Web Governance:
An uncomfortable truth
(at least for the boss)
Some lessons from experience at IDS
Geoff Barnard
Web4Dev Conference: November 2006
www.ids.ac.uk
Circa 1996 – the early days
Our first institutional
website
Our first web
project: Eldis
Life was a lot simpler
The whole thing was an experiment
Governance was not a big issue
3-4 staff, tiny budget
www.ids.ac.uk
Ten years later
A whole array of
IDS sites, sub-sites,
partnership sites
A whole family of
knowledge services
60+ staff, 1/3 IDS income, 180,000 visitors/mo
www.ids.ac.uk
How things have changed
Then
Now
the
organisation
the organisation
the
website
the
website (s)
www.ids.ac.uk
The uncomfortable truth
The website is becoming a crucial part of the
organisations identity, profile and reputation
But who is it being managed by?
A new generation of
young, bright,
enthusiasts
Not the men in suits
www.ids.ac.uk
There is no alternative
Senior managers don’t know enough about
how the web works and is evolving
Editorial processes have to be light-touch,
otherwise the system would grind to a halt
The subject experts are generally not that
interested in communicating
Good websites require creativity, energy and
ongoing commitment
The work has to be delegated and
decentralised, or it won’t get done
www.ids.ac.uk
Implications
Organisations are being turned upside-down,
and inside-out
Fantastic opportunities for junior and mid-level
staff to make difference
Senior management may not have woken up
to the implications of this yet
When they do, they could get quite worried!
There are quite a range of potential risks
(reputation, IPR, business processes, etc.)
So how does one make this work?
www.ids.ac.uk
The web team’s dilemma: caught
in the middle
The
Funders
The
Advisory
Group
The Web
Team
The Boss
especially
important
The Users
The
Contributors
www.ids.ac.uk
A typology of bosses
Where you
want to be
Type 1:
Type 2:
Type 3:
Type 4:
Disengaged
and not
interested
Disengaged
but
supportive
Engaged
and
Supportive
Engaged
but too
interested
www.ids.ac.uk
Ingredients for a success:
systems and procedures
Clear objectives – purpose, audience, role
Clarity on branding
Clarity on values
Clear editorial guidelines
Explicit disclaimers – especially for interactive areas
Simple but effective quality control loops
A challenging, but supportive, advisory group
Thoughtful monitoring & evaluation
Good user feedback channels
www.ids.ac.uk
Ingredients for a success:
the people side
Empowering the web team to get on with the job
Careful recruitment
Good training and back-up
Feeling supported and valued
Scope for personal and professional development
Room for reflection and learning
Strong support when things go wrong
www.ids.ac.uk
The result
A strong and motivated web team that is a real
credit to the organisation, and a constant
source of new ideas and new blood
www.ids.ac.uk