The demands of web management are constant and overwhelming.

There is waaaaaaay too much to do and, for most web teams, the resource needed to deliver it all is fantastically inadequate. With so little slack in the system, the risk is that something relatively minor will happen (e.g. a staff member goes on sick leave) and things just fall apart.

Failure is 'built in'.

It's time to expose these risks to senior decision makers in a way they can understand. If they're truly serious and sincere about their digital strategy (i.e. it's not just some woolly aspiration), they need to see the gaps so you can get the backup you need.

Here's how I do it.

Online. Operations. Organisation.

I examine web performance across 3 categories: Online, Operations and Organisation (more about these below).

I then rate each with a traffic-light score (red, amber, green) to indicate risk, along with actions for improvement. 

That's it.

The best part is that things *always* get better whenever I share this model with senior managers.

The results are so clear and so easily understood, they're hard to ignore. It has proved a great way to tell a simple story about web - and it can all be done on single slide.

Typically I get more resourcing (manpower, budget). Sometimes, I just get more understanding. But even understanding helps as it cuts the torrent of unreasonable demands placed on my team.

The 3 categories encompass all the elements upon which good digital delivery relies. As such, it successfully communicates the totality of your digital position in a meaningful way to non-experts.

Let's see how it works. (Read a more detailed description.)

1. Online

'Online' stands for my website itself.

My basic question is: Does this website meet minimum standards of quality and experience?

To find out, I benchmark the site against common delivery standards, e.g. UX, content, accessibility, performance, law/regulations, etc.

I then score the site (red, amber, green) and identify the issues with the greatest risk.

Aside from legal/regulatory compliance, 9 times out of 10 the biggest issues are always the same. Users can't find, read, understand or take action on the things they want.

That's right. The things that every website should be good at, are the things they are worst at. That is especially so for findability (though AI may soon fix that problem).

2. Operations

'Operations' stands for how my web team does things.

My basic question is: Does this team have the capability - manpower, skills, tools, procedures, etc - to carry out all essential activities needed to deliver a stable and successful web service?

To find out, I examine the scale of the site. I then score operations (red, amber, green) on whether the team has the resources needed for delivery.

If not, I isolate the gaps with the greatest risk and start to fix them.

Some of this is relatively easy, e.g. training the team with new skills.

Other parts are very hard, e.g. persuading senior managers to hire extra manpower.

3. Organisation

'Organisation' stands for the digital literacy of the institution I work for.

My basic question is: Does this organisation have the capacity (e.g. understanding, ambition, etc) to get the most from its investment in web?

The truth is that many organisations have very poor digital literacy (the traffic light flashes 'red'). This is clear in how they talk about web, e.g. 'redesigns!', FAQs, etc.

They're stuck in the 'art project' phase of digital maturity. They simply don't know that they don't know how to deliver web successfully.

They think they do, but they don't.

To promote awareness, I often establish 'digital knowledge sharing' programmes to bring colleagues and senior managers on a journey to a more sophisticated understanding . The aim is to help them get more bang-for-buck from web.

Overall, the strength of this model (the 'O3 model') is its simplicity.

As web professionals we need to get much, much better at communicating risks to digital delivery. This model is a great way to do it.

In my experience it always works. Find out how to use it in practice.

Labels: Content Design, Web Governance, Website Management