Electronic Editing and Proofing

Almost every job I have had after graduation has included a variety of responsibilities, and this one is no different. This week a couple of events stand out for me.

We have been upgrading one of our websites. It is strange to be only giving direction and critique as I am usually the person doing the technical work. We had the second round of critique this week, and the process reinforced why we have multiple people proof everything. I looked at every page. My strength is looking at the design itself which was looking much better this time. The graduate assistant was able to take our suggestions and create an easy flowing and well-designed site. The only suggestion left was to reduce the size of the sponsor logos and to add a brief description of each. The logos also serve as links to the donor websites.

I handed the proofing off to the next person who identified two links that were not working correctly. One link was an easy fix. We had already encountered the same problem when we updated the brochure. The other link took a little longer to sort out. Finally I identified the problem as a period at the end of the url.

What this reinforced for me is that usually each person on the team has an eye for different things when proofing. Proofing is an area where I need to work harder.

The other event is the electronic integration of online registration forms with our databases. The web gurus would like us to use their system as our database; however, we have a database that we must use for our state mandated reporting and their system does not work well for this purpose. This is the first year I have been importing form data into our databases. While I still have some work to make the import possible, it is quite a time saver. In the process, I have identified a few areas where the process can be improved for next year. It will require some changes to the design of our database, but I think it will be time well spent. The net effect will be time saved and fewer data errors.

I have learned that the design of the forms and databases needs to be well thought out in advance. The fields in both need to match or the import will not be successful.