UWSAG talks to Joy Bhattacharya
of the Indian Air Traffic Controllers Website

1. What got you started in website design?
   
   "I am basically an Air Traffic Controller and also a member of the Air Traffic Controllers Guild (India) – the association of Indian ATCs. In the year 2000, I joined a Post-Graduate Diploma in Computer Applications course out of my desire to learn computer programming. We had to do a term-end live project as part of the course. I went to Mr. Shekhar, the Guild’s General Secretary, with the idea of designing a website for the Guild as my project. Shekhar was very receptive to the idea and gave me the go-ahead. Being a very hard task-master, he gave me a list of requirements for the site – which appeared very challenging to me (given my novice-level knowledge of programming at that time). I would show him my work every week and he more often than not will not be fully satisfied and would ask me to reprogram many aspects of the site. I had to work really hard to come up to his requirements. Now when the UWSAG members give recognition to the site, it seems all that hard work was not in vain."
   
   
2. What do you hope to accomplish with your website?
   
   "Air Traffic Control is a very challenging and stressful job. While everybody who flies know about the pilots, the knowledge about air traffic controllers (the backroom boys) is astonishingly low. It is especially so in a country like India. One basic aim of this website is to make the public aware of the air traffic controllers and their job. In other words, “the mission is self-advertisement."
   
   
3. What advice would you give other webmasters?
   
   "Webmasters are the architect of their sites. Designing and building a site is very similar to designing a building. I would suggest the following steps for new webmasters: (a) As an architect does, first identify a clear purpose for your site, (b) Visit as many sites as you can with similar aims. This gives you an idea about what’s in, (c) Now visualize YOUR site in your mind’s frame, (d) Pick up the drawing board and the pencil/crayons and draw the site page by page. Don’t think of programming as yet. Just draw the site as you would like it to be. Completing this step means you have already done 50% of your job, (e) Now get on to the computer and program the site. If the site does not match the one in your drawing board, don’t compromise. Pick up the programming guides or make use of the huge resource available on the net to get exactly what you wanted, (f) A word of caution: While javascripts and flash etc. are useful, don’t overdo them."
   
   
4. What was the biggest problem you faced with your website?
   
   "Security, without doubt."
   
   
5. If you had to do it all over again, what would you do differently?
   
   "The ‘drawing board’ part. While the site at its present form is good; if I am presented with the luxury of doing it all over again, I’d definitely come up with an entirely new design."
   
   
6. What plans do you have for the future?
   
   "I plan on making this site more comprehensive – a one-stop site for the ATC professionals as well as enthusiasts."
   
   
7. What else do you like to do?
   
   "I view travel as the biggest education one can have. I’d like to embark on a world tour and chronicling my journey on a website. Nice dreams, eh."