The ABC’s of Website Design

Designing a successful website is a challenge because what constitutes a good website is a highly subjective process. To improve your website building experience, you need clear objectives and expectations, the involvement of all key stakeholders, and a clear grasp of these three core components:

We identify these three core components as the ABC's of website design:

1. Artistic and design appeal – Visual and artistic appeal of the website so it looks professional
2. Business process delivery – SEO Optimization, leads, newsletter delivery, ecommerce, publishing, etc.
3. Core Functionality – Operating servers, web pages, content, images, etc

Artistic and Design Appeal

Creating a visually appealing site is the most subjective part of the process. It is also, based upon my experience, the single most common point of failure in a website project. What a web site designer thinks to be a clever design may be in complete contradiction to a customer’s expectations.

And it is generally quite difficult for a non-technical end user to articulate in technical terms how a site should be designed. This is due in large measure to very different perspectives.

Some really clever sites are very simple – example http://www.google.com/ with mostly white space a clear brand and a search box.

Other sites are so complex and full of content, links, moving graphics, and interruptions that it borders on annoyance – example http://www.goddady.com/

Some sites carry a theme or common framework throughout the entire website while others have, no purpose, no consistency – each page looks entirely different.

Because of the unlimited possibilities of design, most companies with self-publishing features offer a couple of basic layouts (templates) and a choice of complimentary color themes. Microsoft’s office.live.com, which offers a free website to Small Business customers is a good example of this.

The more specific an end user is about artistic design elements the more likely a website project will be successful. And it is highly recommended that a professional graphic designer be engaged if the customer does not have existing design elements (graphics, logos, color schemes, etc)

Artistic and Design Appeal is primarily the responsibility of the customer or school.

Business Process Delivery

Determining the results or actions you wish to obtain from site visitors will help you design properly. There are as many business deliverables as there are types and variations of businesses. Some deliverables have not been invented yet, (think about twitter 5 years ago).

As you decide upon site deliverables, consider the following questions:

1. Is your site one-way or two-way. Are you gathering or distributing information or both?
2. Are you just trying to create an online billboard or are you seeking to obtain contact information i.e., email addresses for internal marketing.
3. Are you attempting to cause an action – such as an email inquiry or phone call or are you attempting to automate some process such as managing a newsletter subscription.
4. Are you delivering content for a fee or trying to sell goods?

There are limits, driven mostly by budget, as to what is possible with current technology

Business Process Design is a joint responsibility of you and your web site designer

Core Functionality:

Core technical function, noticed primarily when broken, deals with the basic operation of the pages, links, and processes (forms, calculators, video, etc.) on your site. The complexity of a given website generally hinges on the manner of its design and the programming language that generates the web pages, complexity increases the likelihood of technical failure.

Some websites are extremely complex, with many moving parts, authentication schemes, gateways to other sites, and integration with a corporate network. Other sites are very simple, just a few pages of code that display words, images, and links.

Techno speak aside, the criteria by which you will measure a functional site will likely focus on the following:

1. Do the pages, links, and processes operate quickly and without error
2. Is navigation of your site simple enough to find content quickly
3. Is content delivery convenient for site visitors – can they access and then process information quickly
4. Does your site place well in organic searches with the major search engines

Technical function is primarily the responsibility of your web site designer.

Summary

Many web site projects start and end with very different ideas. It is a dynamic and interactive process between design team and customer. And it must be understood at the outset, that change equals time and time equals expense, so clarity up front results in large savings during the project.

Clear instructions on layout, accompanied by specific color schemes, exact logo’s, trademarks, and graphics are essential elements of design.

Business deliverables need to be clearly set forth and prioritized. Ongoing reviews and improvements in this area are common. Be sure to give ample time for website processes to be evaluated by your site visitors.

Given the wide range of ideas expressed by your key stakeholders, it is unlikely that everyone will be 100% satisfied with every aspect of a website project, but finding an acceptable level of technical function, business process delivery, and artistic and design appeal is possible.

Why you need a Help Desk

A help desk is a resource which provides information and assistance to troubleshoot problems with information technology equipment or services. It provides a single-point-of-contact for users within your school to report and resolve technical problems.

Our experience demonstrates a dramatic improvement in technical support function when a Help Desk is implemented, because it allows you to prioritize and track support requests, focus your limited support resources, and apply expertise at a level matching the issue at hand.

