Problem Statement

The aim of the proposed work is to investigate into the key challenges in creating a website along with the challenges that are part of managing it. Hence based on the aim of the paper the primary question of the proposed study is “What are the key issues in creating and managing a website?”

Problem Statement

Technological development has paved way for different solutions to assist an organisation grow and one of the most prominent of it is websites. The number of website growth and in the process growth of the website adopter has been witnessed in the current era (Kassim et al. 2015). The reason for the increase in the number of adoption is the benefits offered by the website that includes ease of communication, marketing perks, customer attraction, product promotion and multiple others. However, if the website id developed inadequately then adverse effect on the customers may be visible on the website associates (Garett et al. 2016). It may develop a wrong perception about the firm in the eyes of the customers which may develop difficulties for the former and should be avoided.

Hence, the discussion above has made it evident that website has emerged as a crucial part of an organisation. However, it has also been identified that it is important that the firms develop should cite proper attention while developing a website and should also ensure that the developed website is managed properly. Hence, the problem is that though the critical importance of websites is evident and so is the need for a properly developed and managed website, then why the firms are not citing adequate attention to those facts. So, the problem statement that the proposed paper is aimed at is identification of key issues in creating and managing a website.

So, the proposed paper is aimed at investigating into the key challenges in creating a website along with the challenges that are part of managing it. The paper is discussion have discussed different aspects of the proposed work in accordance with the aim. The paper in the following sections have considered different aspects that will play a crucial role in the study. The discussed aspects include the scope, methodology, plan, discussion over the risks, concerns and other important part of the study.

Background

Websites have emerged as one of the crucial part of the organisations around the globe that includes all kinds of organisations from educational institutes to business organisations and even extends up to a state’s governing bodies. The technological advancements have developed ease of communication and websites are one of the crucial part of it. The role of websites could be understood by the fact that it is estimated that the total number of websites are over 1.8 billion. Hence, the dependency over websites are very high and so, it is crucial that the website is appropriate to its purpose and cites the most accurate and relevant results.       

One of the fact that makes the dominance of websites evident is that there are over 4.15 billion internet users and the number of websites is over 1.8 billion that is an average of 1 website for every 2.3 internet users (Internetworldstats.com 2018). Another notable fact is that in 2018, 90% of the businesses use websites directly or indirectly for business purposes. The reason for the above stated fact is that websites assists the firm to communicate with its consumers, receive their feedbacks, promote themselves and their products and accordingly many other prominent benefits (Abramson 2018).

Background

However, it has been identified that of such a vast number of website only a limited number of the website are adequate and is satisfactory for the customers. It is one of the major failure for the websites and needs to be cited with proper attention. Another notable is that 94% of the negative feedback for the websites are design related which is one of the crucial part of the website development (HuffPost 2018). In a recent study it has also been identified that 85% people believes that the websites should have responsiveness which can be easily inducted in the website development stage (Taylor 2018). Similarly, multiple factors are there which needs to be inducted in the website development stage. Furthermore, it has also been identified that improper management of the website is also leading to the failure of the websites and needs to be mitigated so that efficient results can be obtained from the investment in websites.

Hence, from the review, the crucial importance of assessing the website dominance and mitigation of the threats that may restrict the influence of a website can be stated. The review has also stated that assessment over the dominance of websites is aa discussed topic however the challenges in managing and creating a website has not been discussed prominently. No proper scholarly work dedicated to the topic of discussion have been identified. Furthermore, the role of different associates in the issues are also a gap in the literature that needs to be filled.

Scope

            The importance of website and its proper functionality is evident from the discussion above and hence, it is crucial to decipher the issued so that the firms can leverage the functionality of the websites and in the process ensure effectiveness of the objective for which the website have been deployed.  The following points are presented to detail the scope of the proposed research work.

1. The identifications from the proposed study will assist in spreading awareness about the challenges faced while creating and maintaining a website.
2. The identification of issues will open ways for future research in domain of websites.

