| Depending on the nature of your team (employees or consultants), and the scope of your site, you may draw on one of several models for structuring your web team. Consider these prototypes as starting points for developing the best managerial structure for your team. 3 typical web teams: The web company in which the entire organization is focused on producing a web site. The small business & the web consultant in which a small business, whose focus is on its store or service (and not the web site) hires a consultant to build its site. The corporation & the web agency in which a large company hires an established web agency to set their internet strategy and build or redesign their web site. The corporation may also have its own in-house web team.
the web company Web companies are those in which the entire organization is focused on producing a web site (or sites), which they both own and operate. The web site may not be their sole business, but it's a central part of their mission and their corporate identity. the challenge For web companies, the challenge is to develop an effective organizational hierarchy. In these companies, people from different disciplines come together in different combinations to work on different projects over time. Should the reporting structure be based on project, discipline, or a combination of the two? the web company  |
one solution Use a matrix reporting system, in which individuals report to both a project manager and a department head. Temporary teams are formed around projects, and team members are responsible to the project manager for the duration of the project. But they officially report to a department head from their own discipline. So a designer may report to a project manager on a day-to-day basis, but her salary would be set and performance reviewed by the company's creative director. "Some single mind must be master, else there will be no agreement in anything." Abraham Lincoln 4 keys to success for a web company: Create dedicated teams for individual projects. Give project managers authority to manage their team or at least their team's time on a day-to-day basis. Offer continuity in management. Individuals may change teams with some regularity, but they shouldn't change managers every time they change teams. If they keep a single manager, they won't get lost in the organization. Provide job-specific feedback. Each employee should receive guidance from a senior manager within their own discipline. So a designer's work should be reviewed by the creative director, an engineer's work by the head of engineering.
the corporation & the web agency For large corporations, the web site is only one small part of their business. While some have established in-house web teams, most rely on consulting firms to guide them on web strategy and build their web presence. Note, however, that problems can arise if you completely outsource your web site: People inside your organization must feel invested in and responsible for your site if it's to succeed long-term. the challenge This scenario's challenge is to build consensus among two teams of people, each of which reports back into a larger organization with its own politics and power struggles. The challenge for the corporation is get their entire organization on board and to keep the agency focused on their core needs. The challenge for the agency is to gain broad-based support within the corporation, even though they report into a single department (typically marketing). one solution Have a small dedicated team from the agency headed by a single producer work with an interdepartmental task force from the corporation, also headed by a single project manager. the corporation & the agency  |
3 keys to success for a corporation: Name a single project lead for each side. And have them stick with the project through the duration. Bring the IT group in early. Most web sites are managed by the marketing department, but the IT group should be an equal partner. If you don't have IT on board, you're setting yourself up for technical missteps, as well as a possible mutiny: The IT group can get an agency fired faster than you can say, "Why aren't we using IBM?" Make sure the CEO is on board. CEOs don't like surprises. Make sure the people at the top of the company as high as you can possibly get know about, and agree with, your plans for the web site. Otherwise, you could have the plug pulled on your project, even after the work is completed.
the small business & the consultant A web site can provide an enormous lift to a small business both in customer leads and actual sales. But most small businesses are, well, small, and they don't have enough employees to even think about a web site, much less build one. the challenge This scenario's challenge is to find time and money. All small business owners wear more hats than they can count, and a web site is just one more thing to worry about. The challenge for the consultant is getting the business owner to sit still long enough to focus on their web strategy. Also, there's the question of getting paid.... one solution Have the business owner or a dedicated, computer-literate, and sufficiently senior project manager work with a single consultant or designer, who can sub-contract work to others, as needed. Keep the site basic, and consider a barter arrangement, where the web consultant is paid with products or services instead of cash. the small business & consultant  |
3 keys to success for a small business: Name a single project lead on both sides. In this case, what's true for corporations is true of small businesses: A single person must be in charge if things are to get done. Employees of small businesses often share responsibility communally. But this doesn't work well for web sites. Keep meetings simple and small. Although the consultant may hire specialists to supplement her own skills, these specialists need not meet the business owner. Keep meetings between consultant and client intimate. This saves the owner time and shields them from conflicting or confusing opinions. Consider a barter arrangement. Many web consultants will trade web services for the client's product, whether it's yoga classes, Szechwan noodle soup, or stylish shoes. Everyone wins.
lesson from the trenches: how to get everyone on board  "Buy-in only becomes a real problem when you lack clarity in the decision-making process." Janice Fraser Web sites can be highly political projects. Everyone, it seems, has their own ideas on what their company's site should do and how it should look. One of the biggest challenges for web producers is how to untangle all the divergent opinions and get your entire team indeed your entire organization working toward a common goal. In other words, how do you get "buy-in" on a web project? "The first thought I have is on the word 'buy-in,'" says Janice Fraser, a partner with consulting firm Adaptive Path, who's known for her well-honed diplomatic skills. "I've stopped using it because I think it masks the problem. It collapses several ideas into one word, and by collapsing them you forget to do all the steps." "The first part," she explains, "is awareness. People need to be aware of what's being done, because if they're taken by surprise...well, most people do not react positively to surprises." The second step is involving those people who have a real stake in the project. Regardless of whether they're on the web team, per se, those people who have a material investment in the work you're doing should be included in the development process." But the opposite is also true. "If they do not have a material investment, then you need to keep them out." Timing is key here. You have to include people early in the process, Fraser says. And it can't just be lip service. You have to give them a real opportunity to influence the product. "You bring people in for input and you make it meaningful input. You break down their ideas and genuinely incorporate their ideas into the products. Then you tell them how you did that." This last point can't be over-emphasized. It's not enough just to take in ideas and use them. You have to let people know how their ideas are being used. Remind them what they suggested and how it influenced the site. This let's them know you're listening, and also makes them feel more invested in the outcome. "It's important to come back to people at the mid-point, before the product is launched," Fraser explains. "Tell them how their input has been integrated into the product. I even do periodic reviews with stakeholders, telling them, 'Here's where we are. I'd like your opinion about this...'" The final step is in many ways the hardest, Fraser said. You have to be as explicit as possible about who makes the ultimate decisions. "Buy-in only becomes a real problem when you lack clarity in the decision-making process." It's best when you can collaboratively arrive at decisions. But complete consensus is usually impossible and not necessarily desirable. "Sometimes you get a lot of agreement around a point," she says. "It's more common, though, to have a lot of disagreement. Different people will always believe that their way is the right way. So you have to depersonalize the decision-making." "Take decisions out of the 'I-think-this' realm and put them into the 'research-shows-this' realm. When you have a culture that supports user testing, you can use test results as the decision-making criteria: 'Here's what our pre-design research indicated,' or 'Here's what the last card sort indicated.' That's a rhetorical device that helps you not look like a demagogue." "This is slightly manipulative," Fraser admits. "But I'm not afraid to be slightly manipulative. One of the things I'm always wary of is the idea of democracy. I try not to give the impression that this is a democracy. There's always someone who ultimately has authority." "A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus." Martin Luther King, Jr. |
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