It's a must!Great Book! A great book for any web professional. It goes into detail about managing projects. Myself being a web freelancer, I found the book very helpful. It also gives you sample forms in which you can use with you own clients. The people that wrote this book must be amazing organized. They add a sense of flair to the book that others cannot convey as easily as they do it. A warning to all: This book DOES NOT actually go into detail about the web design itself, except for a couple small examples. It talks more about the process than the design.
The layout of the book was pleasing. The front cover appealed to the designers in the office and the content appealed to the developer (me). There was a nice overview of the process and definition of terms so that both new and seasoned developers (and others involved) are able to follow.
The companion website, is easy to use. I was able to download the checklists in the book, since the book didn't come with a CD. That's understandable since I'd want the most up-to-date versions of data in the book. I wish, however, that I could converse with other readers to see how they are implementing the process. It's sometimes difficult to apply business-style web books with a non-profit organization.
It's nice to see in print solutions to things that drove me insane not too long ago with the last redesign. I think this method the authors have laid out will greatly lighten the stress level for all involved. And simple things like establishing deadlines and tracking time spent is so key, but easily forgotten till too late. And it's easy to back up suggestions for a process when the authors have given such great explanations and examples.
I also liked that the expert essays about various web topics, including knowing your client before you code, web standards and branding. I've already started implementing some of the tips these guest authors included, with great success.
The production and QA section is amazingly well done. It has example check sheets instead of drowning the reader in dry theory. It's easy to quickly (the key here) adapt these sheets for real world use.
Each phase is laid out with excellent illustrations, checklists and easy to follow project plans. It's so helpful to know where the road is going before getting three miles down it and realize you have to redo it all again.
I prefer normal book size, however, since it's easier to handle and fit on my "Most Used Web Books" shelf. But, at least the binding seems to be sturdy to put up with all my use.
This book has greatly helped me begin to plan our next web redesign.
I have been a professional web designer for several years now, and this book has helped me tremendously with workflow, client relations and project management. This book is not a technical book, but if you pair this book up with some of the more technical books (recommend Lynda Weinman's HOT series of books) you're good to go.
A separate chapter is dedicated to each phase and provides sufficient information for the reader to obtain a solid understanding of the various processes involved. The reader will also find numerous survey forms and checklists in the book as well as on the companion Web site ....P>This book is not a design manual and, as such, does not cover information architecture, graphics design or production tools like HTML, JavaScript, etc. Also, discussions on the technical infrastructure (hosting, hardware, database, connectivity, security, etc.) normally required to support Web Publishing are considered outside the scope of the book and are not covered. The very important subject of usability testing is covered in a chapter of its own, primarily from a project process point of view. The last chapter is dedicated to various techniques used in analyzing the competition. Rightly so, the book remains focused on project processes.
The suggested Project Life Cycle appears to be using a Waterfall methodology with some fast tracking. No mention is made of the existence of other more recent methodologies such as the Rational Unified Process or those at the origin of the Agile Alliance such as Extreme Programming (XP).
Surprisingly, examples of project schedules are presented in a Microsoft WORD format and no other project management software are covered. The experience Project Manager familiar with the PMBOK Guide will sometimes be puzzled as no distinction is made between project management processes and product-oriented processes and both can be intermixed and covered in the same paragraph. Once realized, this situation had no further negative impact.
There is no mention or reference to the PMBOK Guide.
This book is best for the experience Project Manager who wants to become familiar with the Web Publishing environment. The novice should first acquire basic knowledge of project management to make good use of this book. The PMBOK Guide is a very good start.
Here are a few suggestions for the second edition of Web Redesign | Workflow that Works:
1. A new chapter on Information Architecture with emphasis on project processes;2. Summary review of Content Management Systems;3. Integration with the PMBOK Guide;4. Discussions on the latest project development methodologies;
Jean C. Ducharme, PMP