop, 2006, p. 13)
. 12. The defined scope and focus help to define a functional
purpose statement. 13. The purpose statement is a set of goals the
builder is expected to achieve, similar to the contract a custom
home buyer writes with an architect.
14. Goal fulfillment is driven by expectations
- In web-based enterprises, each group has expectations, and the
sooner that they know whether a site will fulfill those
expectations, the better it is for everyone (Feiler, 2000, p. 154).
15. The architect is expected to fulfill the house from the
contract in the same way a web developer is expected to fulfill the
site plan from the purpose statement. 16. Both parties fulfill an
expectation of function-driven goals.
17. Form- versus function-driven plans
- A form-driven plan lacks the comprehensive purpose and scope
needed to see the end goals of the spokesperson, and instead plans
for short-sighted elements of form, such as features or aesthetics.
18. Purposeful contracts, defined scope and limits, and advantage
over problems are proof that for a strategy to exist, web managers
must form function-driven goals.
19. Research 20. Research of end users
- The function-driven goal of a web project is to reach a target
audience of customers or end users. 21. The research tactics of
environmental scans and customer requirement evaluation show web
managers that function-driven plans are better than form-driven
plans. 22. A a set of personas is created from a summary of the raw
data. 23. Personas are fictional narratives describing particular
representative users and serve as a stand-in for real users during
the design process (Lynch & Horton, 2009, Ch. 2, p. 5).
24. Form versus function in research
- End-users visit a company site for function, not elements of
form. 25. The function-driven architect of a house researches what
the buyers need most from a house. 26. A form-driven plan ignores
the needs of buyers in favor of popular trends.
27. Environment scans
- Environmental scans give managers a comprehensive perspective
of problems in web design. 28. The goal is to come up with a mix of
basic driving forces that suggest the most likely future, and some
insight into potential change drivers that may lead to alternative
future outcomes (Hines & Bishop, 2006, p. 55). 29. Form-based
thought leaves managers without any suggestion of the basic driving
forces and vulnerable to the unexpected. 30. Form- and
function-centered plans do not give managers a map to the exact
changes of the future, but insight into potential change drivers
does allow for tactical changes in form.
31. Project management 32. The project manager
- This section continues to show that function-driven plans and
web site management are better than form-driven plans in web site
management. 33. The web manager is the architect of site function
and the core team is in charge of site form. 34. The manager of a
web project must provide the business sense and logic that will
bring the project successfully to completion (Warner, 2001, p.
10).
35. The web manager as key communicator
- Patrick Lynch and Sarah Horton say, [t]he project manager acts
as the primary contact between the web team and the sponsor and
manages the overall communication among creative, technical, and
production elements of the web site team (2009, Ch. 1, p. 2).
36. Form versus function in managerial roles
- The form-centered project manager is similar to a movie
director, whose primary concern is to give creative life to a
project and to be free from the structural mandates of function.
37. The form-driven role of director cannot exist without the
function-driven logistics work of the producer. 38. In the same
way, form-driven plans are dependent on function for a final
goal.
39. Crew selection
- The web manager is the function-driven architect of the web
development team who will implement a forecast with the help of
form-driven specialists. 40. Ideally, your site designers should be
involved as soon as possible in the planning discussions (Lynch
& Horton, 2009, Ch. 1, p. 7). 41. The earliest possible
involvement of designers allows the web manager to continue to
focus on function, and minimizes the time form-based core designers
spend in pre-production.
42. Forecasts
- With a frame and scan complete, a forecast of alternative
futures can begin (Hines & Bishop, 2006, pp. 85-123). 43.
Forecasts examine risk, core foundations, and failures; it
diversifies techniques, ideas, and eliminates faulty
assumptions.
44. The functionality of emergent management
- Enterprise architects must decentralize decision making to
enable innovation [...] In decentralized organizations innovation
is dynamic and change is organic (Burke, 2008, Table 1 ). 45. The
decentralized decision making to techs, designers, and other
staffchosen based on their abilities still allows the crew meet the
previously defined goals and create a vision in the best way they
see fit. 46. Emergent management places priority on function, and
allows form to emerge from the crew upwards.
47. Development models
- A developmental model gives the project clear landmarks of
progress towards a goal chosen by function-driven strategy. 48.
Because developmental models follow basic principles of function,
the form of the models can vary. 49. In the best model, good
project management uses the strengths of both iterative and linear
models, say Lynch & Horton (2009, Ch. 2, p. 6). 50. The hybrid
model blends the reliability of consistent function with the
variety of form.
51. Deadlines for development
- The discouragement of iterations in the development and test
phases forces final ideas to be implemented. The form is not
permitted rule and landmarks are met. 52. In the house analogy,
second-guesses of construction work eventually encounter the
inspector as a limit to work. At this juncture, work either passes
inspection and meets a deadline or fails and breaks a
deadline.
53.
