Agenda - Planning Commission - 11/02/2017

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Time and Budget Understand the agency's time and budget constraints, and pursue a methodology that will keep within these parameters. Technical Capacity A talented project manager may skillfully develop and maintain a digital publication, but what happens when that person leaves the organization? If an agency is considering a more complex digital publishing method, the agency should have the technical depth to maintain the document over the long term. Frequency of Amendments Frequency of amendments and turn -around time for revisions is often cited as a reason to opt for in-house control. The selection criteria are quite different for an agency per- forming frequent, substantial amendments to documents versus an agency whose docu- ments undergo little or no change during a typical text amendment cycle. Audience Consider who will be using the digital publica- tion and the desired level of sophistication. Do internal staff have specific feature requests? What level of technological sophistication does the community expect from its local government planning agency? It is also wise to consult the municipal attorney's office and IT department, and if possible, consult with the agency's executive team and elected officials. LAUNCHING A DiGITAL PUBLISHING CAMPAIGN A digital publishing campaign refers to the logistical and political considerations involved in generating support for, and becoming successful in, the significant task of publishing an online zoning code or compre- hensive plan. In the public sector, deploying new software and converting a long, complex document can become a significant undertak- ing due to the number of stakeholders. It is important to ensure that sufficient support is in place to see the project to completion. Get It on the Work Plan Make sure that sufficient resources are committed to the task, including staff time, departmental budget, and support from other departments. Understand the agency's budget cycle, and consider including the digital publishing proposal in the budget so that resources are formally committed. Form a Strong Project Team Digital publishing is not a one -person show. Enlist other staff in addition to the project manager to assist in areas such as reviewing draft work products, troubleshooting techni- cal issues, or performing any time -intensive document preparation, formatting, or asset management. This includes ensuring image source files are properly cropped and sized and tables are appropriately structured. It is also wise to gain the support of a project champion such as a department head, city manager, or elected official. Manage the Project and Provide Status Updates Although a complex digital publishing task does take significant time, the author should establish a realistic scope, sched- ule, and budget to ensure the publishing effort stays on track. Careful up -front consideration of the major milestones —for example, creating a test output, complet- ing an entire section, and completing a full review draft —will help identify the critical path to completion, In addition, the project manager should communicate progress (as well as any setbacks) and keep key stake- holders informed. Should it be necessary, project champions will be more willing to grant additional time for project completion or accept changes in scope when progress updates are regularly provided. TESTING, EVALUATION, AND IMPLEMENTATION This section summarizes the mechanics of deploying, testing, and maintaining new software and work products. Consider the following recommendations to ensure a smooth conversion effort and successful ongoing maintenance strategy. The Project Manager Might Need to Work Late A digital publishing effort may incorporate the use of new software and may involve the conversion of dozens or hundreds of pages into a digital format. Successful project managers tend to be independent problem solvers who prepare for success and are willing to invest extra time to resolve unex- pected technical glitches. Download Free Trials and Seek Product Demonstrations Pursue software applications and cloud - based services that offer free trials or product demonstrations. Free trials are an excellent opportunity to confirm that the software will perform as expected prior to making significant financial commitments. In addition, live product demos help estab- lish rapport with vendor sales and technical teams who may be willing to tailor services to the agency's specific scope and budget and quickly help resolve future issues. Invest in a Robust Maintenance Plan Pursue software applications and cloud - based services that offer a guaranteed maintenance plan. These plans can take vari- ous forms; for example, some vendors will offer a fixed number of inquiries or updates that can be issued in a given time period. Another model is a pay -for -priority mainte- nance agreement allowing the customer to place an increasing number of service calls and receive higher priority in the customer service queue in exchange for additional maintenance fees. Project managers should investigate these packages and also explore the extent to which free software documen- tation is available online, either in the form of a help manual, knowledgebase, YouTube channel, or user forum. Premium maintenance packages are well worth the investment. This is espe- cially true when deploying new software or embarking on a major digital conversion, particularly within the first several years of maintaining a new digital publication. While the agency's IT department may be supportive of the digital publishing effort, they may not have expertise with the specific software or service, meaning technical help from the vendor and Internet community should be leveraged to the full extent possible. ZONINGPRACTICE SO.17 AMERICAN PLANNING ASSOCIATION (page 6