1. WebDev Depot: Your One-Stop Web Development Warehouse Copyright Nancy J. Mustachio 2003. This work is the intellectual property of the author. Permission is granted for this material to be shared for non-commercial, educational purposes, provided that this copyright statement appears on the reproduced materials and notice is given that the copying is by permission of the author. To disseminate otherwise or to republish requires written permission from the author.

2. May 13 th, 2003 : Track 4 – Building Effective Partnerships WebDev Depot: Your One-Stop Web Development Warehouse Presented by: Nancy J. Mustachio, Director Application Development Marie Somers, Manager of Web Development

3. Similar terms, yet differing definitions The name we gave our online resource The nickname for the Office of Web Development The short version for ‘web development process’

4. Quick 30,000 ft. Fly-by! What is WebDev Depot? What were the motivating factors that prompted its creation? How did WebDev “respond” to those issues? What has been our experience with its use? Where is WebDev heading and what is the future for WebDev Depot? demo

5. What is WebDev Depot? Central resource for web development and publishing: –Provides a process workflow –Defines standard tools and design elements –Serves as a document repository for guidelines and policies –Integrates support functions from various departments within IT and PR

6. What prompted its creation? “Anything goes” mindset due to existing lack of standards Technological divide between the “haves & have nots” “Wizard of Oz” approach without the yellow brick road! –The ‘how-to’ was not communicated across campus, therefore web dev was a mystery

7. What prompted its creation? Rising expectation and frustration levels Beginning awareness of institutional branding Unable to serve “all of the people, all of the time”

8. How did WebDev respond? Acquired a standardized web dev tool –(FrontPage circa 1999) Standardized web site naming convention –Virtual web names based on school, division or visibility with subwebs to reflect departments or programs Developed a few templates to reflect core navigation and design elements

9. How did WebDev respond? Collected basic web dev resources –logos, photo gallery, accessibility awareness, copyright and security policies… Provided a step-by-step workflow map to describe the web dev process Created an online request form to initiate the web dev process

20. “Quick Step” workflow * Slight difference between Administrative and Academic 1.Client reaches out to PR or IT 2.Virtual web or subweb created 3.Templates applied 4.Content imported 5.Site reviewed and published

23. What has been our experience?  Although we have templates and suggest standards for graphical design and layout… –Some clients want to create their own “thing” (academic freedom of speech and appearance!)  Even though it may look nice and comply to all policies… –Once it’s published, people forget about it  The web can not be monopolized by one department… –Because the web is mission critical, a holistic approach to its existence is required

24. What has been our experience? The mystery behind the process was unveiled and the intimidation factor was dissolved … –Clients “jumped in” and responsibility distributed –The gap between the departments and programs which had a site *vs* those with no web presence began to shrink The unification began The web development process received greater visibility

25. Where are we heading? For a balance between standardization and individualism For consistency of common-sense navigation and categorization of content For content and design approval to assure accuracy of information For easier, continuous care and feeding For greater distribution of responsibility, supported by an “easy” tool set

26. How are we going to get there? Currently in the process of developing the proposal for our 3 rd Generation web site –Acquired a Content Management System to assist in the categorization and workflow of content –Developed two pilot sites using the CMS –Allocated resources to further develop our portal, to support the daily flow of information and communication with a single point of access (i.e. a “real intranet”)

27. What is the future for WebDev Depot? We will continue to develop the site as a central web development resource –Recreate the site within the CMS –Convert personal web pages used for instruction to official departmental pages –Add more templates and subsequent levels –Enhance photo databank from PR –Create additional “how to” documentation –Integrate Blackboard Courseware support –Develop Blackboard Portal support

28. We welcome you to look around and drop us a line! tech.shu.edu/webdev or webdev@shu.edu Nancy J. Mustachio– mustacna@shu.edu Marie D. Somers – somersma@shu.edu