SWOT is an acronym of Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats and as these titles suggest it is not purely a method used for controlling areas of planning and risk, but it is also used to highlight areas of the project that could be maximised to the benefit of the whole project or individual areas where some competitive advantage may be gained. It is used to evaluate particular activities of the project in order to optimise their potential as well as to evaluate risks in order to determine the most appropriate way of mitigating those risks.

SWOT analysis is normally performed during the initial project start-up phase so that the elements of the analysis can form the basis of the project plan, but it can also be used later in the project if the project is running into difficulties with scheduling, deliverables or budget and needs to be brought back on track.

For example, if a certain key activity in the project requires new software, a SWOT Analysis can be used to assess the risks and the opportunities of purchasing the software and training staff in its use in order to help with the resource planning.

Read the full article here.

We constantly hear blanket statements about how print is in decline and the future of design is digital. Meanwhile, many print-only designers wonder if they should be taking steps to begin the overwhelming journey of learning a new career.

Today we’ll put rumors and speculation aside for a moment and take a look at some real data to see the actual projections for the print design industry and what actions, if any, print designers should be taking as a result.

Read the FULL ARTICLE here.

Remember high school? Let’s say (hypothetically, of course) someone passed you a note in class that was actually a secret invitation to a party at someone’s house. You learned that a bunch of people were invited, some you knew, some you didn’t, some you liked, and some you’d grown tired of talking to. You ended up going to the party anyway. Everyone was wearing their coolest clothes, showing off, and trying to be smarter and funnier than each other. But the real reason you went was simply to get the attention of a person you were interested in. You may have even scared up the nerve to actually ask them out, and on rare occasions, they may have even said yes. When that happened you were over the moon, but admittedly nervous. But most times, they just ignored you and they went to the dance with someone else while you sat at home and listened to Rush by yourself. (I mean, nothing.)

I thought those days were behind me.

If you work in any kind of service industry you’ve undoubtedly come across the Request For Proposal, or “RFP.” The RFP process has become a standard by which organizations solicit competitive bids. At its core, the RFP process is an attempt to level the playing field and minimize bias. Everyone is held to the same requirements—no special treatment, no rule bending. In return, the organization issuing the RFP is able to select a vendor by comparing apples to apples. That’s the theory, anyway.

Many non-profits, higher education institutions, and government agencies are actuallyrequired to issue RFPs.

For non-profits, the drive to secure competitive pricing is an economic necessity. Additionally, it’s important for non-profits to ensure that their donors and supporters are confident that their funds are spent in accordance with the organization’s mission.

As far as government agencies go, well, it’s like chocolate and peanut butter. The bidding process is pretty much automatic. I have always been curious about whether there are state or federal laws that require a bid process for government agencies. I couldn’t find any substantive information to support that for this article, so if you work for a government agency and can shed some light on this for us, please add your two cents in the comments area.

You’re often invited to participate in the RFP process by someone with “contract,” “procurement,” or “sourcing” in their title. Sometimes, you’re asked to access a secret website with a secret password where you find links to a bunch of secret documents. Or, you get an email with an attached ZIP archive loaded with goodies. You don’t know how many others are privy to the secret, but you know you’re not alone.

Jump on over to A List Apart to read this entire article.

A positive first impression is essential to relationships. People look for trust and integrity, and they expect subsequent encounters to reflect and reinforce their first impression. The same principles apply to brands and their products. Design plays an important role in building lasting relationships with end users and, thus, in supporting the brand’s promise.

Users expect mobile services to be relevant and user-friendly and to perform well. The limitations of the medium, however, impose significant challenges to designing products that meet all of those expectations. While often underestimated, performance is a crucial contributor to a trustworthy mobile user experience. Therefore, it should be considered a key driver in the design process.

Read the FULL article on Smashing Magazine

A great article by Steven Bradley that speaks to this common question … is content necessary prior to beginning web design.  The answer is “of course”, but you should read this article and learn all the reasons why.

Agile web development is not a specific process, action, or a daylong exercise. Agile is a mindset, an attitude with which a project is undertaken.

It means streamlining the project, taking away time-sucks, performing frequent sanity checks, and making sure that you’re not spending excessive time on things that don’t add value to the project.

It’s about spending quality time on actions that add value to the website and make it better, and taking away time and energy from parts of the process that cause headaches.

Your team will reach the same goals and milestones, but in half the time or less.

In this article, the author will show you how the agile project management method can be applied to developing websites.

Click here to read the full article from Six Revisions.