IWMW 2009: talks
http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/web-focus/events/workshops/webmaster-2008/talks/
Details of the talks at the Institutional Web Management Workshop 2009en-GBHeadlights on Dark Roads
http://iwmw.ukoln.ac.uk/iwmw2009/talks/law/
Derek reviewed the recent history of libraries and the challenges now facing them. He discussed changes in the external environment, in user behaviour and requirements and explores whether libraries will continue to be needed and the knock-on effect this will have for institutional Web sites. He will also consider whether libraries still have - or can find - a unique selling point which adds value to the academic process and gives a personal view of what that might be. 2009-07-28T13:30:002009-07-28T14:15:00Servicing 'Core' and 'Chore': A framework for understanding a Modern IT Working Environment
http://iwmw.ukoln.ac.uk/iwmw2009/talks/harrison/
What is a 'Modern IT Working Environment'? What does it mean for the individual and the organisation? In a world that's changing much faster than Universities, what should we be considering to help prioritise resources and effort in realising the Modern IT Working Environment? A conceptual framework has been developed and successfully employed to help frame discussion of these issues amongst University staff. The challenge presented was how to communicate the notion of a 'Modern IT Working Environment' in a simple and consistent way to all areas and levels of an organisation (the University), in such a way that it represents current and future strategic drivers and at the same time show the practical everyday needs of the individual. A conceptual framework was developed and successfully employed in a variety of organisations to facilitate communication and discussion on these issues. It places in context the evolving nature of internal and external services and how they impact on 'chore' and 'core' work tasks of the individual. It also provides a simple illustration of the factors that senior managers need to consider when planning and prioritising institutional resource, for example with regard to technology procurement/development versus training/education, in order to meet the service requirements of individual staff and students. Cardiff University has embarked on a major programme of change spearheaded by a significant investment in technology. Technology is viewed as a fundamental enabler for business change, but its value and role with respect to other University services has tended to be less well appreciated. Many staff and students throughout the institution had acquired a false impression of the programme as being technology driven, rather than strategically driven in response to business requirements. So the framework was developed to address this confusion and promote discussion around the existing and future challenges staff and students we are facing, and also portray the vision and the strategic alignment of the programme at an organisational level. The framework and associated presentation has been found to be relevant and useful to many different types of audiences internal to the University as well as to external business organisations it has been presented to. From a senior manager's point-of-view it helps clarify the range of influences impacting on strategy as well as the action plans that need to be developed. Individual staff and students gain a better appreciation of what constitutes their working environment and consequently the nature of their requirement for internal and external services. 2009-07-29T09:00:002009-07-29T09:45:00Making your killer applications... killer!
http://iwmw.ukoln.ac.uk/iwmw2009/talks/boag/
Gone are the days when our websites were primarily brochureware. Increasingly users expect a level of rich interaction previous reserved for the desktop. From course finders to contact address books, our websites are increasingly dominated by web applications. However, best practice for these applications are still emerging. How do you wireframe an application with tools primarily designed for page based sites? How do you enhance your applications with AJAX without compromising accessibility? How do you test a web application? What is more, as users expectations increase our budgets are being squeezed. How can you build a rich user experience with a limited budget? Paul explores ways to take your distinctly web 1.0. applications to the next level within the constraints of accessibility, budget and tools.2009-07-29T09:45:002009-07-29T10:30:00What is the Web?
http://iwmw.ukoln.ac.uk/iwmw2009/talks/currall/
The Web won't last because it isn't really anything! Is it 'stuff that can happen in a browser'? Well that covers almost anything since browser plugins and helpers sprout daily! It is just a bunch of tools for sharing information amongst a much wider set of tools (with new ones almost daily). It only takes a new cool tool to appear that doesn't use http and its all downhill from then on. Its really about INFORMATION (broadly described) and the role of IWMW is to get it flowing by going with the flow of how people interact with information and each other - sounds a bit like the finale in Aberdeen:-)2009-07-29T13:30:002009-07-29T14:15:00Hub Websites for Youth Participation
http://iwmw.ukoln.ac.uk/iwmw2009/talks/newman/
The European Parliament was worried that fewer people are voting in European and national elections. So they funded an e-participation programme to see how to engage more citizens with legislatures. They were particularly concerned that fewer young people are voting and joining political parties. But young people are not apolitical. They wear armbands, join boycotts, turn out in millions to cancel debt or protest wars: it is just traditional politics and traditional consultations that put them off. So the challenge is to see how to adapt government to the ways young people communicate, rather than bore them with the old ways of influencing policy in citizenship lessons. Since many young people spend a lot of time on the Internet and mobile 'phones, not just reading, but creating words, music, pictures and videos, why not let them discuss policy issues there? Then all we need is a mechanism for collecting their creative ideas, recommendations, organise them by issue, and present them to policy-makers. 2009-07-29T14:15:002009-07-29T15:00:00Agile Prototyping in Academia
http://iwmw.ukoln.ac.uk/iwmw2009/talks/flanders/
With the stress of managing multiple systems and users, web managers don't often have the chance to encourage innovation within their teams. David will be talking about the importance of innovation within a web team and how innovation can be embedded back into a team environment while still managing an enterprise level of support for ongoing systems. Specifically, David will be talking about his experience of managing innovation projects using his own flavour of "Agile Prototyping in Academia".2009-07-29T15:30:002009-07-29T16:15:00Lightweight Web Management
http://iwmw.ukoln.ac.uk/iwmw2009/talks/gutteridge/
Chris Gutteridge shared a bunch of useful techniques his team has evolved for managing multiple servers and hundreds of Web sites for the School of Electronics and Computer Science at the University of Southampton. These techniques have significantly improved the standard of service provided, without creating lots of extra grunt work. Some of these techniques may be directly useful, others may just give you ideas for similar low cost ways to improve your operation with minimal extra day-to-day work for your staff. If there is time, the audience will be encouraged to share their own techniques and ideas. Lots of cool little tricks...2009-07-29T16:15:002009-07-29T17:00:00How the BBC make Web sites
http://iwmw.ukoln.ac.uk/iwmw2009/talks/smethurst/
Michael and Matthew spoke about how the BBC make their Web sites: Designing and building sane, scalable, coherent and accessible data driven dynamic web applications the one web, domain driven, RESTful, open, linked data way! 2009-07-30T09:00:002009-07-30T09:45:00