The SED Web Presence: Integrating the Line Organization Sites

1. The SED Web Presence: Integrating the Line Organization Sites November 2, 2010 Catherine Corlan Chair, SED Web Council; catherine.corlan@nasa.gov SED Web Site: science.gsfc.nasa.gov SED Web Templates: sedwebtest.gsfc.nasa.gov/science-css

2. The SED Web Presence Should … • Provide a Fully Professional Public Face • Failure in this hurts our credibility as a high-tech institution • Provide Efficient and Accurate Internal Communication, Documentation • Enable us to do our jobs better • Consume as few resources as possible • People and hardware

3. The SED Web Presence Has… • No SED-Wide Look & Feel • Intermittent compliance with old Look & Feel • No Standards in Information Architecture (IA) • Layout, Linkage, Labeling • Highly Variable Content Quality • Patches of excellence • No capabilities for re-use or sharing Best Practices across groups • The Attention of the SED Director Of

4. The SED Web Council:Assess the SED Web Presence & Fix It • Presence = Line Orgs AND Mission/Project sites; start w/Line Orgs • Develop SED Look & Feel (GSFC L&F) • Develop Clean Core IA • Extensible by individual organizations • Content should • Serve our Audience Groups • GSFC Mgrs & Employees; Scientists & Engineers; General Public • Be Standard, Complete and Up-to-Date without requiring additional staff maintenance effort (No unfunded mandates!) • Belong to the individual organizations, unless authoritative source exists

5. Initial Requirements and Priorities • Initial, High-Level Requirements From: • SED Management: interviews with Nick White, Mitch Brown • Required single, integrated site with standard information, location, labeling on each Org sub-site • Specified mandatory information content: upper left nav • Existing Sites: Minimal or no loss of functionality • Web Council Subcommittees specified IA, landing page layout requirements for other Audience Groups • Priorities • Do it Yesterday • Do it Right (for ease of maintenance, for future reuse) • Make it Useful • No Unfunded Mandates!

9. The Web Council’s Approach to Web Content • Reconcile No Unfunded Mandates with Up-to-Date Content • Centralize/Automate Mandatory Content • Use Authoritative Sources • Push Maintenance Costs of core data UP the hierarchy • Ensure efficiency & content freshness: Enter Once, Use Many • Press Releases, Missions/Projects, Publications propagate UP • Forms, Training, Procurement info will Propagate DOWN • Automated Information Retirement • These are impossible on static sites • Dynamic sites are substantial database development efforts • Success depends on usability of the UI – frontend and backend

10. Implementation Options • Most DB & Coding Implementation Options set by Existing Contractor Resources, Expertise • Cold Fusion, Fuse Box • Custom Content Management System became about half the development effort • usability, customizability a huge strength • Some CM reuse possible for Mission/Project Sites (staff lists, press releases, etc.) • Mandated use of the new SED VME environment • Pre-defined Web Team • Design - L&F and CSS – developed separately • Coordinated with Code 400, GSFC Web Manager; Compatible with CSS for previous L&F

11. Web Development is Iterative • Subsequent Requirements From: • Iterations of build/test to increase usability • Line Organizations • Each had suggestions for improvements; we made them • Better understanding of initial, high-level requirements • Requirements gaps, e.g., • performance metrics • Content Management functionality • Requirements grew several hundred percent

12. Challenges: Success Means… • Satisfy Upper Management • Standard Content, Content Freshness, Look & Feel, Navigation, Done NOW • Satisfy Line Org Managers • Reflect their emphasis on what information is important regarding their organization • Keep local ownership of content • Do not require additional resources • Satisfy Web Curators • Easy and quick to use

13. Current Status • All line organizations are integrated • Ramping up final development push for 3 Tab Design • Managing to Cost & Schedule; done 4/30/11 • We’ve made substantial progress on the ‘Shoulds’ • Professional Look & Feel – achieved this • Efficient and Accurate Internal Communication, Documentation – in progress • Consume as few resources as possible • Automation estimated to save ~4WYE/yr

14. Future Plans • For Line Organizations: • Easy CV & Identity Maintenance, easy Performance Appraisal preparation • Adding Roles to Staff List, Bio pages – find your Property Manager, Fire Warden, etc. • Publications pulled from library? • And… we take suggestions! • For Mission/Project sites: • Site Templates, back-end services for small to medium Missions & Projects • Flight Project ‘Cradle-to-Grave’ w/400 • For Security: sharing Best Practices

15. Backup Charts

16. SED Web Council Membership Chair, Catherine Corlan (610.2) SED Editor-in-Chief, Karen Smale (606.1) Code 600: Michelle Thaller, Asst. Dir for Communications 603 Michael K. McMichen, Wrathall, Barbara G 606 Nancy Laubenthal 610 Rosa Kao, Eric Nash, James Gass 660 J. D. Myers, Meredith Gibb, Frank Reddy 670 Robert McGuire 690 Carey Noll, Nathan James, John Haberman, Diana Khachadourian