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Ag Program Web System
From AgriLife WIki
Current situation and concerns
- Without question, Texas A&M Agriculture is a mighty research engine that annually generates a wealth of knowledge, information, and wisdom that is invaluable to the people of Texas and, for that matter, the rest of the world.
- Without question, however, this information is reaching only a fraction of its possible audience. This is nothing new. In the past, how widely information could be disseminated was limited largely to the size of printing and postage budgets. It was also limited by time and distance--the number of in-person trainings, for example, that could be given by a network of traveling faculty in a week or a month or a year.
- That world changed forever with the maturing of the Internet. Vast libraries of information are going online, accessible at any hour to anyone with a computer. Like many other organizations, Texas A&M Agriculture and its entities have scrambled to establish a presence on the web. Multiple sites have popped up independently within our ag units; they are as varied as a field of wildflowers (including some weeds), and just as disorganized.
- We have known for some time that our websites needed overhauling. It’s too difficult for people to find the information they need, or even to know where to look. Some highly useful information has never been posted, while other materials on our sites are badly outdated.
- We have a golden opportunity to extend our land-grant mission of service to the world, but only if we can make it easy for the world to find us and make use of our information and learning opportunities. This proposal suggests a systematic way to bring order to our current website chaos.
Our vision
- We envision a virtual environment for Texas A&M Agriculture that:
- provides ready access to information and educational resources to clients, stakeholders, and employees.
- supports and promotes our “real world” network of researchers and educators.
- enables subject-matter experts and others to regularly and easily add, review, and update information resources.
What makes a good website?
- We know that a good site must be well designed; that its “look and feel” must be user friendly and rewarding. More and more, people will first come to know – and make judgments about -- Texas A&M Agriculture and its agencies through our websites. Some will know us only by our virtual presence on their computer screens. It’s critical that people have good experiences when they come to our sites.
- Focusing on the way a page looks is an important evaluation criterion. But beyond appearance is the question of functionality. Websites such as ours that convey large quantities of information, and that are in constant need of updating, must be fed by a database system that rationally organizes content and makes it easy to maintain. The database software used is commonly called a content management system; it’s a servant that automatically meets the user’s every request for information and provides it in a way that is quick, clear, attractive and intuitive – providing a helpful, friendly look and feel.
- Before a single article, announcement or picture appears on a web site, someone must decide where it will go, what it will say and how it will look. This can be done randomly by multiple developers using multiple design schemes in a decentralized web environment (an accurate description of our current situation across the College and the agencies), or it can be centralized and administered using a content management system.
Why move to a web-based content management system?
- We have identified seven positive business advantages that such a system can deliver:
- 1. Dynamic websites -- Current Agriculture websites are, with few exceptions, static. Static sites depend on web developers who write code and publish sites on separate servers that are not necessarily linked in a structured or cohesive manner. The result is a disjointed web presence that can be confusing and difficult to navigate. By contrast, dynamic websites are the product of a single database where content is entered via an easy to use back-end system. Data is merged with a predetermined template that controls the style and appearance of what is actually seen by the end user. The system takes information from the database and creates a website that matches the user’s request for information. Common examples of dynamic web sites are Amazon and Yahoo. Dynamic web sites meet user expectations for service and help to ensure quick and direct access to relevant information without sorting through extensive web layers. Such a centralized system also makes it easier to integrate with an Intranet system for employees and a learning management system for both internal and external audiences.
- 2. Current content -- Websites must contain current information or they risk losing the attention and trust of those who use them. Maintenance of a static website can be quite labor intensive. That’s why so many sites, soon after they are created, become embarrassingly outdated. Dynamic websites are easier to update because the database software handles most of the coding work involved automatically. Static web sites also depend on someone to physically remove content that is out of date. Websites supported by a content management system can “sunset” information automatically. A user who creates a web announcement about a meeting, a short course or seminar can also be required to identify a date and time that the announcement will be both "sunrised" and "sunsetted." Additionally, before being added to the system, content can be centrally reviewed and edited for consistency and relevance.
- 3. Consistent formats -– A user moving about a website should expect a consistent, intuitive navigation format. Static websites that are hard-linked usually do not meet this expectation. Instead, users often must adapt to the preferences of multiple web designers who have different ideas about where to put such web devices as search boxes and pull-down menus. Decisions about how many “mouse-clicks” deep to display information also vary. Through content management, web navigation features are consistent.
- 4. Significant cost savings -- Adopting a content management system reduces or eliminates the need for units to support salaries for web programming and design and server maintenance. It would take a study to know how much our ag units are spending on their websites. However, if each on-campus unit spent only $20,000 per year for a part-time webmaster, the annual cost would be greater than $340,000 per year.