• Identification of the issues will pave way for determination of potential solutions to mitigate the identified issues at both a smaller and broader level.

1. The identification of the issues will also enable determination of ways to further improve the capability of the websites.

The scope of the research can also be further extended depending upon the perception and need of the readers. The paper could be utilised to establish base for other research works as secondary source and can also be used by the educators to educate the website professionals in the subject. Similarly, other scopes from the paper could be determined by the readers of the paper and hence, it would be justified to state that the proposed paper offers a broader domain of scope.

Objectives

            The primary objective of the paper is to investigate into the key issues that is being faced by the website developers and owners in creating and managing a website. To support the primary objective of the proposed work some sub-objectives will also be pursued by the paper and they have been listed below:

1. To identify key issues in creating and managing a website.
2. To determine the role of the website owner in those issues.

• To determine the role of the developers in the identified issues.

1. To determine the role of the customer needs and perception in those issues.
2. To identify potential solutions to those challenges.

The identification of the role played by different website stakeholders in the creation and management of the website will enable to gain an in-depth idea into the issues. Furthermore, it will also support in discussing the potential solution to that issues.

Methodology

            The aim of the paper is to determine the issues that exists in creating and managing a website. Hence, it becomes crucial to take in consideration of the subjects who are aware of the challenges, it may be the developers, IT professionals, website owners and other relevant individuals. Another point that can be taken in account is the fact that the subject in discussion have been assessed by different scholars and other prominent individual or group which offers a large base of data that can be used for the proposed study. So, quantitative research will be the most suitable approach for the study and hence, the selection (Heale and Twycross 2015).

Scope

However, to get an in-depth understanding of the subject, quantitative data is not enough because, to understand the role of different associated individuals (owner, developers and customers). The participants should be availed with open-ended questions so that they can explore their creativity and experience to offer as response (Züll 2016). The above discussion states that qualitative research approach is also compatible for the study. Hence, the paper will adopt mixed data approach.

            The review of the data will offer some critical findings that will be utilised to develop a questionnaire which will then be distributed among a sample size of 30 respondents for the collection of quantitative data. The sample will consist of IT Professionals who are expert in website development and management. The sampling of the data will be done through random sampling. Post collection of the quantitative data, the data will be analysed using the SPSS and MS Excel tools. ANOVA, descriptive analysis using frequency tables or Linear regression will be done to summarise the data depending upon the collected data (Leech, Barrett and Morgan 2014).

Post summary of the data, questions for the collection of the qualitative data will be developed. The questions will be used for interviewing a mixed sample that will consist of IT professionals, website owners and customers. The maximum percentage of the sample will compromise of IT professionals who are expert in managing and creating websites. The findings from the data will be summarised using Ground theory approach.

