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ROLES IN A WEB INTEGRATION PROJECT

Roles in a web integration project

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Implementing a web integration project requires the involvement of a number of specialists in various roles. Which ones those are, on the part of the web integrator, is described in this article.

Also, you should not miss the previous part of the article series about web integration – Web integration project phases. It is a must-read!

The term role involves a set of activities carried out by one or more members of staff during project implementation. They can be specialists in various fields, as required by the project in hand.

The involvement of and need for individual roles is determined primarily by the project phase and only secondarily by technological or methodological considerations. The individual web integration project phases are described in a separate article; they are:

  • Preparing an introductory study and defining project goals.
  • Information architecture, prototype and implementation specification.
  • Creating graphic designs.
  • Development and testing.
  • Expansion and support.

However, a phase itself does not strictly determine the involvement of a selected role in the project. Some of the roles are with the project from its start to its completion, supervising the continuity of the entire project.

The basic roles of a web integration project

In general, each member of staff can play multiple roles (although this is not common for web integration projects due to their size) and cover multiple fields of expertise. Considering the extent of projects, it is typical for a role to be played by several staff members with varying levels of experience (seniority).

Internal owner

The importance of a strong internal owner on the client’s part is mentioned in tip #6 for a successful web integration project. The project owner on the part of the contractor (web integrator) is a person with overall responsibility for project success in the context of the client’s business. They do not directly participate in project implementation but supervise and co-manage the client’s expectations. An analogy on the client’s part is the role of project sponsor.

Web consultant

A consultant participating in the preparation of the introductory study (concept) of the web and definition of goals. Together with the client, they analyse the client’s needs and design the solution at the highest level of abstraction. They have to clearly understand the client’s needs and be able to design the implementation of the needs using web technologies, although still independent of the operating platform. They are intensively involved in the phase of designing the information architecture and prototype. They collaborate with the architect of the selected platform on the implementation specification.

In their outputs, they naturally make use of the expertise of specialists such as:

  • Web analyst – provides information about user behaviour within the existing solution with respect to the selected analytical tool.
  • User interface designer – prepares a wire-frame prototype at the selected level of detail.
  • Information architect – proposing the overall organization of the content, content structure, navigation and interrelationship between pieces of information.
  • Business analyst – provides contact between project implementers and the client. They are responsible for understanding existing and future business processes and needs and their impact on the solution as well as how the proposed solution will affect the processes.

UI/UX designer

The role that gives the project a specific look with respect to restrictions defined by the client, regulations and standards, selected target devices and other circumstances.

There are also a number of specialists involved…

  • Creative designer
  • Web DTP specialist
  • Flash designer
  • UI tester

Analyst

Meaning a software analyst here. As web integration projects involve a large portion of non-trivial specific functionality, this role is crucial for successful implementation of this phase. An analyst already works with software engineering tools, still at a level independent of the operating platform.

The roles of web consultant and analyst define, together with the client, WHAT is to be implemented.

Architect

The role of architect is the one designing the solution as defined by the web consultant and analyst, with respect to the technology/operating platform chosen. The architect defines HOW the project should be implemented and contributes greatly to the implementation specification.

The role is often divided into sub-roles covering individual portions of design:

Architect of the selected operating/portal platform

Working strictly at the level of what a given platform allows without additional development. They specify how the information architecture will be mapped onto the resources of the selected platform and maximize the ability to utilize existing components. Thus, specializations can be derived primarily from knowledge of the selected operating/portal platform.

Software architect

Devises the method of implementation of functionally specific parts, including their coverage by functional or non-functional tests.

Technical architect

Designs the operating infrastructure in terms of its expected load, required availability and security.

Developer

The role taking care of the development of functionally specific parts and/or necessary adjustments to existing functionality. The developer sticks to the provided design and functionality description. Any deviation from the devised method of implementation is undesirable and poses a risk to the result of the project itself as well as to its future expansion. A number of specialists can be involved in the project, depending on the individual tiers of the three-tier development model:

  • Data tier: SQL developer
  • Application tier: developer for the selected technology (JAVA, .NET, PHP, etc.) with respect to the selected operating/portal platform.
  • Presentation tier: front-end developer – coder (HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Flesh/Flex, etc.)

Delivery manager

For projects that require the involvement of a development team, as is almost always the case with web integration projects, the role of delivery manager is responsible for leadership and operational management of the development team and its outputs towards the project manager and the client.

Operations specialist (ICT Support)

The role ensuring technical infrastructure will be implemented in line with the technical architect’s design. It is common for this role to provide all necessary competences by means of selected partners/specialists rather than personally.

Tester

The role of tester, or testing team member, makes sure the solution meets defined functional and non-functional requirements. For the fundamental principle of testing in a web integration project, refer to “Quality management and software testing in web integration”.

  • Test manager – coordinates the testing team, specifies the responsibilities of each member and is responsible for the method of planning, implementation and reporting.
  • Test analyst and test designer – creates tests and testing procedures, chooses appropriate testing tools and makes decisions on the test environment and test data.
  • Tester – runs selected tests, including error reporting, and documents the results.

For information concerning the composition of a testing team, see a separate article.

Project manager

The role responsible for the proper planning, management and evaluation of a project according to the project methodology chosen, including the formal aspect of management. They do not necessarily have technical know-how; however, knowledge of web solutions is an advantage for them as it makes them able to serve as a consultant to the client in the advanced phases of the project.

