Web Responsibilities: An Emerging Workforce

Claire Spencer , Web Producer, Web Services Group [HREF2] , The University of Melbourne [HREF3] Level 1, 780 Elizabeth Street, Carlton , Victoria, 3800. spencerc@unimelb.edu.au

Abstract

Web staff in large organisations tend to describe their responsibilities in widely differing ways, often using the same job title to describe varying sets of web tasks. To aid internal communication and provide a better foundation for professional development, the University of Melbourne is developing a standard set of definitions for web responsibilities.

Introduction

The University of Melbourne has a large web presence – over 500,000 static pages on more than 480 servers – that is maintained and developed by hundreds of staff across 12 campuses in metropolitan and country Victoria .

We were an early adopter of the World Wide Web, and web-related jobs have evolved along with the technology and business-communication needs. Typically the role of web publishing was tacked onto an existing position description. This failure to recognise the importance of specialised skills and experience has meant:

• Inconsistent terminology for web tasks and responsibilities across the University
• Varying quality of web sites
• Different levels of understanding by managers of the tasks, skills and resources needed to develop and maintain a high-quality web presence

This paper describes how we addressed the first concern, the inconsistent terminology for web tasks and responsibilities.

The process was kick-started by the imminent implementation of a central web content management system (CMS). We needed to quickly develop a set of standard definitions that could be embedded in the CMS and related workflow documentation.

The process

Defining web responsibilities and tasks was a four-stage process:

1. Define
2. Consult
3. Create
4. Implement

Step 1: defining the work

First, we defined the tasks that need doing in order to manage, develop and maintain a web presence for the University or any of its business units.

We started by reviewing the available literature: books on web redevelopment, Jesse James Garrett's "9 Pillars of Effective Web Teams". The books were effective for a redevelopment project, but didn't approach the issue of a trying to create web responsibilities in a complex and devolved web publishing environment.

We also reviewed a Melbourne University document that maps HEW levels against skill sets for IT staff.

Next, we asked the people who ‘web-it' for a living: a focus group of staff from the University Web Centre, CMS project and project partners, and web managers in faculties and central divisions. The focus group met twice in person, and corresponded by email between meetings, to collectively draft a list of tasks and suggested titles.

The tasks and suggested titles were grouped into broad categories. For example:

Step 2: consultation and consensus

The second step was broader consultation. All University staff were invited to complete an online survey, choosing titles (or suggesting new titles) to label each group of tasks.

78 staff responded to the survey, and their choices were documented in a written report.

The results of the consultation process formed the basis of a Web Responsibility Guidelines document.

A draft was released for comment before the final version was adopted.

Step 3: create guidelines and systems

The Web Responsibility Guidelines document:

• Defines the generic tasks and responsibilities involved in creating and maintaining a University web site
• Assigns labels to each group of tasks – these labels form a list of 'web responsibilities'

Our survey recipients agreed on the following 8 titles:

•  System Administration

•  Web Development

•  Site Management

•  Web Maintenance

•  Editing

•  Authoring

•  Approval

•  Authorisation

• Describes how each web responsibility relates to the another
• Identifies constraints on specific responsibilities, for example a maintainer should never approve her own work because this circumvents quality-assurance processes
• Provides a flexible list of tasks that can be incorporated as part of a position description

A separate 'Workflow' document defines how the web roles fit into a standard publishing process that applies to any University web site.

Step 4: implementation

The 'Web Responsibility Guidelines' and 'Workflow' documents are in the process of being endorsed by the University committees that have responsibility for information management and information technology.

We now have a clear understanding as to who is responsible for each aspect of web management, development and maintenance. A Site Manager can send content to a maintainer, which has been provided by an Author, and checked by an Editor.

The hundreds of web staff across the University can communicate more clearly – among themselves and to their managers and colleagues – about what their responsibilities and tasks include.

The newly-defined roles and workflow are embedded into the new content management system, and apply equally to non-CMS environments.

What we learned

People become emotionally attached to their job titles, no matter how ill-fitting or redundant those titles are. Many staff saw the redefinition process as questioning the validity of their job titles, and therefore of their jobs.

Some staff were uneasy at the idea of 'raising the bar' for entry to particular kinds of web jobs. The new guidelines imply particular levels of skill, experience and training for each role. Until these skill sets are more clearly articulated, some staff will probably feel uneasy about whether they are suited for their current jobs.

We found that by including staff in the consultation process and by providing multiple options for feedback, resistance is slowly changing to become support. Many staff have commented their “tacked on web existence” is finally being given the credit it deserves.

In the future...

The University has a chart of responsibilities and skill sets mapped against HEW levels for IT staff. Using the roles and tasks described in the Web Responsibility Guidelines, we want to develop a similar matrix that can be used in writing position descriptions for web staff (who often are not classified as IT staff). We also look forward to creating training programs that build on the skills of existing IT staff.

References

Jesse James Garrett (2003) "The Nine Pillars of Successful Web Teams"
http://www.jjg.net/ia/

Claire Spencer (2005) "Web Responsibilities Survey and Report"
http://www.unimelb.edu.au/webcentre/tools/guidelines/reports.html

Adjunctive Information Technology Position Descriptors (matrix of skill sets and HEW levels for IT staff)
http://rubens.its.unimelb.edu.au/pub/itpd.html