Project Plan

Task Name	Duration	Start	Finish	Predecessors
Key issues in creating and managing a website	104 days	Thu 01-11-18	Tue 26-03-19
Phase 1: Initialisation	15 days	Thu 01-11-18	Wed 21-11-18
Topic Development	2 days	Thu 01-11-18	Fri 02-11-18
Background Development	5 days	Mon 05-11-18	Fri 09-11-18	3
Brainstorming	2 days	Mon 12-11-18	Tue 13-11-18	4
Preliminary Review	4 days	Wed 14-11-18	Mon 19-11-18	5
Determining Research Objectives	2 days	Tue 20-11-18	Wed 21-11-18	6
Phase 2: Planning	11 days	Thu 22-11-18	Thu 06-12-18
Research Plan	5 days	Thu 22-11-18	Wed 28-11-18	7
Budgeting	3 days	Thu 29-11-18	Mon 03-12-18	9
Risk Assessment	4 days	Thu 29-11-18	Tue 04-12-18	9
Developing Research Question	2 days	Tue 04-12-18	Wed 05-12-18	10
Proposal Development	0 days	Mon 03-12-18	Mon 03-12-18	10
Proposal Submission	1 day	Thu 06-12-18	Thu 06-12-18	12
Phase 3: Execution	41 days	Fri 07-12-18	Fri 01-02-19
Primary Review	10 days	Fri 07-12-18	Thu 20-12-18	14
Determination of Patterns from Review	5 days	Fri 21-12-18	Thu 27-12-18	16
Questionnaire Development	2 days	Fri 28-12-18	Mon 31-12-18	17
Quantitative Data collection	5 days	Tue 01-01-19	Mon 07-01-19	18
Anova & T-testing on Data	6 days	Tue 08-01-19	Tue 15-01-19	19
Qualitative Data Collection	8 days	Wed 16-01-19	Fri 25-01-19	20
Grounded Theory testing	5 days	Mon 28-01-19	Fri 01-02-19	21
Phase 4: Analysis	23 days	Mon 04-02-19	Wed 06-03-19
Summarising Findings	6 days	Mon 04-02-19	Mon 11-02-19	17,20,22
Discussion	4 days	Tue 12-02-19	Fri 15-02-19	24
Concluding	8 days	Mon 18-02-19	Wed 27-02-19	25
Report Development	5 days	Thu 28-02-19	Wed 06-03-19	26
Report Completed	0 days	Wed 06-03-19	Wed 06-03-19	26,27
Phase 5: Closure	14 days	Thu 07-03-19	Tue 26-03-19
Report Submission	4 days	Thu 07-03-19	Tue 12-03-19	27
Oral Presentation	10 days	Wed 13-03-19	Tue 26-03-19	30

Table: Project Plan & Timeline

(Source: Created by Author using MS Project)

Known Risks

The table below have presented the risk that had been identified and may develop constrain for the study. However, it should be noted that the risk events and their potential solutions are proposed and should not be considered as the constant because they may vary according to the study and the complicacies in completing the studies. A final risk assessment table will be presented in the final report that will contain the risks faced and how they were countered for successful delivery of the project. The table has also presented the mitigation strategy for the identified risks. The code presented below will enable in understanding the table.

Keys:

Risk types:

• F Financial
• T Technology
• P People
• S Security
• B Bias

Control Flags:

• High risk – Action required urgently
• Medium risk – Action as soon as possible
• Acceptable risk – Analyse issues raised
• Low risk – No gain expected from mitigation

Risk Type	Risk Event	Likelihood (1-10)	Impact (1-10)	Risk Value (1-100)	Risk Monitoring/ Control Flag	Risk Management Strategy	Risk Review Date
P	Wrong Topic Selection	4	9	36		Proper assessment over the field of interest and expertise.	Please fill
P	Improper Background Development	5	9	45		Proper research before development of background.	Please fill
F	Limited fund for Preliminary Review may limit accessing of suitable data.	8	8	56		Proper funding should be utilised so that suitable secondary works can be reviewed without financial constraint.	Please fill
P	Determining Research Objectives	4	9	36		Proper objectives should be developed based on the aim of the study and the gap in literature.	Please fill
P,T	Research Plan may be improper because of faulty software or human error.	5	6	30		Proper assessment of the activities and the time needs to be done before development of plan.	Please fill
F	Improper Budgeting may develop constrains in data collection and analysis	8	9	72		Proper allocation of budget should be done based on the importance of activity	Please fill
P, F	Improper Primary Review may develop constrain for quantitative data collection and eventually the final outcome	6	9	54		Proper budget and attention should be provided for an effective and efficient review.	Please fill
P	Improper Determination of Patterns from review	4	8	32		In-depth review of the literary work should be done.	Please fill
P, T	Unclear Questionnaire Development due to human or technical error	3	8	24		The questionnaire should be reviewed before sharing with the respondents	Please fill
P, T	Irrelevant Quantitative Data Collection due to small sample for loss of data due to technical fault.	2	8	16		Reliable technology should be used (such as Google Form for collection of data along with adding a collaborator to ensure that no data is lost). Proper selection of sample (skilled and experienced IT professionals) will mitigate the risk of small sample.	Please fill
T	ANOVA & T-testing on Data error	2	9	18		IBM SPSS is a reliable tool and the test should be done on it to gain reliability and accuracy of finding.	Please fill
P, B	Qualitative Data Collection because people may be biased	2	8	16		Proper information and instruction regarding the study along with confidentiality assurance will ensure an unbiased participation.	Please fill
P	Grounded Theory testing	2	6	12		The findings from test should be reviewed with the secondary data and other findings to assure reliability.	Please fill
P	Summarising Findings	3	9	27		Proper summary should be derived from each of the findings.	Please fill

