Web Content Management – Out of the Box

1. Web Content Management – Out of the Box Administrative Information ServicesWeb & Communication Services Team

2. Overview • Handout • RedDot Solutions Web CMS • Common Web CMS topics regardless of the tool • Our Experiences • Web CMS Administrative Roles & Responsibilities • Benefits and User Experiences

3. What We’ve Learned and Experienced • Web Content Management (WCM) is a tool and a process. • Overhaul the entire site to include strategy, objectives, methods and management of both the site and its content. • Learning curve is larger for IT staff -- minimal for content experts. • Best results are achieved when using dedicated IT resources. • The bulk of the work is seen in planning and building the site and during content population. Adding new content experts then becomes an efficient process. • Have experienced a significant reduction in number of Requests For Service to our Team as content experts begin using CMS.

4. The Good, the Bad and the Do Over… • Separate site redesign project from CMS implementation project. • Launch a prototype (portion of the site) before the full implementation. • Design for non-technical users in mind. • Spend required time designing your templates to ensure ease of use, needed functionality and efficient flexibility. • Assign an owner to every page. If a page doesn’t have an owner, determine if it is necessary or if it can be removed. • Directory structures are irrelevant to content experts. Therefore, create a site structure that is easy to manage & maintain.

5. Administrative Roles & Responsibilities • Technical discussion and live demonstration using RedDot software: • Building and Using Templates • User and Group Authorizations • Configuring Workflow • Publishing Web Pages

6. How Web Content Management is Helping Us Achieve Our Goals • Enhanced productivity by users actively creating content and improving business processes. • Improved quality of Web site assets through templates and the media catalog. • Reduced Web page creation/updates from a manual 10-step process to an automatic 4-step process. • Eliminated manual intervention of the Web site publishing process. • Workflow ensures consistency in tone and language.

7. Workflow Editor "With RedDot, our content providers are able to contribute their respective information; and through Workflow, submit it in an efficient and timely manner. What used to take weeks now takes days and produces a much better end product.” - Anissa Rupert, AIS Web Coordinator/Writer Editor

8. Assimilating Content Experts • Gaining buy-in. Bring most active content experts on board first: Lessens your load and empowers those who already share the vision and see the benefits. • Provide 3-hour training session: What CMS is and what it isn’t; Web standards, departmental standards, roles & responsibilities, etc. • Created listserv for communication purposes. • Created RedDot Users Guide for AIS users.

9. User Documentation Is Important "I've spent the past week or so reviewing other institutions implementations and their documentation if available. I would like to commend you on the strength of your documentation for RedDot and the benefit they provide for your users. You have given me inspiration and motivation to take my documentation to the next level." - Michael Painter, Webmaster          Simpson College, Redding, CA

10. A User’s Perspective “Via its easy-to-follow menus and templates, RedDot CMS has helped facilitate the creation of our online training/reference manual, providing us with a professional look that is functional as well as appealing.” - Pam Lohr, AIS Operations

11. A User’s Perspective (cont.) “RedDot has allowed two of my staff members, who have very little experience in developing Web pages, to easily create an online manual for the entire staff to use. It has allowed us to become more efficient in new employee training and to share information across all three of our work shifts.” - Scott Weaver, Manager of Network Operations

12. A User’s Perspective (cont.) “As a content provider, RedDot CMS enables me to have more control over what content gets delivered and provides me with an easy-to-use interface. And because it’s so easy to use, I am now working on additional ways we can utilize the AIS Web site to improve our business processes.” - Todd Litzinger, AIS Data Security Manager

13. A User’s Perspective (cont.) "The capability of the RedDot CMS software to download a flow chart from Microsoft VISIO has been part of Production Control's long term strategy for our secure Intranet pages. Last Friday that anticipated capability became reality!  Thank you so much for the extra effort several of you gave to make that item from our "Wish List" a reality!"  - Patricia Gouse, Production Coordinator

14. Questions? ais-webmaster@psu.edu