Client service

Client service staff are responsible for maintaining and expanding the solution under agreed response and resolution conditions.

The above roles are typical and suitable for the conventional waterfall development model, albeit with some parallelized activities. Agile methodologies, such as SCRUM, do not adhere to the division of roles as described in this article.

Naturally, there are other roles involved in addition to the roles mentioned in this article, depending on the specific PM methodology chosen – e.g. PMBOK, which will be discussed on the Web Integration website some other time.

You can now follow to the next part – article called: How to apply the principles of three-tier architecture in a web integration project.

WEB INTEGRATION PROJECT PHASES

Web integration project phases

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Ensuring that phasing and setting appropriate stages for development are the key aspects of a web integration project in terms of its ultimate success.

Also, you should not miss the previous part of the article series about web integration – What is a corporate web portal and what are its goals? It is a must-read!

In the article 10 tips for a successful web integration project one of the suggestions was breaking down the project into specific parts. Phasing the development enables you to respond flexibly to demands that arise as the project develops. We recommend a phase length of around three months. If it is longer, there is a greater risk of changes to requirements, forcing work already carried out to be done again. In turn, this can increase project costs.

Project work is divided into several phases, which can be carried out both as part of the individual stages and as part of the project as a whole. On the other hand, a single phase – often development – can be divided into stages.

WEB INTEGRATION PROJECT PHASES IMAGE

1.Setting up a feasibility study and defining project goals

It is frequently the case that the project leaders define goals.  There is therefore a need to be specific and define goals particular to different sectors and, in some cases, for different target groups. It is also important to define metrics, which indicate goal fulfilment, in terms of visitor numbers, business or process goals or others.

2. Information and content architecture, prototype and implementation specification

This step deals with two basic questions: WHAT and HOW the project will be carried out. WHAT refers to the information/content architecture and the prototype, and, of course, with a suitable description of individual parts. For a more complicated specific functionality, which will require special conditions, software engineering suitable for describing such parts can be used (e.g. UML). Such a part should have maximum independence in terms of technology and is appropriate as documentation for tender proceedings for the supply of further parts of the development.

The HOW refers to the implementation specifications, which take into account specific questions about settings and operation. Output in the form of a document should clearly describe how the qualities applied to the platform will be used and how a specific of the functionality will be implemented, how any integration links will be created, data storage will be operated, and how technical architecture will be implemented, including future deployment. The issue of information migration is also important.

3. Creating graphic designs

The graphic designs define the solution’s visual appearance. In the second step it is important to identify key (node) pages which require separate design, and a uni page template should be created too, which also defines the appearance of the content elements used in the  user interface (buttons, links, tables, forms…). The graphic design is most often implemented in two stages. In the first stage, alternative proposals for the design are prepared in the form of a home page (or selected subpages) and a design is then selected, which will be worked up into the chosen number of key pages.

4. Development and testing

Development itself can be divided into several activities running in parallel. There is therefore an option to create a prototype directly on the existing platform relatively fast and start working on the content as quickly as possible. Despite the “simplicity” of the content, it is often the cornerstone of the entire project.

Installing and configuring the platform on either development or operating environment. It is recommended to address the issue of installation on the operating environment (hosting) at the very beginning of the project so any potential problems can be detected on time and they can be resolved.

  • Site building – preparation of the portal structure, including setting the language version, security, and user rights. Of course, it is better to have a platform where these issues can be addressed without the need for developers.
  • Content building – frequently includes content migration, which due to its nature requires the cooperation of developers. If content is addressed only at the level of working with the platform, or with the CMS, it is possible to start immediately after platform preparation, depending on the options, or, in cooperation with the site building part.
  • HTML coding requires a completed layout, but it can be worked on in parallel with site building and content building.
  • When programming new functionalities, the procedures of the chosen method are adhered to. Programming can be further divided into individual parts according to priorities, or possible independence of individual parts (modules). Subsequent testing undergoes several methods – every output of every project phase must be checked! You can read more about testing in Quality management and software testing in web integration.

Development ends with the project launch – either into the pilot phase or production phase.

Maintenance and support

The work does not stop after the project ends. Further development is essential in terms of project success and its flexibility, with regard to the changing customer needs. As was mentioned in the 10 tips for a successful web integration project article, it is vital to ensure guaranteed accessibility and development support (service).

You can now follow the next part – article called: Roles in a web integration project.

PRINCIPLES AND TOPOLOGY OF WEB INTEGRATION

Principles and topology of web integration

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This article outlines the basic ways of linking (integration) of systems/applications that meet integration criteria. It also defines what integration is not.

Also, you should not miss the previous part of the article series about web integration – 10 tips for a successful web integration project. It is a must-read!

In practice, a web integration project is different from system integration in terms of the principles of integration links. Under system integration, we can frequently talk about (at the highest level of abstraction) integration links between individual parts of a system. This corresponds to the network topology, when one component can be interconnected with one or more other components. Alternatively (and in ideal cases), system integration can refer to bus topology, where individual components are system integrated into a single joint platform for exchanging information between them (ESB – Enterprise Service Bus).

In general, a web integration project can be depicted by a star diagram featuring a central point for the integration links of all the necessary parts (of course, connecting on an internal data bus is another possibility). It is therefore the case that the solution comprises outputs from different sources, which can also be external.

