1. Content Management @ University of Miami © University of Miami 2003

2. Daniel Colcher Associate University Webmaster Wendy Dibean University Webmaster © University of Miami 2003

3. About UM Coral Gables, FL since 1927 14,978 undergrad, grad and professional students 9,466 faculty and employees 13 Schools and Colleges –Medical School and Law School © University of Miami 2003

4. The History WWWC created in 1997 Web policy created in 1997 –All sites must have certain components –All administrative units must follow design First Webmaster hired in 1997 © University of Miami 2003

5. The Problem 100 departments using “Site Builder” Still too technical for users to follow the policy Constant support calls Complete rewrite with every redesign Only Webmaster and student workers © University of Miami 2003

6. Goals Vendor supported application Easy updates for non-technical users Allow technical users to have control Centrally controlled design with distributed content Content Sharing Up-to-date content Workflow © University of Miami 2003

7. Evaluated Packages Vignette StoryServer (V-series) Allaire Cold Fusion Documentum Interwoven Selected Vignette StoryServer v4.0 © University of Miami 2003

8. Reasons for Selecting Vignette Flexible Leader in Commercial Marketplace Expandable development environment Competitive pricing model (non-disclosure agreement) © University of Miami 2003

9. Reasons Cont. Multi-server Support Component-level Caching –Performance of static content in dynamic form Personalization capabilities © University of Miami 2003

10. Implementation Timeline Summer 1999 – began evaluation process October 1999 - purchased Vignette StoryServer 3 month development 1 month content migration of 100 existing departments and Graduate School March 17, 2000 – launched UM Web Development Site version 1.0 © University of Miami 2003

11. Customer Buy-in Allowed for non-technical content authors New site design Migrated existing pages for Departments and Schools Ease of use along with flexibility “Let students do the work, you just launch to the site” © University of Miami 2003

12. Hidden Agendas Untouched content removed after one year Limited FTP access –Eased phone calls –Limited file types User authentication moved to central user base (Windows NT) Lower replication of content throughout Simplified Future Redesigns © University of Miami 2003

13. Where we are today 295 departments 6 Schools/Colleges 580 users –340 active users –100 sessions per day Content and traffic tripled © University of Miami 2003

14. What the Future Holds More flexible, scalable environment Other Schools (including Medical) Publish to multiple locations in multiple formats –Portal –PDA –Cellular Phones © University of Miami 2003

15. Problems Faced / Lessons Learned Web Content v. Web Page –Navigation complexity –Fixed site layout and types of pages Lack of Suggested Practices and Personal Knowledge / Experience Application Componentization © University of Miami 2003

16. Lessons Learned Cont. Take time to plan Database Design –History of Changes / Restores Optimize ALL database calls © University of Miami 2003

17. Suggestions Think of content items not pages Separate data and processing from display –More difficult than expected Flexibility vs. Limitations Allowing for diverse user levels Keep workflow simple Content Taxonomy Good time to re-architect site © University of Miami 2003

18. Web Development Site Calendar Major Matcher Reporter’s Sourcebook Admission Request System Directory Update Site Off-campus Housing Database School of Music Event Management Computer Operations Log Form Creator – in development © University of Miami 2003

19. Questions? © University of Miami 2003

20. Wendy Dibean wdibean@miami.edu Daniel Colcher dcolcher@miami.edu © University of Miami 2003