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About Kimberly Blessing

When she says standards she doesn't usually mean web standards.

As the company grows (AOL back in the day) there has to be a way to make sure everyone is doing things the same way.

AOL technical guidelines: HTML, CSS, Javascript, CMS, etc... Get everyone coding in a similar manner.

Which standards does she mean? Coding standards, naming conventions, design specifications, interaction patterns, usability guidelines, accessibility requirements.

Why do you need standards (large companies)? Faster production cycles, keep pace with trends, protects user experience, standardize the way people work and make decisions.

Why people don't follow standards: Standards change too often, edge cases, prevent people form being creative, too hard to remember, management told them not to follow standards.

4 problems with standards that cause people not to follow them: Management doesn't demonstrate commitment to standards, lack of training, take too long to write the standards, hard to maintain.

Key to successful standards: Timely updates, regular communications, constant reinforcement, assign an owner.

Put the standards documents in a place everyone can access, not on one person's computer.

The circle of standards: Standards creation & documentation, Training & communication, Project approval & review process.

Creating standards: Layouts, colours, libraries, what's allowed and not allowed, etc.. Investigate live site and work in progress, think to the future. Review it regularly, monitor future projects for things that need to be standardized.

What happens when a new browser comes out? Think of things like that...

A good standard is whatever works for your organization. If it makes sense and people follow it it's good.

Training & Communication: Mandatory training for everyone on standards, regular office training, communicate regularly, make info in a convenient format.

Lunch chats about standards, posters, hide easter eggs in standards and hold contests to find them.

Project approval & review process: Adherence to standards pat of the project requirements. Code reviews. New work creates new standards.

Don't complicate the process: Be available to talk about standards, set expectations (checklists).

The standards manager is the champion for standards and must understand the related disciplines and work to be effective.

Celebrate success: Highlight projects that use standards, document savings from use of standards, recognize others that advocate standards.

Tips to get standards going in your organization: Find people who care about standards and organize. Execute (write documents, evangelize). Diplomacy - Identify influencers and speak their language (talk money to finance and execs. Start with the person that runs the servers, they like smaller files.). Help - be the support system for others.

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