Principles and topology of web integration

What criteria must integration fulfil?

Linking several systems (or system outputs) to a functional portal requires adherence to certain principles, which enable further smooth development of the portal and will not impede any changes carried out in the future.

Connecting information but not pages

The goal is to achieve centralised presentation of information taken from various sources as well as a central link-up of information, which is then distributed to different target systems. Essentially, the focus should be on information/data rather than the application as a whole and in some cases “pages“. A whole range of software procedures exists for data integration, e.g. the link up at the data level, provision of structured data, web services in SOAP format, REST or other standards. Such a connection enables data to be worked with to the fullest extent on the portal level, without limiting the appearance of the website.

Enabling individual output visualisation

The user experience (UX) is currently of key importance for web solutions. Users want a simple, easy to use and comprehensible interface, with minimum effort required to achieve the desired outcome, regardless of the end equipment used (desktop, mobile, tablet, smart TV, information kiosk) – known as multichannel information provision.

Given the length of the portal life cycle, allowances should be made for changes (improvements) to the qualities mentioned above over time. During its life, the portal will undergo several overhauls, and the graphics will tend to change, according to marketing requirements (seasonal aspects, special offers, and events). Each of these situations requires integration links, which provide full visual control of the data on the portal level (the iFrame, as mentioned above, does not).

Security

When the issue of security of transferred data is paramount, the chosen solution should comply with security requirements. In addition to security on the network/communication level, an interface should be selected that enables user identity to be processed, based on which correct data are accessible.

If the right interface is selected, it is no problem to centrally manage access on the portal level on the portal level, and to external data.

Efficiency, stability and accessibility

The demands for stablity and accesibility of a solution itself often predetermines the method chosen for integration. For large data transfers, off-line connections are often used, where the data is transferred in batches in timed intervals. One example is catalogue generation in an e-shop.

On the other hand, in applications requiring a direct connection to internal systems, e.g. for verifying specific data on clients, an on-line method of question-answering with sufficient capacity should be chosen.

Integration connectors are also chosen with regard to the required accessiblity of the whole solution because arranging the link must be in line with such solution accessibility.

Platform independence

The Internet world is diverse; individual systems/applications are operated on a number of platforms, written in a variety of programme languages and providing various interfaces. Despite this, a whole range of standards is available (e.g. RFC), which makes connection easier.

When designing Integration links, a solution must be chosen based on these standards and enables individual parts to be replaced, without the need to make changes to another page, i.e. when preserving a defined interface.

What integration is not

In practice, it is very common to come across connection requirements systems/applictions, which not only offer an appropriate interface (web services, API, structured outputs and the data linking option). Such examples are often resolved with the help of a HTML tag iframe and reading external content. In these cases, the issue is not simply about integration. No integration criteria are fulfilled, and in practice the most frequent problem is the content displayed on various media, when changes are made to the design. When designing the project as a whole, a similar system is required, which does not provide suitable interfaces to identify on time (ideally) and include them in the project so that it is appropriate for integration.

Another frequent example is sending data by e-mailing, usually using an online form. In addition to the unreliability of the channel (e-mail) there are concerns that a connection does not meet all the above requirements, especially of security, efficiency and platform independence.

Author’s note: in my entire work experience, the biggest nightmare is when the client says, “It’s just a simple form. Send the filled-in information by email – that’s all you need to do.“

You can now follow the next part – article called: What is a corporate web portal and what are its goals?

10 TIPS FOR A SUCCESSFUL WEB INTEGRATION PROJECT

10 tips for a successful web integration project

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General advice on how to successfully carry out a web integration project.

Also, you should not miss the previous part of the article series about web integration – How to select a web integrator? It is a must-read!

Tip 1: Project benefits

Define clear goals for what you want your project to achieve and why you want to carry it out. They need not always be business-related (although obviously this is the case in most instances). However, it is important to quantify the benefits, so you should create metrics, which will show.

Creating a solution often involves a whole range of goals for the client.  But most often, this involves:

  • Supporting the business goals of the client. The web portal is often the only way you can come into contact with your target groups. It will determine the success of your goods or services, and more generally the satisfaction of the target user. Yes – a corporate web portal should generate income.
  • Lowering the burden on dispatch (improving self-service capability) – easy to navigate and user-friendly interface makes it easy for user requests to be met and therefore reducing the need for additional services.
  • Education – plenty of information, which is presented the right way, should educate the user.
  • A strong communication tool. Of course, the portal is always a website, and is an important communication channel to inform customers. But it also a means for them to inform us – both as feedback (contact form, advice and questions), and indirectly, through analyses of visitor behaviour (visitor analysis).
  • Simplification (in some cases going as far as automisation) of data transfer.

Tip 2: Break down project development into specific parts

“All-inclusive“ projects, where all functionalities are regarded as a priority, and completing them for launching is crucial too, highlight that it is not possible to identify key areas for fulfilling defined goals with regard to their time and financial demands.

Phasing the development enables you to react flexibly to orders being made during portal development. Ideally, the phases that you plan should last approximately three months. A portal development project requires constant attention and effort to continually improve functionality, to monitor the activities of your competitors, and to react to client comments. Take of the advantage of the flexibility offered by the Internet.

Tip 3: Get the web integrator involved in time.

Good partnership is a foundation for success. Involving a web integrator in the early phase of the project increases the chance of a better quality solution. A good integrator sees the situation as a whole and suggests improvements that are acceptable in terms of price, even when your team would not even know about such solutions.

