How does one decide what should be included in a website?
I recommend the following approach:

• Be aware of design capabilities, limitations, and general end-user needs/expectations.

• Research best in class "competitive" websites -- in this case, the other 24 District websites.

• Determine applicable requirements through a proposal process with the customer (District 21 Board)

• On an ongoing basis, obtain real-time feedback to ensure continuous quality improvement.

Here's an excerpt of my web proposal to the District Board.  I greatly appreciate the leadership of Marion Robertson and the rest of the District 21 Executive Board in providing direction to the myriad of question I bombarded them with -- their direction enabled me to provide you the website they envisioned.

To: District 21 Board,

Here is a summary of the main activities associated with the proposal:

1. Ensure the website supports the District 21 Vision and
   Goals/Objectives.

2. Integrate the website with the District 21 processes.

3. Determine website content and functionality.

4. Determine the appropriate website and development budget.
 
5. Redesign the District 21 website to support the District 21
   Vision, Goals, and Objectives

6. Move the District 21 website to a robust Web Service Provider.

7. Notify the District 21 clients of website enhancements.

Attached in Section A includes activity details.  The District 21 Board
will provide responses to the project management tasks.

I look forward to receiving your feedback and supporting you on
this exciting project.  Please provide me with your concurrence
and/or revisions to this proposal.  I foresee many decisions yet
to be made and some likely to be put in abeyance.  For those items
we are ready to proceed, please determine the owners of each
activity and anticipated due dates; I will be happy to either
receive this information via EMAIL or phone, in which case I will
prepare a document for distribution.

I will await the Board's responses to Section A before I begin
work.

Warm Regards,

Michael Nistler
 

SECTION A: Detailed Activities

Each item below has four elements in this proposal, following a
project management approach:

***************
   Activity     - Description of the topic
   Task         - Summary of what needs to be done
   Owner        - Who owns the activity (needs assignment)
   Delivery Date - When task is due (needs assignment)
***************

ACTIVITY LISTING:

1. Activity: The District 21 Vision and Goals/Objectives should be
   clearly defined and supported.  The website should support the
   Board of Directors and the membership.   Thus, administrative
   personnel, including the web developer, must ensure resources
   and activities support the Board (see Step 5).  The Vision and
   Goals/Objectives should also be available on the website for
   the membership to view.  Additionally, the Board must give
   *special* consideration to the tradeoffs between the convenience
   and security of personal information.  Most District websites
   provide Board contact information; several also provide
   membership contact information.

***************
Project Management:
   Task: Prepare and distribute the District Vision and
   Goals/Objective document to web developer

   Owner: Marion Robertson, President

   Delivery Date: 2/16/03

***************


2. Activity: The District 21 website should accommodate
   communications both to the membership and facilitate feedback to
   the Board on a regular basis.  Too often websites and development
   personnel are "not in the loop," going off on their own tangent
   without teamwork.  The Board should determine the processes to
   provide and receive feedback from the website and the web
   developer.  Also, the Board should determine which clients should
   be supported by the website:

   a. Unit Members

   b. Directors (possibly supporting a private repository, requiring
      a login/password for access)

   c. Club Board of Directors (possible private repository)

   d. Club Owners (possible private repository)

   e. Bridge Teachers

   f. Potential Unit Members (inc. School Programs)

   g. Visiting ACBL Members (Tourney and Club)

   h. ACBL (Headquarters)

   i. Others (Vendors, Suppliers, etc)

***************
   Task: In support of Activity #1, document specific processes and
   clients that the website will enhance Board-membership
   communications (also refer to Activity #5).

   Owner: Marion Robertson, President

   Delivery Date: 2/16/03
***************


3. Activity: Determine website content and functionality.  Bridge
   websites can provide a wide array of content and features.

