Project Management: Basics

Project Management is one of the most critical components of website design for large sites or websites with multiple designers and programmers. Most people have sites that are developed by multiple people in different places and some method of collaboration beyond email is generally helpful.

Project Management Basics

First, project management generally includes some form of message in the form of an online forum of sorts of a mass email discussion format. Normally, there is also a calendar for individuals to view deadlines and milestones for their part of the project. In all forms of project management, it is essential to have these two items: communication and a timeline. Each component of the project must be broken down into small workable components for the project to be completed in a timely and efficient manner.

For web projects, it is also generally helpful to have a log or file system of some sort to keep track of when a file has been updated. It’s absolutely essential when multiple people are working on one file or when multiple people have permission to change a file if necessary. This will prevent unnecessary headache over destroying work.

Keep in mind the project management is highly subjective. Every company or individual has a different method of managing web projects and there is no perfect project management system, only one that works best for you.

Project Management Systems

There are a lot of project management software and systems out there to help keep your project on track. However, for the purpose of website design, often there are people who are not working on site and must be able to access project management related files from a remote place. Some good collaboration programs include Basecamp and ActiveCollab. Good free programs include Google Site Apps and Project Pier.