Choose a web integrator with whom you would like to establish a long-term partnership. The web integrator will take account of your interests and help to you to meet your budget goals/comply with limitations, through effective and tried and tested proposals in the early phase of the project. You can then avoid costly remakes and launching the functional qualities when finances have been used up before the project is completed.

Tip 4: Ask about complete services

Check whether your web integrator will be responsible for the whole project. What type of activities does it entail? Is it appropriate to consult your partner?  You should not be burdened with routine operations; instead you should concentrate on meeting project goals and resolving conceptual issues.

Tip 5: Data migration and existing websites

The existing website, in some form another, is always there. The website is indexed in search engines (which have a specific “SEO” value), and you should consider the correct preservation of reverse links. But you should be critical of the existing structure and content. Take advantage of the project involving editing texts from a copywriter to revise and simplify the material. In practice, large sections of text are not looked at and updated.

Tip 6: Find a strong internal owner and sponsor

In order for your project to be successful, you need support from the highest level of management – you need to have someone pushing down from the top. Without such pressure, clearly determined competences can often cause impediments to the internal team, in particular in issues of responsibility for the project or parts of it. An internal “grafter“, is needed, who will treat the project as his/her own. Internal deadlines will need to be monitored, and without a fired-up project manager in your team, the project will not work.

Naturally the project roles assigned to others: internal guarantors who are experts, consultants, technicians, etc. All must be clearly motivated to ensure the project is successfully completed.

Tip 7: Remember your users

  • The web should be not for yourself but identied target groups of users, and the overall implementation should be in line with how they see the project.  During the progress of the project and in later development you should test and try out various options, for which there are various tools, e.g.UX testing, AB testing, etc.
  • Create prototypes – modern design tools allow you to create prototypes with a “clickable” format (without involving a graphic designer). Doing so allows you to test various assumptions in the initial analytical phase and avoid unnecessary remakes and increasing project costs.
  • Provide information that the user wants, not what you want.
  • User-friendliness, ease of navigation and accessibility are vital components for the success of a portal. Details, such as colour ranges and visuals are secondary (if they are not in conflict with accessibility rules).
  • Bear user diversity in mind – different users have browsers and mobile platforms. They also have varying degrees of restrictions. Make the portal fit them, and accommodate the needs of users.
  • Provide information, not pages. The portal should provide information via a number of channels, such as RSS feeds, XML exports and web services.

Tip 8: Guaranteed accessibility of the project or part it

The solution, or part of it, is often critical in terms of your business processes. You should ask that your web integrator provides a sufficient guarantee of accessibility when determining the number of visitors (load).

Secure guarantees by a service level agreement (SLA), which can help define issues of response times to different defect categories, rules of service responses and the recovery process. In addition, it can also help define other competences as part of the operations, taking into account the physical breakdown into the HW environments of the client, supplier or others.

Tip 9: Guaranteed support and development of the solution and service

In view of the project phasing and changing market conditions, it is well worth ensuring sufficiently flexible work conditions for developing the solution, not only in terms of rectifying mistakes but also, and in particular timely responses to new orders. In addition, the web integrator should ensure consistency in meeting goals in these orders.

Work only starts when the project is launched.

Tip 10: A suitable platform

The choice of an appropriate application and web/portal platforms (Web Building Platform and Content Management System) is fundamental for the development of specific functionalities, ensuring operation of the web aspects of the solution (webhosting, cloud computing, clustering), and for further development and the right solution, including all the necessary guarantees.

There are many portal technologies on the market, from leading global suppliers to smaller and medium-sized companies. It is crucial that the web integrators have experience in the selected type of platform and can prove that they have used the platform, by means of specific references matching your project, in terms of type and scope.

You can now follow the next part – article called: Principles and topology of web integration.

HOW TO SELECT A WEB INTEGRATOR?

How to select a web integrator?

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Choosing the right partner will determine the success of your project.

Also, you should not miss the previous part of the article series about web integration – Do you need a web integrator? It is a must-read!

Once you decide that your project requires a web integrator, you should then, of course, focus on finding the right web one.

As with system integration, the solution supplied by a web integrator is not a commodity. Rather, it involves service delivery, frequently on a long-term basis, which is closely connected with business processes and can impact your business or functioning for many years to come. Like the search for employees and partners, selecting a web integrator does not solely depend on your precisely defined requirements, but on mutual understanding too.

Professional requirements of a web integrator

The staff of a web integrator must have a wide range of knowledge and skills, ranging from a grasp of marketing and communications, web analysis, web and software architecture, communication interfaces, communication standards, and hardware configurations (sizing, monitoring and performance tuning of the operational environment) to an excellent knowledge of the principles and processes underpinning the project.

The web integrator must also have a sufficiently extensive partner network, which will allow it to carry out all activities essential for the project to operate succesfully.

