What is a publishing tool? A technical review...

The dynamic web presence, or the "data base driven" web entity came about as a matter of convenience. Static HTML is simply inconvenient when dealing with the following situations:

• When the amount of information displayed on similar pages becomes unmanageable.
• When content changes often or continually on any page forcing programmers to continually produce HTML pages for the new content… it was labor intensive!
• When companies with the above mentioned issues were forced to employ technical staff to maintain an evolving web site…
• When data needed to be collected, processed and stored for core business purposes.
• When online activities generate transactions that need to be reentered into existing "legacy systems" like accounting, order processing and inventory.
• When web sites looked to customize screens based on individual visitor tastes.

In the early days, every page was a separate document on a web server, an HTML document. In big sites it meant hundreds of individual web pages were being developed and managed, one small change to design or navigation was an epic and costly process. Dynamic sites were then created where there are only a few documents and the content for each page is filtered through them for display to visitors. This involved a relationship between the visitor interfaces (the web site), an administrative interface (that which data is entered and managed) and a database (where the data is held).

Databases

Databases come in a few varieties, but there are norms for the web industry today. It is important to stay close to the norm in technological endeavors to allow for any potential compatibility with other systems. Today's standards include:

• SQL or MYSQL (freeware)
• Oracle
• Sybase

Database programmers develop procedures to allow for the organization of data, whether it be text and photos for simple web pages or complex calculations for shopping systems and management tools. The database makes sure that all content and information is collected or stored for presentation and/or management.

Interfaces

There are two interfaces involved in dynamic web sites and applications. One is your administrative interface; the other is the public visitor or viewing interface. The administration interface allows for the collection of data via a web-based entry screen or form and the management of that data. The visitor interface is basically your output of data… whether it be simple web pages or transactional information. From here the combination of the two interfaces becomes unlimited:

• Web site publishing tools have administrative interfaces that collect text, photos, video and other typical web content for display on the public site.
• Intranets mix both administration and viewing interfaces to allow for work collaboration where data and content is entered into databases and passed to others for further management. There's admin work well as viewing involved for all parties, typically within a single company.
• Extranets go farther where they can involve data being entered, viewed and managed by a single company with an "external" access to interfaces for their clients to enter and manage data.

These interfaces are simply either input screens or output screens with direct links to the database. All are written in standardized programming languages. Once again it is key to remain both current and compatible in your selection of programming language as you may want to consolidate applications being developed or be compatible with other systems. Today's top development environments include:

• Java, J2EE
• .NET (ASP.net, C#, Visual Basic.net)
• Cold Fusion
• PHP

Once the dust settles on your understanding of these principles the opportunities to collect, manage and publish information of all kinds is unlimited. Simple web pages to complex banking systems are all built using these standard development and database tools. Indeed most desktop applications, especially productivity oriented ones, are built with web-savvy tools to ensure that web interfaces and consolidation are possible. Today's companies have links from web interfaces to legacy systems to eliminate double entry and streamline workflow.

Checklist: Choosing the right platform

1. Do you have IT standards regarding operating systems? Y/N
2. Does the database the web project you are about to embark on use the same database as your internal systems? Y/N
3. Do you have any other web or internal systems written with the programming language you have chosen for your project? Y/N
4. Is security of information a concern? Y/N
5. If above is Yes, do you have security standards? Y/N
6. Is scalability an issue? Will your system need to be duplicated and accessible to a growing number of users and transactions? Y/N

Back to the basics on Job Management

In the past 15 or so years, I found myself walking into installation after installation repeating the same basic rule: "Find where your productivity leaks are and continually correct them!" In reality, if solid project management practice, including measuring success and improvement, isn't in place before a project management software gets installed, not much will change... er... except you will be able to make the same mistakes much faster and more frequently.

Truth is, job management software follows the same age-old rule as ALL other software... 'Garbage In, Garbage Out'. In the end, its up to the human element to determine how effectively you use data from cool toys like Job Central.Most companies are simply not that far away and the good news is, software can help you get back on track as you re-engineer your work process to a more effective level. First off, lets look at the end goals:

- Budget properly and accurately
- Develop a timeline that is accurate and one that you can follow
- Track all time and expenses
- Bill accurately
- Examine profit and/or loss
- Make corrections

Obviously I have simplified all this, but, in a nutshell these need to be your principal goals. Where many fail is simply by not improving... there in lies the importance of the final goal... corrections. When job management is in place, there is no end to the metrics you can collect and measure on. You should always put yourself and your production in a position to be able to report on all flaws in your process. A software can do this. A software can also report these findings... or, it should be able to.

