Website Development encompasses all the activities needed to guarantee the operational integrity of a site. Indeed, whenever these activities do not occur, the results can be embarrassingly visible.
The Activities of Website Development
The activities from which Website Maintenance is composed can be broken down into six areas.
These are:
- Publishing
- Quality Assurance
- Feedback Monitoring
- Performance Monitoring
- Infrastructure Monitoring
- Change Control
Website Development Team
Before commencing the process of maintenance, a team must be appointed to carry out these tasks. This team is headed by a Development Co-coordinator.
Review Meeting
Some typical agenda items might include:
- A report by each team member on activity in their area of responsibility
- A discussion of operational issues
- Agreement on a plan for forthcoming changes
This normally consists some form of Website Development Team (WDT).
A WDT is composed of senior managers for whom the site constitutes an important asset. For example, key areas like Marketing/Communications are normally represented, as well as large functional areas with a significant presence, e.g. product divisions. As the ultimate authority in charge of a site, this team provides the guidance (and the budget!) needed to allow maintenance to occur.