You should ask about

  • Staffing. The experience of key staff, who will be involved in carrying out the project. They are pivotal in ensuring that it moves forward successfully. People with know- how are human; how good they are and their experience will determine the project implementation method.
  • Methodology and procedures. The partners will apply these in project implementation.
  • Tools used in the project. Tools jointly used by the staff and specified by the procedures form a single entity. The choice of the right Web Building Platform and Content Management System, whose quality standard and open nature make development easy, especially the further development of the solution. The quality of the outputs of course is influenced by a whole range of other factors, especially software tools (web analyses, operational environments, development platforms, etc.).
  • References. Practical experience, best confirmed by a client, is a testament to the experience of the supplier. You should ask about case studies,  if you can visit the  client, and the possibility of a making a mystery call. You should differentiate between the relevance of the references: they should highlight in particular the quality of the potential project team.
  • Partner stability. A project needing a web integrator is planned with a timescale of two to five years, with the potential for further growth and development. The partner must have a good track record in terms of history and stability, as well as being capable of developing as your needs develop. So it is better to be one step ahead.
  • Security. It goes without saying that the partner should have liability insurance; the amount should be related to the size of the project.
  • Operational guarantee. What accessibility does the partner offer and under what conditions? What are the partner service programmes and response times like? including conditions for carrying out new orders?
  • Risk. In every project, identification and evaluation of risk are factors determining price and deadlines for submitting the work. You should work together with the partner to identify risk and make the most of the experiences it has gained from similar projects.
  • Personal meeting. In view of the project length, it is important to meet the partner and members of its team personally.

Tenders

The selection process most often takes the form of tenders, which varying in terms of formality, depending on your company rules. Tenders are based on the definition of the request for propsals, i.e. the client‘s solution requirements and related links, and, of course, the web integrator requirements.

In orders for a solution tailored to each client, it is appropriate in such cases to also internally formulate a rationale. This is a technique that helps reduce the number of non-essential orders, which often carry unnecessary costs and risks. A definition also allows an external consultant to also help the client. The consultant can also help provide a general evaluation of the requests.

Requests for proposals usually contains

  • basic information describing the client,
  • the aims of the web solution,
  • organisational structure and financial situation of the client,
  • specification of functional and non-functional requirements,
  • integration link specifications,
  • operation requests,
  • the required structure of the offer,
  • tender requirements, which include
    • overall qualities of a web integrator,
    • references for previous projects carried out,
    • the overall concept of the web solution,
    • ICT (HW, LAN, internet, accessibility),
    • Projection methodology and project management,
    • services facilitiating project development and servicing,
    • quality level of the sub-contractor,
    • quality level of the project team,
    • proposed timeline,
    • price,
    • security.

Despite all attempts at objectivity in decision-making, personal chemistry plays a huge role when choosing  a web integrator. It is a partnership, which if successful, will continue on a long-term basis. It is therefore entirely logical that mutual agreement and understanding are very important for the outcome of the collaboration. And without an opportunity to meet the supplier personally and mutual discussion of the proposed solution, the choice becomes riskier . “You will not find a supplier using Excel.”

The post-selection process

After you have selected a web integrator, you should make the most of its services. Concentrate on clearly defining goals and how they correspond to results. Follow advice, but be critical – ask what the web integrator’s decision is based upon, and how it has reached that decision. Discuss a solution to the problem, and reject irrelevant advice that has little connection with reality. Adopting this type of approach will also develop your knowledge.

You can now follow the next part – article called: 10 tips for a successful web integration project.

Do you need a web integrator?

Do you need a web integrator?

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If your project requires a web integrator, here are some questions you should ask, and some advice.

You have a web project to implement, but do you know where to start? Do you need a web integrator in your project? Is a standard web (digital) agency enough? Making the right choice at this stage significantly influences the success of your project.

How to know if a web integrator is needed

To make it easy for you to decide, here is a selection of questions that will help you make up your mind whether you need to involve a web integrator.

Preparation and coordination sector

  • Is it a large project?
  • Does it require the involvement of other partners or possibly more than one of your internal teams?
  • Does the project require strong management skills, with a focus on formality and the methodology used?

Marketing and communications sector

  • Does the project require the involvement of other sub-contractors in other fields where the Internet is used – such as SEO, SEM, social networks, lead generation and others?
  • Will you be involving your own advertising or PR agency?

User interface sector

  • In addition to the attractiveness of the website, are functionality and user-friendliness of the interfaces important issues?
  • Do you expect to use multichannel communications?

Development, technical and operational sector

  • Will the project contain specific functional units, which require application of software engineering processes?
  • Does your IT department make demands on the technology/platforms you use?
  • Are you planning further development and require guaranteed response times tailored to your requirements?
  • Is operation of the solution critical for your company/will it be critical? Does it require guaranteed access and a response from the supplier?

Integration sector

  • Do you plan link ups with your internal systems?
  • Are you expecting third parties to be involved in your internal systems or interfaces?
  • Will there be a need for your project to provide structured data to your environment?

If the answer is YES to most of these questions, you will need a partner to help you with the project.

WHAT IS A WEB INTEGRATOR?

What is a web integrator?

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The web integrator is a partner who provides a guarantee to the client that the project will comply with the agreed specifications. The web integrator is responsible for coordinating all of the necessary activities.

Also, you should not miss the previous part of the article series about web integration – What is web integration? It is a must-read!

What a web integrator does?

The web integrator coordinates the work of all those involved in a web integration project. In practice this usually involves:

  • client’s marketing department,
  • the advertising or PR agency of the client,
  • the client’s internal systems manager (client IT department or authorized supplier, or system integrator),
  • supplier(s) of external data,
  • development team – internal or external,
  • solution operators (hosting services),
  • external specialists (fields where the Internet is used).

