[EDIT 772 home] [Jeff Williamson home]
A project site is just a way to use of HTML to accomplish many of the things that groupware does. Although people have spontaneously developed these on their own for some time now, I will credit David Siegel's book Secrets of Successful Web Sites (1997, Hayden Books) with formally articulating the project site. He makes the point that a project site is not only a good way for far-flung groups to work together; it is also a wonderful tool for selling clients on your work. This makes it doubly worth including in this course.
For this course, your project site will have a single URL from which all of your group work can be accessed. Links and content will include
names, titles, and e-mail addresses for group members
an online discussion area (I'll set up the discussion software for you and give you the URL)
a group-accessible ftp site for common files (I'll set up the site and give you the URL)
your design treatment
a short schedule and responsibilities page, to be updated as work is completed. Some responsibilities to delegate include
field research of similar sites
content research and development
site navigation
page layout; HTML
page layout; graphics and site colors
interactivity
technical and user testing
revision notes
archivist (this one is crucial!)your final project
Notes:
1. It is very important to me that you develop and use the project site; it is less important to me that everything above is on your project site.
2. I would expect much of your project site to be developed during class time.
3. The site is a work space, not a product. It should not seem like an addition to your project; rather, it should help your project work proceed in a quicker and more organized manner. If you find otherwise, let me know - your impressions are important.
4. You may find it helpful to develop your project with links from your design treatment. Icons on the flowchart, for example, could link to finished HTML pages.
5. I suggest that the project site be kept on one group member's account, and that your final project - your educational web site - be kept on a group-accessible site that someone in your group archives daily - having a specified time to update it is probably not a bad idea, either. When your project is done, you should move it to the same group member's account.
|
|