Discussion Group Page At IWMW 2005: South East Region
This is the Wikalong annotation page for the South East region discussion group session at the IWMW 2005 workshop.
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BrianKelly, 17 Jun 2005. 14:45
Shortlist for the top three CMS challenges
Hi - I'm Miles from the University of Kent and I'll be leading the SE region discussion sessions in Manchester. As there are 37 of us and time is short, please add your initial thoughts on the top three challenges to successful deployment of CMS to this page.
Many thanks for taking part and look forward to seeing you in Manchester.
MilesBanbery, 24 Jun 2005. 10:45
1. Integrating one-off or 'quirky' (read perfectly good but technically demanding) user ideas into CMS without getting stung by development costs.
2. Lack of flexibility - not being able to change templates etc later
3. Doing project management in the style of serious IT on an academic budget. Boredom with said serious IT project management methodology!
AllenOLeary 29th June
1. Persuading the institution that enterprise wide content management is worth investing in
2. Persuading users/groups of users, that this is not a back door way of introducing corporate control to their web presence
3. Defining the borders of a CMS - in the end many different systems can be seen as some form of 'content management' problem
N.B - I think it is also worth differentiating between general Content Management and Web Content Management.
Top three challenges identified by SE region:
Gathering support and buy-in (collaboration / philosophy / technology / money)
1:from financial controllers and senior management
2:from content providers and departmental publishers
3.Selecting correct product / solution. Buy or build? What to buy? Who else has
bought and how have they done? How much is it going to cost? How to build? What technology?
Distilled from following list of points:
- Intergrating user ideas - intensive development time even if good
- Lack of flexibility once implemented
- Attempting proper project management in public sector
- Senior management resourcing in inst-wide CMS
- "Creeping corporatisation" central propaganda machines taking control of academic websites
- Not seeing CMS as total lifesaver for all problems
- Resistance from enthusiasts - spoiling the fun
- Enterprise CMS or just website if only website how does it fit with rest of institution?
- Collaboration between different departments with different objectives.
- Honest answers from 3rd party CMS suppliers.
- How to I get from here to there - need CMS because too busy - too busy to create
- Choosing your system
- Sorting the workflow - agreeing ownership /editing
- Don't forget to improve the quality of the material as well as its management
- Input from stakeholders during planning, design and implementation
- Selling it
- If CMS is answer, what is the question?
- Institutional culture and the use of central systems
ChrisLimb, 7 Jul 2005 0945
Solutions?
day two
1. selling concept to colleagues and users
- Get them involved - focus on content providers and make it clear you are looking
for a solution for them not in spite of them
- Take the best from the past
- Find out what's really needed
- Pilot scheme - allay their fears
- Map their workflows and present to them how it can be accomplished or improved
- This will help with technical challenges they may meet (scare them with accessibility)
- Don't call a meeting and present with fait accompli
- Don't leave training until last minute
- Don't change URLs
- Do prepare well - allow time for template design and creation
- There might actually be a demand
- Make people's lives easier - address real problems - easy to use - saving time.
- Sell end product - actual benefits:
- "Don't need to know HTML" - empowers them to do publishing
- takes away worries about accessibility / browser issues /
- aids accuracy and timeliness
- Senior support helps persuade within the institution
- have a strategy - suggest having a look at other institution strategies. Many are published.
2.selling project to senior management / financial controllers
Sometimes demand for CMS is top down - so no problem in that case. Otherwise:
- CBA, and threat of legislation
- Use free trials - but emphasise that it's not end product!
- Trial and replace or get stuck
- Real issues (FOI, removing bottlenecks - better use of resources - efficiency)
- Tie to current issues (student recruitment) - quote their own strategy docuements
- What is impact of not doing it
- "Warwick have got one"
- External consultant - believed over and above own staff - invite colleagues from other places to be external expert
- Tell them it makes branding easier
- Tying web to institutional information systems
3.What to use
- Network like crazy
- Workshops and events
- peers at other institutions
- Mailing lists - newsgroups
- Top ten questions and send to current practitioners for honest answers
- Be thorough in requirements document
- Be aware of local factors - technological infrastructure - in-house experience
- National questionaire - industry sampler by external body
- JISC papers
- Look at other:
- public sector experience - councils, NHS
- private sector
- Are there any numbers I could call?
- Who are the vendors?
- Commercial exhibitions
- Butler Group reports and events
- The Ark Group
- 360° ECM
Is there a "research hole"?
Need a:
- UK HE CMS Wiki
- How to deal with software suppliers - good practice guide
- UCISA group
- Best practice in buying IT
- There are people who know things about companies we can't mention
- Regional groups
- In house - build -
- On site expertise - usual life cycle issue on buy or build
- JISC - ILRT - interoperability - OS
- Help with costing - a cost breakdown (perhaps no actual numbers) issues to think about
ChrisLimb 08 July 2005 1145