The diagram below depicts the principles of client communication with the web integrator, which is in turn responsible for communication with those in the related fields. In practice, there is direct operational contact between individual experts in various areas.

What is web integrator?

The web integrator’s role is to ensure that the work of all those concerned are in incompliance with the project as a whole. In particular, the web operator should be responsible for the achievement of all of the specified (commercial or otherwise) benefits for the client.

The limits and responsibility of web integrator activities

Unlike the system integrator, the web integrator’s activities include marketing and communications, and new fields where the Internet is used. However, these fields do not include aspects related to internal systems, such as data stores, DMS, ERP, and similar areas. Web integrators and system integrators most often work together when defining interfaces with the internal systems of the clients; such systems should be used when creating a web solution and when designing optimization of the processes affected.

In contrast to those of a digital agency, the web integrator’s responsibilities also include the connection of internal systems and a higher development level of specific functionality.  As with a system integrator, a web integrator can work with a digital agency regarding marketing, and fields where the Internet is used.

Solution development

In terms of timing, web projects that require a web integrator are often medium to long-term. Throughout the entire project, they also expect that the web integrator will be able to ensure the capacity to develop the solution, in any related field. The web integrator must also be capable of guaranteeing response times for new client orders and in areas where processes are critical, as well as the overall accessibility of services, including guaranteed times for service responses, which are covered by a Service Level Agreement (SLA).

The web integrator keenly follows web trends and monitors the results of web analyses and user behavior. On this basis of such information, the integrator is actively involved in suggesting appropriate measures for the devised web solutions, taking into consideration the original or continuously updated goals of the project. These activities involve several professional fields; again there is a need to coordinate them.

The key to the overall success of the project lies is determined by the quality of the development plan and its compliance with the defined targets.

The technical operation of the solution

A solution requires the right operating environment.  In practice, three situations typically arise use of the client’s operating system, operation on the web integrator’s system, or a third party system A combination of these three may be possible, but in all cases, the web integrator can help with designing suitable architecture, sizing, security and accessibility of the entire solution, so that it reflects the importance of the whole project or specific parts of it.

You can now follow the next part – the article called: Do you need a web integrator?

WHAT IS WEB INTEGRATION?

What is web integration?

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A basic definition of web integration, and activities included in web integration – the web integrator’s job.

Definitions

The expert definition of system integration is quite widely known and has been circulating in the IT world for several years. It is about joining together various software and hardware (general system) components into one unit.

This unit works effectively and brings benefits resulting from synergies. A system integrator, which in some cases can be a company carrying out system integration for its clients, works to ensure that the operating costs of the entire solution, in contrast to individual parts of the systems, are reduced. In addition, the system integrator (or company) should be responsible for the required stability and the security system.

In all of this, the possibility of continually develop the solution as a whole should be taken into account.

Under the definition, system integrators must have or acquire knowledge of areas linked to the integration process. On the other hand, system integrators are not able to provide integration services themselves. It is not a prerequisite that system integrators themselves have all the necessary internal know-how, but they must be in a position to acquire this knowledge, from the suppliers or sub-contractors. It is also useful to bring together such information as part of the overall project delivery.

In recent years, areas, where the Internet is used, have grown very dynamically, and individual firms are specializing in areas covering a whole range of services, from purely marketing to purely technical.

It is therefore clear that as with system integration, there is a need to connect all of these services for certain projects. Implementing a good quality and extensive web projects, such as a web portal, B2B portal, e-commerce solution or a client zone requires the participation of a wide spectrum of specialists, in marketing and communications, design and user access, SEO and SEM, project management, HTML coding, system analyses, software and technical architecture, development, testing, operation, and many other disciplines.

Web integration, therefore, involves a process of connecting all the outputs of all activities and components essential for carrying out the web project as a whole. The web integrator is a partner who provides a guarantee to the client that the project will comply with the agreed specifications. The web integrator is also responsible for coordinating all the necessary activities.

(*Logically not all website projects need a web integrator to happen; the need to involve integrators becomes greater as the size and importance of a project grow. A small microsite about projects can be created without the need for web integration, and in some cases a web integrator, but in the case of large volumes of information or a sales portal, the involvement of a web integrator is at the very least vitally important, if not essential. For more information, see “Do you need a web integrator?”)

Web integration can be regarded as a “subset” or in some cases an “offshoot” of system integration. Web integration naturally means involving the client’s internal system, but the aim is not to resolve the integration links of the client’s individual systems.

On the other hand, the web integrator can help with reconciling processes that go beyond the notional boundaries of the internal systems and that move from the outer to the inner environments. Alternatively, the web integrator can use the Internet (and also mobile) technology, taking into account the importance of involving other professional disciplines and the effectiveness of investments.

In the project, the web integrator is the primary contact with the client, who is therefore relieved of the duty to communicate with a number of specialised suppliers during project implementation. The web integrator must demonstrate sufficient project management skills.

Activities included in web integration

At the time of writing, the following list of fields applied in web integration projects. However, the online world is so dynamic that this number is still growing. In practice, individual disciplines often overlap and therefore clear separation between them is generally not possible. In all areas, it is assumed that the web integrator provides or facilitates suitable consultancy or training services to the client.

