Feb. 23, 2004 SLO STC Event Summary

At this standing-room-only event, an eclectic gathering of technical professionals and students contemplated how careers in Web technology have progressed significantly since the early days when creating Web sites involved blissful, single-handed tinkering with a couple of display options and a few simple tools. In contrast, today's Web professionals typically specialize in distinct Web technology domains. They work in teams with other specialists, juggling and meshing advanced skills and roles.

Speakers Jeremy LaDuque, Stuart Helmintoller, and Michael Boyer Providing these valuable insights were our panelists (shown from left to right), local experts Jeremy LaDuque of New Image Technologies™, Stuart Helmintoller of Helmintoller.com, and Michael Boyer of Web Associates. (See further speaker details at bottom.)

Each speaker brought a different perspective to the discussion, based on his company's particular niches. Stuart, now an independent, works with small “Mom and Pop” Web sites and many others; Jeremy's company primarily caters to local businesses; and Michael's firm deals mostly with major, non-local clients such as Apple Computer and Hewlett-Packard.

During the engaging question-and-answer session, our audience members lamented the difficulties of trying to stay abreast of the latest developments. It was a small comfort to learn that each of our panelists remembered a time in their careers when they themselves knew nothing about the Web, and relatively little about computer technology.

Drawing on education and experience in fields such as business, advertising, and fine arts, each has evolved with the times, perceiving the many benefits that emerging Web technology could offer themselves and their clients.

What is a “Web developer,” anyway?

Various Internet definitions for the term characterize a “Web developer” as a person or company that handles the programming aspects of building a Web site, creating graphics, adding pictures, creating links, and the like. A Web developer might also be a Web designer, but typically has more database and engineering experience.

One of the most important discoveries of the evening pertained to the limitations of this term, which we had used to craft our original list of questions (see bottom). According to our panelists, it offers an inadequate description of the array of specialized skills required today.

The label is “too broad,” said Jeremy. “Information crosses over all these lines. A single person needs to specialize in a few of these things, but I would not look for a ‘Web developer.’ One person can't be all of these things any longer; each component has become too deep and too broad in scope.”

Our panelists concurred that describing yourself as a “Web developer” on a résumé can cause hiring managers to question your understanding of the field. Emphasizing a specialization such as project manager, graphic designer, software engineer, HTML architect, information architect, content developer, content publisher, or Web systems engineer will appear far more credible.

“We have positions for each of these areas,” said Michael. For instance, “We need database specialists, designers, and user interface designers.”

Further, the roles overlap, Jeremy explained. For example, “We would want a graphic designer who really knows HTML,” he said, to be more savvy about the quality of the code generated by a program such as Fireworks.

Core skills needed by all specialists

The basics. Although time constraints prevented us from discussing all the requirements for each role, our panelists listed the fundamental skills every team member should have:

Seeing the big picture. Michael, Stuart, and Jeremy emphasized that perceiving the appropriate application of technology is far more important than having a dazzling set of technology skills. Keeping the high-level view in mind at all times — what a customer is trying to accomplish via a Web site — is paramount. Routinely considering the tradeoffs among methods and technologies should be part of the team's philosophy behind doing the work. This approach ensures that each Web site will accurately reflect the client's business goals.

“We look for someone with core understanding of various skills,” Michael said. He added that the “one thing we lack” is people with business backgrounds, indicating his company is more interested in people with “business acumen” than people with computer skills but no clear understanding of business.

With an understanding of business, Stuart explained, the designer can “back up why (s)he designed a site a certain way and how this braces the client's business needs. That’s all because the Web site is used as a business tool,” he said. Further, “the logos and information really need to reflect what the client wants. I always go to the user point of view,” Stuart noted in explaining how he approaches development.

“Again, it comes back to understanding the business,” Michael said. “If we talk about your coding, we won’t get anywhere. We’re there to make the Web site perform, and make it better according to the needs of the client.”

Understanding what Web development is like today. A discussion of current trends helped illustrate the skills most needed by individual team members. Key points that emerged from the conversation included the following:

Jeremy described Web development as a “rapid deployment process by nature,” and added that, “as a client learns more, (s)he wants more. The client knows you can change it, so you have to build something designed to change.” Even though Web development software is available that is fairly simple to use, 90 percent of the clients "don’t want to go in that direction,” Jeremy said.

Ease of content updating is another popular client preference. “None of our customers needs to know HTML,” said Michael. Jeremy's and Michael's companies both build Web sites with proprietary software that allows customers to make their own content changes. “All the client does is log into the control panel” to make changes, Jeremy said.

