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Thoughts from Blend Interactive
One of Blend’s core values is a dedication to advocacy and progress — to expand upon and give back to the community that fuels us. This is where those thoughts live.
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Episode 24: Maintain and Improve (w/ David Hobbs) Off-site link
Corey and Deane discuss the people and rules that help run a website after launch. Then, David Hobbs, author of Website Product Management: Keeping Focused During Change, joins to talk about transferring a site from a project to a product — what that means to keep the site going after launch, where it most often fails, and how to streamline requests and set reasonable expectations for the future of the site.
Episode 23: Plan for Post-Launch Operations (w/ Meghan Casey) Off-site link
Corey and Deane talk about the idea of a web operations framework. Then, Meghan Casey, content strategist and author of The Content Strategy Toolkit: Methods, Guidelines, and Templates for Getting Content Right, joins to talk about content governance and ongoing maintenance — how humans are nearly always the problem (but not the humans you might think), the things you can do to plan for post-launch content, and how to deromanticize the bit launch in favor of content maintenance.
Keeping Your Website Fresh: 10 Post-Launch Web Tasks
A website's success doesn't hinge on what happens on launch day — it's an ongoing balance of maintenance and improvement after your site has already launched.
Episode 18: Select an Implementation Partner (w/ Tony Byrne) Off-site link
Corey and Deane discuss what clients should look for when selecting an implementation partner. Then, Tony Byrne, co-author of The Right Way to Select Technology and President of Real Story Group, joins to talk through the implementation partner selection process, including common mistakes, the value of domain knowledge, and how most projects should focus on technology first.
An Introduction to Sprints and Sprint Planning
Life is full of complicated projects — event planning, construction, and, yes, building a website. This introduction to sprints and sprint planning will illustrate how we keep it all moving forward.
Internship Recap: Summer 2022
Summer is starting to wind down, and it's almost time to say goodbye to Blend's summer 2022 interns. Before the two head back off to college, hear what they have to say about their time here at Blend!
A Quick Definition of Scrum
In project management, the process of Agile development is dependent on a pretty important element: the “scrum” — a quick meeting designed to level-set before work begins. Here's how Blend puts it to use.
The Value of Project Management
Every day, we encounter things in our life that require a plan — vacation, meals, kid’s school and after-school activities. If there’s not a plan, something will get missed. A ball will get dropped. And you’ll be left wondering, “What happened?” Enter project management.
Episode 4: Create a Project Plan (w/ Brett Harned) Off-site link
Corey and Deane talk about how project plans rarely stay intact upon first contact with real life. Then, we chat with Brett Harned, author of Project Management for Humans, about his definition of a project plan, creating better retrospectives, and how to help clients and project teams keep on track. (Also, Brett tells us the best album in his record collection.)
Episode 3: Form Your Project Team (w/ Patrice Embry) Off-site link
Corey and Deane talk about the roles missing from most new project teams — namely, the idea of a user and product advocate. Then, Patrice Embry joins the podcast to talk about forming a project team. And, of course, we talk about sports metaphors.
Beyond Blend.
Blend doesn’t just write here: we also write books, create videos, and dive deep into our individual disciplines. Check out some of our external sources of knowledge.
The Web Project Guide
A phase-by-phase look at the web design and development process, providing context to each step.
Coding with Bob
A YouTube series by our director of development, focusing on .NET coding and Optimizely development.
Eating Elephant
A blog about content strategy, information architecture, and understanding user needs.