Preparation and coordination aspects of the project

  • Supporting the project business goals.
  • Specifying solution requirements together with the client.
  • Drawing up documentation – concept or feasibility study.
  • Setting success metrics.
  • Drawing up preparation specifications.
  • Project management, including a project timeline.
  • Coordinating individual sub-contractors and suppliers.

eCommerce, marketing and communications aspects are often carried out in cooperation with specialised partners and products

  • Compliance with the communications strategy of the client.
  • Ensuring continuity of marketing activities.
  • SEO, SEM, PPC, banners and media lease, linkbuilding and other promotional areas and lead generation.
  • Social networks.
  • Web analysis, including web analysis evaluation.
  • Direct marketing.
  • Copywriting.
  • eCommerce including sub-categories such as:
    • Mobile commerce,
    • Social commerce,
    • Mobile payment,
    • TV-Shopping (Smart/Internet TV),
    • Multi-channel ecommerce.

User interface sector

  • Graphic design aspects.
  • User-friendliness and user testing.
  • Accessibility, including supporting multi-channel):
  • Desktop,
  • Mobile equipment,
  • Smart TV,
  • and more.

Development, technical and operational aspects

  • Selection of suitable application and web/portal platforms.
  • Use of other suitable projects for specific solutions (such as eCommerce, and other tools – analytical, testing and others).
  • Development of specific functionalities on the selected application platform, based on the software engineering methodology chosen.
  • Designing and ensuring operation of a web solution (webhosting, cloud computing and clustering) based on estimated performance demands (number of visitors) and accessibility needs (sizing, monitoring, performance and tuning).
  • Further development and management of the solution, including necessary guarantees.

Integration sector

  • Integration into internal systems/applications.
  • Integration into external systems/applications.
  • Integration of the solution interface, for providing data to the surroundings.

Separate integration can be implemented at the data, user interface, technological, functional, organisational or methodological levels. The most appropriate use of these methods or a combination of them should always be based on current conditions, taking into account the impact of the funding invested.

You can now follow the next part – the article called: What is a web integrator?

What is Ad Fatigue? How to diagnose it and cure it

What is advertisement fatigue? How to diagnose and cure it

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To consider what advertisement fatigue is, let’s begin with an example.

Consider how many times you’ve changed the channel because you’ve seen the same commercial ten times that night. Assume concerning occasions when you’re so worn out of listening to a particular commercial that you switch off your radio completely.

These are both examples of advertisement fatigue – a problem that happens when users come to be too familiar with a particular kind of advertisement, hence reducing its performance.

As marketing experts, it’s critical we continuously offer fresh, top-quality, and also targeted advertisements to ensure your content remains to motivate your audience, instead of creating disappointment.

Listed below, we’ll review what ad fatigue is, the common symptoms attributed to advertisement fatigue, and also what you can do to repair it. Let’s dive in.

What is advertisement fatigue?

Advertisement fatigue happens when your audience sees your advertisements so commonly that they become burnt out with them and also quit listening.

This, in turn, triggers your campaigns to end up being less effective, protects against users from moving down the sales channel, and also inevitably injures your firm’s bottom line.

Ultimately, the function of advertising and marketing is to turn new viewers into clients, which can’t happen if you’re over-serving your ads to the very same customers, or developing low-grade advertisements.

Luckily, if you recognize ad fatigue at an early stage, you can reverse its results by developing brand-new projects. It may be as easy as changing the picture you utilize on your Facebook ads, or using Google ad features to adapt text based upon your target market’s habits as well as choices.

Maybe you require to employ a strategic timetable to make sure your ads are just served at the most appropriate times so that you can accomplish optimum ROI.

Whatever the case, we have a few ideas and tricks to aid you to maximize your marketing success. Let’s discover them.

3 Indications Your Audience Has Ad Fatigue

Possibly you think that ad fatigue is impacting your campaigns, but you’re not entirely sure just how to find it.

The adhering to are some typical signs and symptoms that you may experience if your audience is growing tired of your ads:

1. Reduced Click-Through Rates (CTRs)

When it comes to tracking and resolving advertisement fatigue, your click-through rates (CTR) are probably among the most essential metrics to determine. CTR demonstrates just how engaging your advertisement is – and also, particularly, whether it’s encouraging sufficient to oblige visitors to explore your brand further.

If your ad shows a 10% discount on your new autumn footwear line as well as it has a high CTR, you can presume the ad is successfully motivating visitors to quit what they’re doing, and also take an appearance at your newly-discounted products.

If your CTR numbers fall considerably over time, may be due to the fact that you’re boring your audience, and they’re no more going to involve with your brand name.

2. Much less interaction

Mentioning engagement, have you checked to see how followers are connecting with your organization on social networks?

If individuals delicately see your advertisements and carry on, they’re not really engaged – as well as an engaged target market is essential to generating remarks and shares. If you’re seeing reduced social engagement, may be an indication that you’ve caused ad fatigue in your fans in ways that make them less inspired to communicate with all your web content: both paid as well as natural.

3. Fewer impressions

The same goes for advertisements – paid social media ads will just appear if they’re relevant to that specific individual. If your impressions have actually lowered over time, it might be time to revamp your advertisement campaigns.

Like a lot of barriers in life, you can’t fix advertisement fatigue until you acknowledge that it’s a problem. By checking out the aforementioned metrics continuously with time, you’ll get a far better understanding of exactly how your target market really feels regarding your brand. As soon as you recognize that advertisement fatigue may be to blame for less-than-stellar project efficiency, you can make small-but-strategic improvements to revive your advertising and marketing approach.

