A new plan

i think I've said once already

[grandpa]

As a programmer I was a hands on guy, and other folks took care of putting the bigger pieces together. I missed more than one staff meeting :) But I understand and respect the need for a well advised plan and for everyone to work together toward a common goal with any organization - including a web site.

Two weeks ago I looked the boss right in the eye when I said, "If you had a plan you might not be having this problem." Between the two of us we manage to keep things going, but I am a believer in setting and maintaining goals. What I know beyond basic html about running a site has been gleaned mostly from WW. So, if you have a minute maybe you could reflect on your specialty as part of a well developed web site plan; budgeting, advertising, development, consumer relations, etc., and their various aspects and interactions. I'm sure this isn't a new topic around here, but I'd appreciate a current discussion.

Personally, I'd rather not have unexpected or undesirable results coming from some direction that I don't know even exists. So, as the topic suggests, I need to put together a well thought out plan.

Thank you
grandpa

[macrost]

Well I think that the most important part of this is to create a "work" or a "flow" chart of the project. This will let you plan out the timelines for each module if you will. Then from there you can get into budgeting, etc.

Mac

[ritualcoffee]

Get your boss a book about MBO (management by objectives). Biggest thing that my web team focuses on is business processes, a clear understanding of who owns what, and who is primary contact for clients etc.

[grandpa]

macrost that's pretty much the idea. Let me paraphrase myself and just say, for a well organized web site, what are the primary objectives? I'm not sure how to state this properly perhaps, but lets say Site Promotion is a top level in my org chart. From there I'd have to include specific projects or functions, from directing traffic to advertising - and whatever else falls around that level.

I'm doing things for the very first time and what I know about ad tracking and ROI wouldn't fill a thimble. Beyond that, I guess what I'm trying to get at is what are the most important considerations for running a successful web site. If you had five specific tasks to do each day, what would they be?

Attempting to identify the major functions and creating good site chart is my goal here. Avoiding the pitfalls as much as possible, and, knowing what might be expected.

[ramble]
When I started working on my site the first goal was to clean up the appearance. And html was all I knew. Then I discovered CSS and went to town :-) Meanwhile, I didn't have a clue that soon I would be having to learn about promotion and marketing, all at once. I suppose I could just have a look at the Forums Index, or look over some of Brett's fine resources...
[/ramble]

grandpa