//Ross Settles /October 11 / 2013
Working with Technology
The Seminar focused on techniques needed to select, measure and manage technology to in order to deliver successful online products and services.
- The Seminar presented the following topics:“Technology Platforms & Decision Criteria”. The presentation outlined the key decisions involved in selecting and maintaining web platforms. The presenter discussed the pros and cons of in-house versus outsourced development as well as proprietary versus open source software. Detailed decision criteria are recommended. Because of the importance of the Content Management System, the presentation closes with a comparison of the three open source CMS platforms – Drupal, WordPress, and Joomla.
- “Product Management Roles and Responsibilities”. The presentation focused on the role of product management as a ‘translator’ between the needs of users and technology’s ability to deliver web products to meet these needs. In particular, the seminar outlined key elements in a business plan and product specification. Examples of online and software products used to support the product development and bug tracking processes are also included.
- “Opportunities in Online Advertising”. The presenter detailed the elements of online advertising standards including pixel dimensions, file size and other graphic requirements. The discussion outlined new trends in online advertising targeting including behavioral and contextual targeting. The rapid emergence of real-time bidding or programmatic buying and its key components is also introduced with specific examples and a summary of companies working in the Russian/Ukrainian market.
- “Development Metrics: Measuring Your Site for Improvement”. This section presented a model for online metrics including examples of data sources and calculations. Three types of metrics are discussed. Foundation metrics provide basic audience behavior (visits, page views) and audience descriptions (location, gender, etc.). Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) are discussed in terms of developing measures that assist in making business and content decisions to optimize websites for traffic or revenue. Finally, tactical measures like A/B testing and heat maps are introduced as techniques to acquire specific information to make tactical decisions about a website.
- “Website Hosting Fundamentals”. The Seminar presented the key types of hosting, their different uses and recommended criteria for selecting hosting methods and vendors.
The Seminar aimed to provide media managers with decision-making and management techniques for working with technology including content management, advertising and ad serving, and metrics systems.
Location: Moscow, Russia
Dates: 9 – 10 October 2013
Attending: Russian and Ukrainian Technology, Product and Commercial Managers
Article by Ross Settles
Leave your comment