Lesson 2 | Assigned roles in software planning |
Objective | Identify roles and responsibilities in planning software requirements. |
Assigned Roles in Software Planning
For some Web projects, the software to be used will already be determined. Your customer may already have systems in place for existing sites, and your design team may already have effective favorites for creating sites.
In other cases, you may be choosing all the software involved in the site project from scratch.
This lesson points out that the three primary groups, business, creative, and technical, may take on different responsibilities in selecting, implementing and using software.
Who can help?
Below are the iGeneration job titles that correlate with software selection. As always, the job titles may vary from one employer to the next.
You may also find that individuals in other roles have knowledge and experience you can draw on, or your clients may suggest that you involve their employees or third party consultants in the planning for software.
There are several roles that are involved in selecting and implementing and using software.
To find the specific iGeneration job titles that are responsible for planning software requirements, take another tour of WebTeam, by clicking the workspaces in the blueprint:
On other Web design teams, there may be additional roles involved, such as Technical Lead. Web design teams may also involve external consultants who are hired to perform specific software-related tasks such as legacy systems integration.
Talk to developers who have used specific applications. In the course of actually using an application, they may have come across problems or useful features that are not highlighted in promotional materials.
But keep in mind also that their project may have had different requirements than your own, and that software may have changed since they used it.
Middleware Web Services
Client roles
In some Web site development projects, the client is heavily involved in selecting and implementing software. For example, in the case of a client with legacy systems, the client will be the primary owner of systems integration.
Client roles involved in selecting and implementing software can include:
- I.T. (Information Technology) Manager, I.T. Director1
- System Architect
- Database Administrator
Individual team members will almost always have personal preferences for software applications. While you will want to take such recommendations into consideration, it is extremely important to consider how all software will work together,
as well as the implications for long-term site maintenance.
Question: Which two of the following team members are typically not involved in software selection:
- Internet Application Developer,
- Database Application Developer,
- Database Administrator,
- Information Architect,
- Creative Producer,
- Internet Project Manager.
Answer: Information Architect and Internet Project Manager. The Creative Producer addresses the software needs of the designers.
The first three jobs listed all work closely with the specific software chosen and therefore must be involved.
In the next lesson, you will describe software assessment strategies used when the assessment is handled by a third party.