A good list of bad problems

Number of posts : 142 Age : 42 Registration date : 2007-06-13

Quote :: I’ve been reviewing the final projects of a few of our journalism master’s students. Every year we have some students who produce an online package as a project in lieu of thesis; the project is supposed to represent an effort comparable to that required to produce a traditional master’s thesis.

We have a good idea what the package will contain before it’s complete. The thesis process begins with a proposal by the student, and a committee of three faculty must approve the proposal before the student starts reporting and gathering assets for the project. We see a plan and rough sketches and a summary of the background research.

The finished projects tend to share specific weaknesses — which I also see in a lot of professional online packages.

1. Missing the opportunity of the intro.

This happens in one of two ways: Either the visitor is overwhelmed by a giant overload of information and choices, or the choices are too few, obscure, or skimpy in detail to capture the visitor’s interest. The front of the package, usually the first thing the visitor sees, absolutely must make a great first impression. That doesn’t mean it is merely pretty. The front must immediately (and simply) convey an honest sense of the story, why it matters, and what you can do here (from this point in the package).

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