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Document Issues and Establish Written
<br />Protocols
<br />Project managers should anticipate that
<br />issues will emerge during the conversion
<br />effort. They should be diligent about docu-
<br />menting technical issues and noting how
<br />they are resolved, as it can be easy to forget
<br />how arcane technical issues were resolved
<br />weeks or months prior. In addition, better
<br />documentation helps build capacity in the
<br />organization by ensuring knowledge trans-
<br />fer and allowing for contingency scenarios
<br />should the project manager be reassigned to
<br />other duties or leave the organization.
<br />Maintaining Amendments
<br />As part of a major digital conversion effort,
<br />the project manager should continually ask,
<br />"Can I (or another team member) intuitively
<br />and efficiently replicate the publishing work-
<br />flow, and are the procedures sufficiently
<br />documented?" A negative answer could
<br />translate into inefficient or sloppy document
<br />maintenance, and slowly degrade the quality
<br />of the publication over the course of multiple
<br />amendments.
<br />Ifa large number of amendments are
<br />expected, the agency may be nearing the stage
<br />in which a full-scale rewrite of the zoning code
<br />or comprehensive plan is needed. In this case,
<br />it may be best to delay the digital publishing
<br />effort until after the comprehensive rewrite
<br />is complete. Further, as planners consider
<br />the next major update to a zoning code or
<br />comprehensive plan, it is wise to consider in
<br />advance which digital publishing method will
<br />be pursued. This detail is often considered at
<br />the end of the updating process, but thinking
<br />through the format at the outset can save
<br />considerable time and money.
<br />Following a major rewrite, a good
<br />practice is to schedule periodic regulatory
<br />or policy "cleanups," in which a package of
<br />miscellaneous edits to the zoning code or
<br />comprehensive plan is brought to the plan-
<br />ning commission and city council for technical
<br />correction (which may include formatting
<br />corrections to the digital document).
<br />While the omnibus clean-up approach
<br />does require a separate legislative process,
<br />it increases the likelihood that a sweeping
<br />set of minor text and formatting edits will be
<br />supported because the changes are decou-
<br />pled from other substantive (and perhaps
<br />controversial) regulatory or policy amend-
<br />ment proposals.
<br />CONCLUSION
<br />Given the sophisticated nature of modern
<br />digital publishing methods, some readers
<br />may wonder whether in-house publishing is
<br />achievable without dedicated website devel-
<br />opment or design staff. It is not necessary
<br />to know how to code to publish a modern
<br />digital publication, as many applications
<br />automate the generation of HTML and other
<br />programming languages.
<br />Nevertheless, digital publishing is
<br />inherently technical in nature, and project
<br />managers should have a basic under-
<br />standingofthe following technical and
<br />publishing -related concepts:
<br />• Formatting techniques specific to long,
<br />structured documents, for example
<br />tables of content, styles, headers and
<br />footers, cross-references, automatic
<br />numbering, and multilevel lists
<br />• File formats, such as document files
<br />(DOCX, PDF, HTML) and image files
<br />(JPG, PNG)
<br />• Basic image editing, such as cropping,
<br />resizing, and adjustments
<br />• Graphic design principles, such as layout,
<br />hierarchy, font and color, and white space
<br />® Fundamental website concepts, such as
<br />a server, domain, and File Transfer Pro-
<br />tocol (FTP)
<br />• General familiarity with markup and pro-
<br />gramming languages, such as HTML, CSS,
<br />and JavaScript
<br />There are many free online tutorials that
<br />address these topics, as well as paid ser-
<br />vices with high -quality training libraries
<br />such as Lynda.com. Additionally, project
<br />team members less interested in technical
<br />details can still play a crucial role in the
<br />digital publishing process, either as an advi-
<br />sor, reviewer, or project champion. Team
<br />members should reflect on their skills and
<br />interests, and the team should thoughtfully
<br />assign roles. Like all urban planning proj-
<br />ects, digital publishing is a team effort.
<br />ABOUT THE AUTHOR
<br />Peter Sullivan, AICP, is development
<br />coordination supervisor in the Development
<br />Services Center in Durham, North Carolina.
<br />He has produced digital publications as a
<br />planner in the public and private sector,
<br />emphasizing the balance of efficiency,
<br />quality, and ease of maintenance. Prior
<br />to joining Durham's City -County Planning
<br />Department, he was a consultant with
<br />Clarion Associates, where he specialized
<br />in zoning and land -use regulation. Sullivan
<br />is currently cochair of the Communications
<br />and Public Affairs Committee of the North
<br />Carolina Chapter of the American Planning
<br />Association and a regular contributor to
<br />Planetizen.com.
<br />VOL. 34, NO. 10
<br />Zoning Practice is a monthly publication of the
<br />American Planning Association. Subscriptions
<br />are available for $95 (U.S.) and $szo (foreign).
<br />James M. Drinan, Jo, Chief Executive Officer;
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<br />Research and Advisory Services. Zoning Practice
<br />(ISSN 1548-0135) is produced at APA. Joseph
<br />DeAngelis and David Morley, AICP, Editors; Julie
<br />Von Bergen, Senior Editor.
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