 Content:

   A. Intra-district Tournament Schedule (GNT, NAOP,
      Regional, Sectional), other key dates (Elections, etc)

   B. Selected ACBL-wide Tournament Schedule (NABC, StaC,
      special events)

   C. Results - ACBLScore Details

      a. Pointer to NABC results

      b. Regional

      c. Unit

      d. Hand sheets

   D. Unit support, especially for Clubs without websites
      (need to determine *how* much support)

      a. Unit Board contacts

      b. Unit Tournaments/Results

      c. Club Schedule, contacts, maps, etc

   E. Newsletter - Such as the UnitScope (we can easily copy
      the Contract Bridge Forum UnitScope to the District 21 site)

   F. President's Report - Used by some Districts

   G. Archive - store prior Newsletters, Results, Schedule,
      Board Minutes, Bridge Articles

   H. Charity - acknowledgment, recognition, status, results

   I. Board Documentation:

      a. Names, EMAIL, Phone Number, Address, Pictures

      b. Committee Contacts

      c. Meeting Minutes

      d. Financial

      e. Election Results

      f. Bylaws

      g. District Representative Report

      h. National

   J. Pictures

      a. Tournaments

      b. Officers

   K. Recognition

      a. Achievement - Tourney winners, District Top 100, etc

      b. Remembrance

   L. Membership

      a. Information on how ACBL works

      b. Initiatives, Campaigns, etc

      c. Contacts

   M. Education

      a. Teachers/Classes

      b. Intermediate/Newcomer Support

      c. Feature column (Bridge Articles, Solver Club)

      d. Junior Bridge, Schools

      e. Laws, Properties, Etiquette, etc.

   N. Links

      a. ACBL

      b. Educational

      c. News (as Great Bridge Links)

      d. Commercial (Online Bridge Service Providers, etc.)
         If so, what is the Board's policy on such links?

         1. For free - membership convenience

         2. Reciprocal - cross links to District 21 site

         3. Finder's fee - associate reimbursement, etc.

    O. Sitemap (graphical layout of website pages - easy to do)

 Features:

   P. Site Search, providing users the ability to find hard-to-find
      information, such as a member's name in tournament results.

   Q. Bulletin Board/Discussion Groups - Note: If supported on our
      own website, moderation an maintenance should be carefully
      considered.

      a. General Feedback to Board (a less elegant but straight
         forward method is to only provide EMAIL feedback to Board)

      b. General Discussion among Membership

      c. Surveys

      d. Partnership Desk (maybe point to "HiPard" commercial site)

   R. Hit page counter (vanity recognition)

   S. Website Statistics of Use

   T. Fun stuff (Latest News, Stocks, Weather)

***************
Project Management:
   Task: Select/Prioritize Content (above)

   Owner: Marion Robertson, President

   Delivery Date: 2/16/03
***************


4. Activity: Determine the appropriate website and development budget.
   The Board has developed a baseline monthly budget for web
   development which should provide for finite maintenance. <clip...>

***************
Project Management:
   Task: Select/Prioritize Content (Item 3 above)

   Owner: Marion Robertson, President

   Delivery Date: 2/16/03
***************
  
 
5. Activity: Redesign the website to support the District 21 Vision,
   Goals, and Objectives.  This involves developing a work schedule
   to complete the tasks in Step 3 above.

***************
Project Management:
   Task: Generate a project worklist and schedule after completion
   of Step 3 and 4 (above).  Complete the work list.  Provide status
   to Board.  Ancillary tasks - validate commercial search engine
   hits, linkages from ACBL and other sites to District 21, etc.

   Owner: Michael Nistler

   Delivery Date: 3/27/03
***************


6. Activity: Move the District 21 website to a robust
   Web Presence Provider.  The current ACBL website does not support
   robust functionality to support searching the site, discussion
   groups, secure login/password, counters/usage reports, subwebs,
   Newsfeeds: National, Worldwide, Stock ticker, Sports, etc.
   Also, "gold-level" Microsoft Web Presence Providers offer
   strong support and reliable servers/networks.

***************
Project Management:
   Task: Move District 21 content to a "gold-level" Microsoft Web
   Presence Provider (http://www.Innerhost.com , now Interland).
   Additionally, I recommend that District 21 obtain its own personalized URL
   (such as: http://www.d21acbl.com  )

   Owner: Michael Nistler

   Delivery Date: 3/24/02
***************


7. Notify the District 21 clients of website enhancements.
   The clients should be aware of enhancements to the
   District website as content, features, and functionality
   is available for the use.  Clients should also have various
   channels to provide feedback to the Board and webmaster.

***************
Project Management:
   Task: I recommend the webmaster provide the UnitScope Editor
   specific details regarding website enhancements.

   Owners: Michael Nistler, Rich Luttrell, Cindy Kirk

   Delivery Date: 3/12/03
***************