Help desks can be configured in various ways, but as a minimum should offer these 5 features:

1. Centralized system used throughout the entire school
2. Simplified interface for adding, updating, and tracking requests
3. Prioritized to effectively allocate resources and escalate support requests
4. Separate from you key infrastructure to eliminate your Help Desk from failing
5. Accountable to you in order to report and review technician effectiveness

What does your help desk look like now? Here are some we have observed first hand:

• Sticky notes handed to your IT person as they walk down the hall
• An interruption while in the midst of another support request
• An "oh by the way" mentioned at lunch
• A complaint in a meeting related to another subject

Although very common, none of these improve the performance of your IT staff. And in some cases these informal help desk habits can be very counter-productive.

Take the case of handing a sticky note to your technician as he walks down the hall (presumably on his way to another support request). Your interruption causes a lack of focus on the issue at hand, and the issue at hand causes a lack of attention to your request. This is a double dumbing down of the process.

An orderly help desk system is much more rational. User's generate support requests and are required by the system to categorize, prioritize, and then provide sufficient detail for the technicians. Technicians are notified much more efficiently and an accounting begins for that issue. Both parties, and others, can update information about the request and track the issue to resolution. Administrators can measure the rate and number of support incidents and have a better sense of the value a support mechanism is providing.

A byproduct of a robust Help Desk is the ability to archive resolved issues into a Knowledge Base which in turn provides a growing body of support information for your school. As this body of knowledge grows, the ability of users to self-help increases.

Most schools we observe, and all that we manage (by definition) have no full-time IT staff. A Help Desk in this scenario becomes a necessity. And we have found it very helpful to identify one or two gatekeepers in the school to take the responsibility of entering in technical support requests.The advantages of this arrangement are significant; a full-time support component, a better perspective about priorities, and a single point of contact for clarification and reporting.

Whether your school is large or small, simple or complex with respect to technology, or supported by internal or outsourced technicians you will benefit from a Help Desk.

In these resource constrained times you would be foolish to operate without one.

Improving your e-Rate experience

Improving Your E-Rate Experience

I continue to be surprised at the lackluster participation by many of the Charter School community in the USAC funding mechanism, commonly known as e-Rate. I believe that it stems from a lack of information; but whatever the reason, it seems a bit negligent in these resource constrained times.  This general lack of participation is found throughout the community; many administrators, finance companies, and service providers alike behave as though e-Rate is neither a significant opportunity nor a justifiable expenditure of time.

I believe they are wrong on both counts and unless your school has a philosophical position against government support, there is little excuse for not maximizing the benefits of this program.

Here a few very simple suggestions that will help you improve your experience in obtaining reimbursement for eligible technology purchases.

1.     Don’t try to do this on your own. One of the simplest ways to improve you e-Rate experience is to outsource the process in part or in whole to an e-Rate consultant who will assist you. State of Utah resources for e-Rate assistance, as compared to other states we have observed are quite limited and are mostly guidance in a self- service process. By outsourcing this task to a professional, you can focus on issues that you are uniquely qualified to manage, like educating children.

2.     Understand the formulas that drive discount rates. Your reimbursement options improve as your discount rate increases. And there are ways to improve your discount rate beyond a simple calculation of free and reduced lunches. This is uniquely true in Utah, where larger family sizes, depressed wages, and a general reluctance among many in the LDS community to accept free lunches tends to drive down your specific discount rate. Start planning now to do a household income survey to improve your e-Rate opportunity, especially if you are approaching the 70% – 75% bracket.

3.     Shift expenses to the priority one category. Albeit a limited opportunity (and no we don’t advocate trying to trick USAC) there are certain expenses that can be categorized in both the internet access (priority 1) and the internal connections category (priority 2). The best example of this is email. By utilizing a hosted email solution, rather than an on-premise solution with servers, software, and network equipment, you can obtain reimbursement without regard to your discount rate and/or the 2 in 5 rule for hardware. Another example of this is a hosted VOIP telephone system, instead of on premise (hardware concentric) VOIP telephone system. Your website hosting is yet another priority one expense.

4.     Align your purchases with the e-Rate calendar. E-Rate purchases typically need to be installed during a 90 day window starting with July 1 and ending (with some exceptions) on September 30^th. By structuring your purchases, such as your annual Microsoft School Agreement for software licensing, with this purchasing window, you can streamline the reimbursement process and improve your chances of having an expense accepted.

In at least one of the states where we provide services, we have observed, first hand, the loss of hundreds of thousands (yes that is 6 figures worth) of eligible expenses that were not reimbursed. That is not the kind of experience you want to emulate.

Right now is the time to be working on Form 470's for FY2012-13! Please don't wait another year.