Email Interview – Matthew Knight (http://webponce.com/)

Sunday, June 20th, 2010

I generally try and adopt an agile approach to most projects, but generally it is a mix of different processes depending on how the people within the team work best. I try and use the most relevant tools from all practises when relevant. It also depends on the team size. When I’m working on my own, having a large process doesn’t seem so useful!

Yes, I love how quickly you can get a WP install up and running. I think in many instances, its helpful to just get something out there, and then build on top of it as needs arise. Half the time, you’ll realise you didn’t need all those extra things you were planning on building, and the basic approach is working just as well. I think Wordpress being an easy tool to implement often makes me think ‘how would this apply to wordpress’, and thing around the concepts of posts and pages. The new functionality in WP3 will be fantastic, as it will allow for more discreet page types, and get even closer to working as a CMS. I have experience working with a wide range of CMS tools, bespoke and off the shelf.

Many clients are already used to using a blogging platform, or even Wordpress, so it helps in having to explain how sites may be managed. When you push WP to its limit in managing content, though, sometimes, the client has to work a little harder in creating and editing content, using custom fields, rather than something which clearly explains the process they’re taking. The simplicity can be its downfall at times.

I’m not sure it matters whether it is a nonprofit or profit project, but the first phase of the project is the most critical to really understand what a client needs. Generally the client will not know what they want, only an idea of the problem they want solving. I generally try and spend some real time with my client to understand their problems, and work out which approach is best for them. Just getting a brief and delivering code against it isn’t fun or effective. There is often a gap between the client’s requirements, and the agency who is building a piece of work for the client – which is when pro-bono relationships go sour. Most marketing clients cannot write a good brief, so it isn’t surprising that a charity may not be able to. It creates resentment on the agency side for having to keep changing the work, and disapointment on the client side that they are not being understood. There is also, often, too much focus on the aims of the organisation, and not on the user – which can lead to a site which may do exactly what the client wants, but is not engaging or providing value to the end user. Again, it is important to try and get real users involved in the design process. Sometimes this is not possible, due to cost or timings, but eliciting real feedback after launch is important – and if you can launch earlier and smaller, and then revise based upon feedback, that is only a good thing.

I guess suggesting technology which has a strong existing user-base, both front-end and developer users, means that should I, as a supplier, no longer work for the non-profit, they’re not going to struggle finding someone else to help out. The same goes for sensible development practises. When it comes to the organisation spending time with their own site and continuing to manage it, again this comes down to requirements. If you realise at the start they’re going to have little time to add new content, try and create something which is easy to update with little effort, ie. adding feeds of content from other sources, or encouraging user content.

I try and use face to face training to take them through the WP system, and how it works.

Securing time to dedicate to the projects is the biggest challenge, as I still need to pay the bills, and if i need to take a paying client over a pro-bono project, it quite often gets pushed back. I think the most important element is helping to create a sustainable team, so rather than being a dedicated developer on something, I try and build up a little team of people who can help out, and work together to make sure the project gets the attention it deserves.

I don’t think you can define a ‘non-profit’ as having standard attributes, as non-profit is too wide a label. I run a couple of non-profit projects, but they’re not charities. I work with a couple of non-profit organisation which have budgets of over £5m so it isn’t about lack of money either. I think tools which are defined for tasks within sectors, like fundraising or CRM, would clearly have some generalised aspects. Any generic tool will always have its drawbacks, but so do bespoke tools. The most important element is the support structure which off the shelf tools come with, because if you’re going that route, you perhaps don’t have a developer onboard, and someone still needs to understand the implications of the technology. CRM is especially important, as once you start using a package, you’re going to invest a great deal of time doing data entry and setting up a process, which you don’t want to throw out in 12 months if you’re not getting the most from it.

Having run a commercial agency which has done a couple of pro-bono projects, I can understand why they’re pushed through the studio with the least amount of time spent, as they’re a loss to the company, and if they don’t get done quickly, its likely that other projects will impact upon the delivery of the project. So, templates and out of the box solutions help that. It depends on the requirements of the NFP on whether that is detrimental or not. If its about getting something online quickly, then thats fine. If they need more thought and investment into how the project should work, what the big idea is, the strategic thinking etc, that is generally something which should happen way before development starts anyway, and then finding the best technical solution comes later, templates or not.

I think both social media and social responsibility are two great ways of engaging your audience, and hopefully if it is genuine, everyone benefits. My clients are increasingly aware of CSR activity and how it can benefit their brand, so are generally open to the ideas which deliver on both commercial and ethical fronts. I hope its not just a trend!

It depends on how classically you’re describing ethnography. I haven’t lived in any of my clients’ houses for any period of time, but I have done plenty of workshops and spent time in work places and with end users to understand their needs and requirements. it is always useful to talk to end users and clients in their own context, and spend some real time with people to develop a relationship over a longer period, as you get to understand more subtle elements of their needs through observation, rather than explicit questionning. so many things are overlooked when you’re trying to gather requirements as the person you’re asking just assumes the basics will be taken into account.

Tags: cms, design ethnography, designer views, Nonprofit, web design, wordpress, workflow
Posted in Nonprofit | 56 Comments »