From there, it is up to you. Job Management 101 says: Measure, correct, Measure, Correct... repeat always! This is also the primary principals behind the ISO and CMMi standards we see floating about. One program that works well, especially with Job Central, is a practice of continual review with your teams at regular productivity meetings. Don't mix these in with production meetings. Separate improvement from customer delivery as both are worthy of their own focused attention. Each month, revisit each project, examine budgeting vs actuals with the staff, work together to find where your time or expenses were over or under. Make a definitive plan to correct or keep practices. Revisit all changes each month to see if they had any effect, positive or negative and document them in a production manual for new employees to review. The more you involve your staff, the more they are aware of what costs you as a company.

The process of continual measurement, review and improvement is a very healthy one. It will streamline your production, involve your staff and cut much of the fat off you and your customer's costs. You need the proper tools to do so, if it gets too complex, or if calculating all this gets to be part of the burden... call us. Job Central does most of this for you.

About James McBeath

James McBeath is the former Director of Production for Compuware's Professional Services division and now an industry leading consultant, specializing in productivity in the creative workplace.

What took them sooo long?

No matter what magazine you pick up these days, no matter what information based web site you go to, the buzz for the past while has been that of the 'new community' tools like Blogs and Casting (Pod etc.). The excitement over all this, I must admit, raised my eyebrows, but that lasted only a few seconds ending with an "ahhhhh".

In 1997 I launched an on-line journal for adventure sporting athletes. A tool that allowed them to post articles with photo and videos via simple web interfaces from anywhere with web access. In turn, viewers were able to cross post comments and questions to the posters. We subsequently used this tool for many web clients: Domtar for its Creativetoolbox.com where artists shared electronic productivity ideas, BDC where on-line advice was given to upstart companies and much more. At the same time, newsgroups were the popular gathering points and it's interfaces were being used to share opinions, photos and video. Tools were being developed to stream Real Player video and audio via media browsers. Remember those days?

In my shop, we had developed a tool in a fledgling Flash application toolset, that allowed Montreal Canadien's fans to receive live updates to any game through a Flash browser. A goal would be scored and voila, the browser would download the latest video replay and text stats on the scoring for instand viewing... As soon as the coach stood in front of a microphone the audio feed was delivered to this browser... wasn't this a podcast? OK, OK! So iPods were, at the time, a sparkle in Steve Job's eye... but, the technology was there... haven't I just proved that? ... and the tools delivered the same things...

...So what took them sooo long? Well, there are a number of reasons that this boom is happening now. There are new and very accessible tools as well as distribution methods for getting content out there... but thats not the key reason. For the most part, the biggest reason is simply that we, as internet users, have GROWN UP to the point where blogger-spots and forums are 'mature' places to post to and the content we are publishing is becomming more and more consistant with our market's needs. The result of years of self-policing content at public content posting points has been a return to comfort levels where opinion and journal posts are welcomed and lauded. In the 90's and early 2000's we posted with varying results. Participating in forums and posting content in opinion form was a hazardous endevour. Remember the term 'flame'? You still see it today, but there is much more appreciation now towards those who are trying to post constructively. In the old days, when an opinion was just a bit off, you were knocked for a loop with cross posts that put you on a pedastal and horse whipped. Today, if you are wrong, you most likely will be politely corrected.

If your company posts blogs from you key personel, your markets appreciate the effort. If you show up on forums where consumers are complaining about your product and participate in trying to find a fix, you are appreciated. It was never like that. We have matured.There will always be a demand for factually correct postings and content. Posting as an authority means that you should be an authority. Your audience will ALWAYS sniff out the pretender or those counting on broadcasts like blogs and such for commercial gain. Contribute to your marketplace and you will quickly see results. Over-pitch the audience and you will quickly be seen as a door to door salesman. If you had tried to work with newsgroups and such before, don't fret, we have come a long way and welcome your blog or cast!