54. Deadlines for development Design is the bridge between
strategy and production in time- and team-based management. After
the heavy research in the scan and forecast phases, the vision of
the site begins to form.Vision connects the forecasting to the
present, gathers assumptions, consequences, and long-term
strategies (Hines & Bishop, 2006, Ch. 4). 55. Usability as
function
- Site design should be centered around usability as the core
principle. 56. Results indicate that Web site design quality in the
context of e-commerce is related to four major dimensions:
information and service quality, playfulness, system use, and
system design quality ( Liu et. al, 2001, Key dimensions ). 57.
Business sites can compensate for their lack of playfulness with a
stronger emphasis on the other three dimensions.
58. Form versus function in interactivity
- Form-centered developers concentrate on playfulness at the cost
of the other three dimensions. 59. Function-centered developers
implement a well designed system with high quality information and
content. 60. With the customer in mind, an interactive approach
affects users in the same way as playfulness.
61. Accessibility and ease of use
- Effective content design or usability is synonymous with ease
of use and flexibility. To reach a broad audience, web sites
diversify the options available to access the site. 62.
Technological variations include electronic devices, browsers, and
file formats. Sensory variations include sight or hearing
disabilities. 63. A site is easy to use when it is intuitively
navigable by end users.
64. Final plans
- Final plans use short-term goals to bridge vision with action
(Hines & Bishop, 2006, Ch. 5). Planning allows for emergent
architecture, choice branches, contingencies, diversification, and
takes advantage of a company's unique attributes (Id., p.
171-186).
65. Technology design
- Technology design identifies the technology strategy for the
site platforms, standards, technologies, and how they can all
interoperate. 66. The physical host of the web site is budgeted in
the project management phase by the core team. The other decisions
in regard to web host, content management, and security are left to
the expertise of the techs.
67. Results of action
- Action urgently responds to changes and reinforces all other
guidelines by the realization of milestones, reaction according to
plan, and follows the system repeatedly (Hines & Bishop, 2006,
Chapter 6). 68. The user interface and visual design of the site
may be much more visible to the user initially, but if the
underlying organization of the site and its content is poorly
constructed, visual or interactive design will not fix the problems
(Lynch & Horton, 2009, Ch. 3, Introduction section). 69. The
last phase presents a finished product to the end user, usually the
public.
70. After production
- Rooster Teeth Productions is an example of how perpetual
modification can continually improve a site (et. al, 2009, p. 10).
RT is a combination of product feedback and social site features.
71. The modification is made possible by constant research
performed voluntarily by the end user. 72. While site construction
has scheduled deadlines and road marks of completion, dynamics
sites build flexibility into the site for new features. Developers
who allow form to follow function strengthen the best
characteristics of each.
73. Conclusion
- This research paper has shown the strength of a function-based
foundation. By research of a customer and global awareness, web
managers can form function-driven goals. 74. The irreversible
dominance of function over form in commercial web design is shown
in emergent management, ease of user interface elements, and
continued flexibility. 75. The essay has shown the stability of web
projects built on a functional foundation of goals, research,
project management, and design. 76. With a strong foundation in
function, a web manager can rest assured in a room decorated by
form that the house of the site has become a well-designed
home.
77. References Boar - Feiler Boar, B. (2001).The art of
strategic planning for information technology.New York, NY: John
Wiley & Sons, Inc. Retrieved June 30, 2009
fromhttp://www.netlibrary.com/ Burke, B. (26 August
2008).Architecting the emergent enterprise: New game, new
rules.Gartner, Inc.Retrieved July 4, 2009 from Gartner database
access:http://www.gartner.com/ Feiler, J. (2000).Managing the
Web-based enterprise . San Diego, CA: Morgan Kaufmann Publishers.
78. References Haefliger - Liu Haefliger, S., et al. (2009).Modding
as rating behavior in virtual communities: The case of Rooster
Teeth Productions.ETH Zurich. Retrieved June 20, 2009
fromhttp://www.smi.ethz.ch/ Hines, A., & Bishop, P. J. (Eds.).
(2006).Thinking about the future: Guidelines for strategic
foresight., DC: Social Technologies, LLC.Liu, C., Arnett, K.P.,
Capella, L.M., & Taylor, R.D. (2001). Key dimensions of Web
design quality as related to consumer response.The Journal of
Computer Information Systems, 42 (1), 70-82.Retrieved July 4, 2009
from Proquest database access:http://www.proquest.com 79.
References Lynch - Warner Lynch, P.J., & Horton, S. (2009).Web
style guide(3 rded.) .Retrieved July 1, 2009
fromhttp://www.webstyleguide.com Van Duyne, D. K., Landay, J. A.,
& Hong, J. I. (2007).The design of sites: Patterns for creating
winning web sites . Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall.
Retrieved July 3, 2009 from Google Books:http://books.google.com
Warner, J. (2001).Managing web projects for Dummies. Hoboken, NJ:
Wiley Publishing, Inc. 80. Contact the author Joel Benedict
http://sites.google.com/site/websitebuildingresearch/
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