Table: Risk Assessment Table

(Source: Created by Author)

Source & Use of Knowledge

The internet will be the most prominent source for the identification of the knowledge however, not all the data available on the internet is reliable (O’Donnell 2017). Hence, the author of the proposed study will consider Google Scholar search engine for the selection of the secondary sources. The selection of the search engine could be justified by the fact that it is the world’s largest search engine for scholarly articles, journals, patents and other scholarly work (Haddaway et al. 2015). The patents will be avoided because of the reliability questions over them. Other trusted sites for the selection of the journals and articles.

Concerns

According to Bryman (2016), research studies are dedicated to upgrade the status of a scenario or subject and hence it is of crucial importance to cite proper attention to concerns. The proposed paper will cite adequate attention to different concerns and the first and foremost of it is the ethical concern. As part of the ethical values the paper will ensure to have an informed participation from the respondents and will also avoid data manipulation (Eisner 2017). Furthermore, the studier will maintain an unbiased approach throughout the study.

As part of the professional concern it will be ensured that the source that are collected as part of the paper are referenced with proper source and will not raise any copyright issues (Wellington 2015). Furthermore, the guidelines for academic studies from the governing entities of the university and the state of study will be abided by to mitigate the concerns. Finally, as part of the security concern the identity and information of the participants will only be limited to the studier.

References

Abramson, M.A., 2018. CHAPTER FIVE “Liking” Social Media. Government for the Future: Reflection and Vision for Tomorrow’s Leaders, p.91.

Bryman, A., 2016. Social research methods. Oxford university press.

Eisner, E.W., 2017. The enlightened eye: Qualitative inquiry and the enhancement of educational practice. Teachers College Press.

Garett, R., Chiu, J., Zhang, L. and Young, S.D., 2016. A literature review: Website design and user engagement. Online journal of communication and media technologies, 6(3), p.1.

Haddaway, N.R., Collins, A.M., Coughlin, D. and Kirk, S., 2015. The role of Google Scholar in evidence reviews and its applicability to grey literature searching. PloS one, 10(9), p.e0138237.

Heale, R. and Twycross, A., 2015. Validity and reliability in quantitative studies. Evidence-based nursing, pp.ebnurs-2015.

HuffPost. (2018). How Important Is Responsive Design?. [online] Available at: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-rampton/business-mobile-responsive-design_b_5267077.html [Accessed 22 Nov. 2018].

Internetworldstats.com. (2018). World Internet Users Statistics and 2018 World Population Stats. [online] Available at: https://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm [Accessed 22 Nov. 2018].

Kassim, M., Kamal, M.M., Sani, M.M. and Johari, J., 2015, November. Self-learning website development through online internet knowledge among engineering students. In Engineering Education (ICEED), 2015 IEEE 7th International Conference on (pp. 124-129). IEEE.

Leech, N.L., Barrett, K.C. and Morgan, G.A., 2014. IBM SPSS for intermediate statistics: Use and interpretation. Routledge.

O’Donnell, M.A., 2017. Aphra Behn: An Annotated Bibliography of Primary and Secondary Sources. Routledge.

Taylor, N.G., 2018. Youth information-seeking behavior and online government information: Tweens’ perceptions of US federal government websites. Journal of Documentation, 74(3), pp.509-525.

Wellington, J., 2015. Educational research: Contemporary issues and practical approaches. Bloomsbury Publishing.

Züll, C., 2016. Open-ended questions. GESIS Surve