Grip2009: a two-day workshop for web project leads

It’s no secret to us web designers and developers that at least half of the factors contributing or detracting from web project success resides on the client’s side of the fence. While professional designers and developers know, understand and can exploit the success factors that belong to them, most clients don’t and/or can’t.

It’s for this reason that Eend and Cinnamon have spent a lot of time putting together a workshop which we feel will help clients, their project leads and/or managers to get the best out of the web shops they hire. The two-day workshop has been designed to expose clients to the potential success factors and pitfalls on their side of the project, and to give them the tools to use this knowledge to their advantage. The entire project process from bidding to post-launch evaluation will be examined. We’ve got great speakers with very high-level, client-side web project (management) expertise, as well as a few on the development side for a well-rounded whole.

Grip—or rather Grip2009, as this first workshop is called—will be held on November 17 and 18, 2009, at the very posh (no, not that POSH) Grand Hotel Karel V in Utrecht, The Netherlands.

While there are plenty of workshops and conferences for developers on building better sites, there is little practical information for clients on how to ensure a successful web project. We’re excited about Grip2009. We hope it will give clients the tools they need to engage with their web contractors like never before.

Unfortunately, this first edition of Grip will be completely in Dutch. We haven’t ruled out an international (English) event for the near future.

For any Dutch readers, here’s the press release (feel free to distribute):

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Grip2009 – Tweedaagse workshop voor webprojectleiders

Op 17 en 18 november 2009 wordt in Grand Hotel Karel V te Utrecht een tweedaagse workshop voor opdrachtgevers van webprojecten gegeven: Grip2009. Het programma is samengesteld door ervaren internetprofessionals en levert, naast nuttige tips, bruikbare kennis en vaardigheden uit de praktijk om grip te krijgen op webprojecten. De nieuwe workshop, die dit jaar voor het eerst wordt gegeven, richt zich op opdrachtgevers die hun internetprojecten beter willen begeleiden.

Voor opdrachtgevers van webprojecten bij het bedrijfsleven, not-for-profit-organisaties en de overheid is er momenteel weinig concrete en in de praktijk bewezen informatie beschikbaar hoe deze projecten tot een succes zijn te maken. Dat verandert met de komst van Grip2009. De workshop is bij uitstek geschikt voor mensen die aan klantzijde betrokken zijn bij de inkoop, de ontwikkeling en het beheer van internetprojecten, of mensen die een carrièrestap overwegen in deze richting.

Er zijn maximaal 60 plaatsen beschikbaar voor dit unieke evenement. Snelle beslissers kunnen tot 16 oktober profiteren van een flinke korting. Meer informatie vindt u op: www.grip2009.nl

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Web Guidelines at Zinformatie

Zinformatie conferenceI’ll be speaking tomorrow in Utrecht, Netherlands on truths and myths regarding the Dutch Web Guidelines. I’d like to speak more about design in front-end development, but I guess the Web Guidelines are hot, and since I had a role in producing them, I get asked to talk about them. A lot.

As with any usability or accessibility guidelines, there are some myths which keep rearing their heads. These myths came to be in the minds of clients, mostly because because of what these clients have been told by hack, unprofessional front-end developers. You know, the kind who design websites based on what their framework or CMS is able to handle in its more or less standard form; god forbid these developers should know the faintest thing about decent markup. I’m tired of hearing what’s not possible within accessibility guidelines, especially when it’s simply untrue.

We’ll be talking about that.

For the Dutch among you, read more on the Zinformatie website.