Web Development Project Roles

1. Web Development Project Roles Bonney Armstrong Westwood College GD 437 Material From http://www.ahref.com/guides/industry/199807/0706jef3.html, By Jennifer Fleming

2. Who Am I? • “For example, at some point or other in my career, I've called myself a web consultant, a web developer, a web designer, and a web producer. A friend and fellow web geek has had his job title and description changed three times in the past year. And lots of people in the field have turned away from generic titles like “webmaster” in favor of more specific roles such as web product evangelist, usability specialist, or production coordinator.” – Jennifer Fleming

3. Specialization • In the beginning, there was the webmaster. • This superhuman creature managed all aspects of a site, from the back end to the front end and everything in between. • Try to find a webmaster in the wild nowadays and you'll find it's a bit tougher than it used to be. • This solitary generalist is a dying breed.

4. Technologists • Among technologists, it's a rare bird who claims expertise in more than a handful of the technologies in use on the web today. • Instead we have people who specialize in PHP, ASP, Java, or some combination thereof. • There are also an increasing number of content-related specialties, such as ecommerce specialist, business knowledge systems specialist (aka intranet/extranet specialist), or security specialist.

5. Designers • The same holds true for designers. • The broad, vague term "design" has been carved up into islands: • Graphic design. • Information design. • Interaction design. • Though these specialties share some traits, they emphasize different principles and approaches. • Some designers choose to specialize in web advertising (such as banner ads and infomercials) or in fields related to design, such as usability or site architecture.

6. Teams • The more people specialize, the more likely it is that teams of experts will be needed to build a complex site. • And as far as large-scale web work goes, teams are here to stay. • The Wall Street Journal can no more turn out its publication on the web with one developer than it can turn out its newspaper with one reporter. • Increasing functionality, original content, and frequency of updates make today's large-scale web sites large-scale undertakings that require teamwork and coordination.

7. More About Teams • Teams also spawn new job roles, such as project managers, account managers, and production coordinators. • A large project may support a project manager and production coordinator, in addition to several designers, scripters and coders, programmers, and content developers.

8. Typical Team Roles • Though the nature of the project affects the makeup of the team, there are some common team roles that exist from web project to web project. • A typical large- or medium-scale web project, whether it's completed in house or with freelancers, will usually require that the following roles be represented:

9. Project Lead • The role of the project lead is to. • a) to maintain the vision and goals of the project throughout the development process. • b) to make sure things get done (on time and within budget). • The project lead is responsible for scheduling, progress reports, workflow, and client relations.

10. Designer • The role of the designer is to visually communicate the site's message. • This often includes doing navigation design, hiring freelance illustrators if needed, or even running a user test.

11. Programmer • The web programmer is responsible for making "interactive" portions of the site work. • This may include creating a shopping cart application, building a database, or doing feedback forms. • Often, the programmer gets "specs" (specifications) or requirements from the project lead. • Depending on the size of the project, the web programmer may also be responsible for the back end or server.

12. Content Developer • The content developer is one of the most important roles on a web team, and one that is most often overlooked. • The content developer is a writer and/or editor who creates or assembles the content that makes up the core of any site.

13. Production/Coder • The production person is responsible for assembling and coding the site, and may also be responsible for some quality assurance tasks (such as browser compatibility or application testing). • Depending on the team, a production person may also do image editing and graphics conversion.