When people approach our team for a Web-based project, we send them through a detailed process. This process developed as our life-line, because, honestly, we were sinking.
People were treating the Web department as a drive-thru service. Who could blame them? That’s how we operated. “You need a new website? OK. Next Tuesday? Uh, sure we can do that. You don’t have all the content? Well, just get it to us ASAP.” Needless to say, it just wasn’t working.
It was no one’s fault but our own.
And, change - it was a comin’!
Our Web department has now transitioned from Drive-Thru to 5-Star. While we do not over-process procedures, we do have necessary steps in place.
“You want a new website? That’s great! Please fill out our Project Request Form so that we can evaluate and prioritize your request with the other requests within the ministry.”
No longer are we being pulled along by other areas within the ministry; we now guide them in terms of web-related projects. We are the Web Team; we are the “experts” when it comes to the Web. Simply by implementing a few procedures, we have been able to work with the different ministry areas to create awesome products - products that they and us are proud to broadcast on the World Wide Web.
So, what necessary procedures to you need to add to make your process work? Get busy…it will be benficial!
July 14th, 2009 at 2:11 pm
Hi! I was just wondering about the Project Request form you mentioned. What types of questions are on it? I’ve been thinking about implementing a similar system. Thanks!
July 14th, 2009 at 2:27 pm
Thanks for asking. Here is a sampling of questions that we ask:
*Briefly describe the project below, including all pertinent details.
*Why does your ministry want to do this project? What are the consequences if this project isn’t completed?
*Please enter any deadline or event dates associated with this project.
*Will this project encourage and equip people to pursue the 3 vital relationships? How does it support our mission and strategy?
July 15th, 2009 at 11:11 pm
Would you share your project request form with me? I’m getting a lot of requests from our staff to do things online that our current site doesn’t allow and they don’t seem to understand. I’d like to take a look at your form to get some ideas as to how to tackle these questions. (We’re re-vamping our site sometime in 2010)
July 16th, 2009 at 10:09 am
Here is a flat copy of the Project Request Form that we are currently using. We created this form using Google Docs so that answers automatically generate into a spread sheet.
Download Project Request Form
July 16th, 2009 at 2:07 pm
Awesome! Thank you very much! I like how everything is *required! (nice)