What does a technical staff member at XWS need to know?

This started out being technical items; then we added some business & marketing items. Maybe split them out into their own document?

Customer Requests

What will customers ask us for? What products/services will we provide to meet their requests? What requests will we NOT respond to? I think we should identify requests at the micro level and combine them into defined packages that make sense for us to provide.

1. Buy a domain name
2. Create SemPro-based site
3. Migrate legacy site to SemPro
4. Migrate email from legacy to HG
5. Create custom look and feel
6. Show me how to get started using SemPro
7. Guide me in getting my site up and running
8. How do I sell my product on the web?
9. How do I get traffic to my site?
10. How do I put audio and video on my site?

I think there are the following types of request. I think we need to think hard about which of these we do and don’t do.

1. Do. Take customer request, do some work, deliver results to the customer.
2. Show. Take customer request, show the customer how to do it.
3. Advise. Take customer request, figure out how to satisfy it, communicate solution to the customer.
4. Guide. Take customer request, figure out what they really need/want, communicate options, advise re decisions.
5. Translate. Translate inarticulate customer request into a request that can be satisfied.

Each of the requests in the first list might be of any type in the second list. Which ones make economic sense?

Philosophy

What is the vision for the business? What principles will guide the development of the business?

• Cookie cutter
• Most Important Skill
• Dev, test, production
• Roles and responsibilities
• 3 legged stool

Process

What are the defined processes for running the business? What do staff members (employees & contractors) need to do to keep management informed, to get paid, to expand their roles, etc.?

• Status reporting
• Time reporting
• Customer interaction
• Project assignment

What defined processes become “service products”?

• Cf: Customer requests
• Create eCommerce web presence

• <split up above into defined sub-processes>
• e.g. Create new SemPro site at Hostgator

Skills

What are the fundamental, horizontal skills that are necessary for the business? Not every individual needs every skill.

Tech skills

• Basic web browsing skills: Navigate the web, use web apps, level 1 search skills, get help.
• Markup skills: HTML, XHTML.
• Formatting and presentation skills: CSS, graphics tools (see below)
• Programming skills: PHP, JavaScript
• Database skills: MySQL basics, phpmyadmin
• Usability skills: improve the customer experience
• Design skills: Artistic taste, color, layout, <more>
• Graphic tools: Photoshop, Illustrator, Fireworks, InDesign, iPhoto, Grab, Hijaak, <more> …
• Video tools: Flash, iMovie, Adobe Media Encoder,
• Video infrastructure: Cloud, S3, streaming.

Marketing skills

• Direct marketing (tools, techniques, do’s, don’t’s, etc. Expand this…)
• SEO

• Onsite
• Incoming
• Keyword evaluation and management
• [Kat and Tom: expand this section]

Business skills

• Strategic evaluation: is it a good business?
• Financial evaluation: can the business be bootstrapped? can it be funded?
• [expand]

Web Applications

• Firefox

• Firebug
• Web developer
• S3?
• WHM, cPanel
• WordPress

• Semiologic
• Wishlist Products
• GoDaddy, NetSol, Domain.com, enom
• Paypal, 1ShoppingCart
• Moodle
• Aweber, etc.
• Forums:
• Ticket/HelpDesk:

Desktop Applications

• Dreamweaver or alternative
• Interarchy, Fetch, or alternative
• Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Fireworks, iPhoto
• Flash, iMovie,

Sites & Credentials

• Customer links and more (http://www.xsfor.us/mod/resource/view.php?id=526)
  This contains a bunch of customer links and vendor links. Maintain list there; add commentary here, someday.
• Figure out how to manage credentials.

Tasks

• WHM

• Collect customer info (u, p, legacy info, … )
• Create HG account
• Create/modify package
• Modify customer account
• Create/manage skeleton folder
• [] Set up automatic billing for WHM accounts
• [] Set up XWS-branded name servers
• cPanel

• Set up standard forwarders (admin, abuse, postmaster, webmaster, …)
• Collect info from customer re email process preferences
• Set up POP, IMAP, or forwarders based on customer prefs
• Fantastico installs

• WordPress
• Moodle
• SMF?
• Others?
• DNS controls
• File manager
• GoDaddy, NetSol,

• Purchase domains
• Set up Account Exec
• Modify nameservers
• 3 roles: registrar, DNS controls, host.
• Moodle

• Install
• Configure – initial defaults
• Schedule backups
• Collect bus. reqmts. that drive configuration settings
• Configure – based on bus. reqmts.
• Monitor/maintain user list
• Upgrade versions
• Create custom skin
• WordPress & SemPro

• Install
• Configure – initial defaults
• Schedule backups
• Configure – based on customer interviews
• Monitor/maintain user list
• Purchase SemPro license (including documentation and installation)
• Manage SemPro forum requests
• Manage SemPro tickets
• Migrate HTML content to SemPro