How does an information architect differ from other specialists?

“Some really hard-to-fill positions are information architects,” said Michael, with reference to a current opening in Web Associates’ nearly four-dozen employee group. This observation surfaced during the panel discussion about this particular specialization.

What is an information architect? According to various definitions on the Internet, information architects analyze and design content. They are responsible for building the information product models, element models, metadata, reuse strategies, and architectural models. They also may define user flow, site content, and navigational structures for user experiences; and develop content diagrams, narrative structures, clickstream analyses, schematic layouts, and navigational prototypes.

What's unique about the role? The information architect “drives the site development and works with designers and engineering,” Michael explained. The job requirements, however, often include skills that go far beyond those of Web designers, as evidenced by recent job descriptions. Those skills include usability, human factors, business process analysis, technical communication, focus group facilitation, and data modeling experience. (As a point of contrast, a project manager is a generalist who also may specialize in some of these areas but must understand how all of the roles and skills on a team interrelate.)

What skills are most important? We asked our speakers to elaborate on how someone can ever adequately prepare for an information architect position. Our panelists help set the record straight about the skills needed to perform in this role:

Stuart, an independent contractor after six years with Web Associates, noted “there’s a lot of opportunity out there” for people who want to work in the field of Web technology. “There are still a lot of businesses that don’t have Web sites, or need to have Web sites revamped. A lot of people don’t need a big Web development company,” he said.

To reduce the intimidation factor, people who go into the field and find they don’t know some aspects of Web development while dealing with a project can “farm out any of the critical aspects of what they do,” Stuart said. He often partners with a back-end programmer to complete the sites he designs.

More links to information. Besides getting an education, people who are thinking about getting into the field of Web technology need a thorough grounding in terminology. Three Web sites, WhatIs.com, the computer section of About.com, and Grokdotcom.com offer information, as does the international STC Web site and a host of other resources on the Internet.

To have access to a wide variety of technical publications online, consider the Safari Books Online service.

“Careers in Web Technology”
Date:	Monday evening, February 23, 2004
Speakers:	Jeremy LaDuque is the co-founder, president, and CEO of New Image Technologies™. Since 1999, Jeremy and his team of experts have successfully partnered with dozens of companies in diverse industries to assist businesses with solving their most critical challenges through the strategic implementation of Web technology. Prior to starting New Image Technologies, Jeremy was a key member of the client support system for TCI, a Fortune 100 company; and Director of Web Services at Best 1 Internet. Stuart Helmintoller is a former employee and part owner of Web Associates. Stuart is a Web developer and fine artist with expertise in marketing, project management, site design and production, information architecture, and multimedia for online deployment. After six years with Web Associates, Stuart started his own Web development company, Helmintoller.com. Since 1995 he has built hundreds of Web pages for Apple Computer, Hewlett Packard, and many other companies, both large and small. Michael Boyer is Vice President of Professional Services at Web Associates. Prior to joining Web Associates, Michael was VP of Marketing at Platinum Services as well as VP of Operations at Global Software Solutions, Inc. Michael has also held director and senior director positions at Copper Mountain Trust, USWeb/CKS, and marchFIRST. In 1996, he founded Hucksters, Inc., a full-service advertising agency devoted to helping small and medium-sized businesses with their marketing and design needs. Hucksters was acquired in 1999.
Description:	“Careers in Web Technology” engaged the principals of leading San Luis Obispo Web design and development companies in an in-depth look at what they seek in Web professionals today. We learned in a relaxed, informal setting what we need to know to qualify for Web-related career opportunities. Here are some of the questions our panelists addressed: 1) What is a Web developer today? Is it a project manager, graphic designer, software engineer, HTML architect (presentation wizard), information architect, content developer, content publisher, Web systems engineer, or a combination of the above? 2) What core skills are needed for typical Web developer positions, and how are they evolving? 3) For positions that go beyond traditional “Web development,” how important is each type of skill set, and what's the best way for people to round out their expertise? For example, information architect positions require the following additional experience: usability human factors business process analysis technical communication focus group facilitation data modeling 4) What role does the information architect or Web Developer assume with respect to the larger team and how does that affect his or her responsibilities? 5) What opportunities are emerging for those who want to become independent Web developers? 6) What distance learning or local educational resources are available to train people in each key area? Would it behoove us to find a way to offer specialized training in our community, especially to make Web positions easier to fill? Don't miss this rare opportunity to hear and interview some of our local Web technology employers. Learn about the trends and opportunities emerging in this dynamic field!