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Archives for October 2013

Updating websites – a case study between two different groups

October 8, 2013 by Jen

Future Past + Presence

In a recent web update project I worked with lots of different groups to update various sections of the organisation’s website. Two of those subsites were quite large and therefore a lot more complex than the other smaller, and mostly easier to update, subsites.

The two groups were quite similar in a few ways:

  • they weren’t located near me
  • there were quite a few people working in the groups which meant I had to consult with a number of staff to get the content I needed
  • their content was quite outdated.

I started off by doing a content audit and then setup meetings with relevant staff.

Both websites should have taken about the same time to complete as they were similar in size but one took much longer to complete because the group had ‘other priorities’. They were described as hostile to me later on, and yes, they mostly were.

However, I completed both group’s updates and despite the difference in attitude from them the methods I employed worked for both groups.

Co-location

Remember that I wasn’t co-located with either group and had large numbers of staff to deal with.

It became obvious that emailing and phoning people wasn’t going to work and I suggested to my manager that I go and join them to really focus on the work.

Finally I went and started working with the first group. I was lucky that I was in an office with a couple of people who were really cooperative and had lots of visitors. I started introducing myself to everyone who came into the office and if their name was familiar as someone I needed to consult I asked if they had a minute or if I could setup a meeting to discuss web updates.

Even though I was located with this group there were still people who made my work really difficult. I’d see one man in the hallway who kept putting me off and he’d laugh every time he saw me because he knew I was going to ask him for something. I knew that these people were busy but I still had to get my work done and project deadlines to meet.

I’m nothing if not persistent and when I finally went over this particular man’s head his boss walked him to my office and we spent two productive hours together going over web content.

This is what I was up against. But I couldn’t have done it if I wasn’t situated with them. There’s something to be said for popping into someone’s office to ask them how they’re going with my requests. It helped that the project was backed by senior management.

When I eventually finished this particular website I pumped my fists into the air and went home and collapsed. I felt ill so couldn’t even celebrate with a well-deserved drink.

Short meetings

When I finished with that group I was immediately placed with the other large group who were a lot more receptive to having me update the website. That made a lot of difference. The culture was completely different to the first group which really helped.

I’d already done quite a bit of work prior to my move – with the help of their communications people.

I was at the stage where I needed approvals from two very busy managers. From my experience with the previous group I knew that making meetings was the way to go. Emails get ignored if people are busy with other work, but if you make a meeting and sit with a person then they can’t ignore you.

I setup weekly meetings with the two managers at half an hour a time. You can get through a lot in half an hour.

I was always prepared with a list of questions I needed answering or draft content I needed approval for. We’d sit there together while they read through the content and update it on the spot. I’d write down answers to my questions and that would be enough to keep me going until the next time unless I had a quick question I could ask inbetween meetings.

Both managers said that this method suited them really well. Half an hour out of a busy day doing something a bit different for them is a good distraction and we always achieved things.

I updated the websites in record time and even stayed on for a couple of weeks to do some other out-of-scope work for them.

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What do high school kids do in school holidays?

October 3, 2013 by Jen

Just incase we forget his name.

It’s school holidays here at the moment and my son’s in vacation care. It’s very handy for me as a working parent who doesn’t have other options.

It’s very handy that he’s still in primary school and vacation care is an option for him.

However, it’s not going to be too far away until he’s no longer eligible for vacation care because it’s only for primary school aged children.

I’m not worried about after school care because by the time he gets home I won’t be that far away and he’s been doing a bit of that here and there  and he and I are fine with it.

But what about school holidays? I don’t want to leave him alone at home for hours on end while I’m at work and because I work I don’t want to rely on other parents who don’t work to shoulder the load. He reckons he’d be okay but I think he’ll get bored.

I see some school holiday activities advertised for high school age children in Adelaide, eg Carclew, but what other options are there? Sports programs maybe?

What do other people do?

I need ideas please and then I can update this post to share with others. UPDATED below with all-day activities for high school kids.

School holiday ideas for high school kids in Adelaide, South Australia

  • YMCA school holiday camps for kids 7-17 years old. These seem to last for a few days and the cost a few hundred dollars.
  • Wirraway Muster camps for kids 10 and older. These last for a few days and is run by a not for profit Christianity group, so religion is a part of the camps.
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I don’t really need a new car but I’d like one

October 2, 2013 by Jen

Yellow field

Remember that car accident I mentioned recently that my sister and nephew were in?

Of course the car was written off, well both cars were. The other driver had no insurance apart from the compulsory insurance you pay for with registration. They’d been visiting family nearby and I wonder if they were unfamiliar with country driving? It’s quite different from city driving.

So my sister rang up a car yard in Adelaide and bought a car over the phone after seeing it online. It was a second hand one but had only done 1000kms. I got to pick it up and drive it over to her all the while being petrified I’d scratch it or crash it. Luckily that didn’t happen.

I put a photo of me and the car on Facebook so now many of my Facebook friends think I have a new car. I don’t. If they didn’t read the comments many of them still think I have a new car. I still have my 14 year old sedan that’s doing just fine. However, I did get new car envy with things like Bluetooth, and buttons on the steering wheel I can’t read without my glasses, and an on-board navigation system. Wow. Technology. When I got my current car I thought it was great to have a CD player.

We stayed the night at my sister’s and all I saw was car yard ads. Is the universe telling  me something? My son seems to think so as he keeps dropping hints about our old car and that we should have a new one.

Usually when I go over to my sisters or parents around this time of year I see paddocks full of yellow flowering canola, but this year it was just paddocks full of yellow weeds as in the above photo. I’m not sure what plant it is but I think it’s weeds. Maybe I’m wrong.

So, how old’s your car?

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