Let’s have a look at a few potential advertisement fatigue cures now.

Exactly how can you heal ad fatigue?

It does not constantly take a ton of job to decrease advertisement fatigue. Sometimes, basic changes can be all you require to upgrade the look and feel of your advertisements.

Here are 3 actions you can require to refresh your projects so that your audience will be more thinking about the material you’re sharing.

1. Update the history shade of your display advertisements

Everyone requires a change of views from time to time.

We’re often exposed to the same pictures over and over, which can be tiring and also oblige us to overlook the ads the next time we see them.

Since you’re revealing the same target market in the exact same ad multiple times, show ads can be especially susceptible to ad fatigue.

Thankfully, there’s a straightforward fix to prevent this quandary: by transforming the historical shade of your advertisements, you can refresh your audience’s passion for your material. This small change is typically adequate to make your advertisements appear brand-new.

2. Customise your ads using ad customizers

Google’s ad customizers have actually been around for a few years currently, as well as they’re powerful devices for preserving and raising conversions advertisement freshness.

If you’re running Pay-Per-Click (PPC) ads, you could not be aware of the power that customizers hold, yet it’s time to transform that– ultimately, Google’s ad customizers guarantee your ads remain pertinent and fresh, while simultaneously producing a feeling of urgency that lures your fans to click your calls-to-action.

In short, advertisement customizers dynamically update your promotions with web content that’s customized to your target market and supply that content in a time-sensitive manner.

Ad customizers allow you to obtain the word out concerning your promotion in real time when it’s most appropriate to customers. Even better, as soon as you get them established, advertisement personalizations are rather hands-off.

3. Rotate your ads often

As a marketing professional, you know that schedules are essential: you require a clear strategy to keep all of your projects on track.

That being claimed, showing an ad a lot of times to the same people can easily lead to advertisement fatigue.

Combat this concern by creating several advertisements as well as rotating them. These versions can all supply the exact same material yet need to consist of differences in message or design. This assists to maintain your content fresh and also permits you to maximize your projects based on which ads perform best. (A/B screening these advertisements can be an efficient option for guaranteeing you’re serving the highest-performing ads to your visitors.).

Keep in mind that when you’re turning your ads, you ought to also ensure that you’re just delivering your messages at the most relevant times of day (as well as on one of the most pertinent days). Include your turnings in your advertising and marketing calendar for streamlined implementation as well as far better outcomes.

4. Screen your campaigns

It’s not nearly enough to create a brand-new copy or swap out your creative– you’ll need to constantly track your ads to ensure fatigue doesn’t set in with your upgraded campaigns. If you’re not checking your ads’ performance, you will not be able to inform if your target market has disliked them.

To keep ad fatigue on your radar, be sure to monitor frequency (the number of times users see your advertisements) and CTR (the number of times people click your advertisements divided by the number of perceptions). This permits you to recognize ad fatigue at an early stage and also readjust your technique as necessary.

Great tips for fighting Facebook ad fatigue

One of the greatest ways to promote your goods and services is through Facebooks Ads. But as we said above, a large number of monotonous ads can get boring for the audience. If you want to leave a good impression on your potential customers, try following the tips below.

  • Automate ads to pause frequently. Suppose you’ve created several ad creatives and turned them all on. Once one of them reaches a high frequency, you want to turn these ads off. This will let the other ads run instead, so you can increase deliverability while creating more ads.
  • Find new audiences and create new ads. It’s great that we pause ads with high frequency, but paused ads don’t make us any money. The next thing we need to do is update ad creatives or audiences. For example, changing the background colour, texting, and using new videos and images is a good way to quickly refresh an ad. You can test new audiences by targeting a similar group or targeting the same behavioural pattern.
  • Decrease budgets for high-frequency ad sets. While suspending successful campaigns can combat fatigue, if the campaign was earning you money, it’s a shame that it shouldn’t be used. In that case, it’s a good idea to cut the budget for that campaign – it will still run, but it will be shown to a smaller audience that it can still impress.
  • Move away from an audience that is already engaged with your ad or brand. If your audience has already heard of you or used your services, then there is no need to pump more campaigns into them. Chances are that they already know about you, and if they want to use similar services, they would turn to you. If we continue to expose these potential customers to the same marketing campaign, it could have the unpleasant effect of annoying the audience.
  • Run ads on a schedule (so-called dayparting). Facebook allows you to specify a specific day and time of day when the ad should be displayed. This is advantageous because we can target the exact days and times that we believe our ad will reach the largest audience of potential leads. Surely it doesn’t make sense to invite guests into your bar on a Monday morning?
  • Duplicate your ad set. I know it sounds strange. But we’re not entirely sure how Facebook’s algorithm works. Duplicating campaigns that didn’t quite work has paid off many times. Because sometimes a campaign hits an initial snag that it can’t do anything about, but by starting over, you can avoid that.
  • Rethink your campaign objective. We can fight it all we want, but one thing is inevitable – our customers will eventually tire of our advertising. So we need to think about how to make our company or our product attractive again. Create new content and new products that will engage potential customers and audiences.
  • Boost your best organic posts. Take advantage of every opportunity. So if your Facebook post is doing well that you might not expect, it’s a good idea to give that post a little help. If a post has spontaneously received good feedback from your followers, then there’s a good chance that such a post would be successful even with people who don’t follow you yet.