- 5. Continuity of appearance -- Decisions about actual web site appearance are beyond the scope of this paper. However, using a content management system ensures continuity of appearance by predetermining how pictures, colors, fonts and other design attributes will appear to the end user. It also ensures consistent branding of our organization and its information products.
- 6. Dependable metrics -– A continuing major frustration concerns how to account for all the content we deliver through our myriad web servers, and who receives it. We have no consistent way to capture meaningful user data across all our websites. A content management system could provide defensible data on these points:
- Normal web server statistics such as number of visitors, pages downloaded, volume of information downloaded, and the ever popular “hits.”
- Number of times each specific document is downloaded. Since each document is linked to a contact person and other authors through the relational database, one can easily determine what each author has contributed to their web delivery effort. The document delivery frequency can also be analyzed based on other related metadata.
- All comments provided on a publication, together with its rating. These can then be tracked and analyzed.
- All questions asked through the email system, including who asked (email address), who responded, and what was asked. This permits some customer followup, as well as some text analysis of the questions to determine whether there are new topics that need to be addressed on the website.
- 7. Alignment with strategic goals -- Currently, the web presence for Texas A&M Agriculture and the agencies is just one level deep, serving as a portal to various sites run by different units. Unit- and department-maintained websites, though they might carry agency identification, are designed to further the goals of the unit, not the larger organization, especially with regard to marketing. The content management system will create a unified presence that achieves the goals of the College and agencies, and the units within them.
Keys to successful websites
- After considering many web sites from higher education, commercial organizations, and non-profits, as well as current trends and best practices in web design, we have identified two principles essential to an effective web system:
- Look and Feel - The text, graphics, and visual and information design of the website should communicate the values of the organization, including its culture and personality. The website must connect with visitors in a way that makes their experience positive and rewarding and that is consistent with the brand values and messages communicated in other media and in real world interactions with customers. A website is both a communication tool that helps to promote the brand and a source of experiences that create the brand in the mind of the visitor. (For a discussion of two excellent website examples, see Appendix A.)
- Functionality - The web site must be easy for its intended audiences, both internal and external, to use. Visitors to the site need clear options for navigation, with multiple entry points so that they can find information in different ways. For example, some sites offer multiple strategies, allowing visitors to navigate by who they are (customer, employee, etc.), by the task they wish to perform, and by the topic they are interested in. Internally, the web system should allow employees to easily find information as well, but also to add, review, and update content. Content is the absolute value on the web: a content-rich site that is easy to navigate and has current, relevant information will keep visitors coming back. (For a listing of key functions and an explanation of each, see Appendix B.)
Steps for development and implementation
- Proposed is a three-phase process that provides for an orderly development of the key websites, an internal marketing and training effort to ensure buy-in from faculty for the initiative, and the migration of content from existing websites to the new sites. Launch of the new sites would be approximately a year after the project is initiated, provided that units are supportive and cooperative in populating the database with the most important information and have adequately tested the system. Here are the anticipated steps:
- PHASE I – Initiation (July - October, 2006)
- Negotiate with the LSU AgCenter for the purchase and modification of their CMS
- Organize and establish project team for design, development, and data migration
- Recruit and hire project coordinator/Assistant Vice Chancellor (see PositionDescription)
- Identify required changes to the LSU AgCenter CMS; coordinate with LSU AgCenter for programming of required changes
- Acquire hardware/software to host the system
- Announce website initiative to stakeholders and employees
- Develop and implement internal marketing plan for adoption of new system
- Introduce interim web page as placeholder, vehicle for explaining and marketing initiative
- Define key channels for the system; create channel work groups to develop subchannels and establish the operational rules for each channel and subchannel; create enterprise level steering committee
- Conduct training for channel moderators and system administrators.
- PHASE II – Migration (November 2006 – June, 2007)
- Provide direct support for migrating data from selected websites (pioneer units) to showcase as examples and to test documentation and training resources
- Continue with internal marketing
- Conduct author training for system
- Provide coaching as needed for migration of data from existing sites to new system
- Based on decisions of channel work groups, implement review and approval process for migrated sites
- Develop external marketing plan
- PHASE III – Implementation (January - August, 2007)
- Launch new system for pioneer units (ca. January 2007)
- Conduct media blitz about new web presence (ca. September 2007)
- Shut down old sites for pioneer units
- Implement external marketing plan
- Develop migration schedule for remaining units
- Rework project team for maintenance and monitoring of system
What resources are needed?
- Content Management System--We propose purchasing the LSU Ag Center Content Management System, along with their services in making initial modifications to the system, training our system administrators and channel moderators, and providing ongoing support of the system through a maintenance agreement. The current proposal is to purchase the system for $50,000 plus a $10,000 (20% of purchase price) annual maintenance fee.
- People: 3 FTEs for year 1; 2 FTEs beginning year 2; 10 student workers-- In addition to the Assistant Vice Chancellor--a long-term project management position--we propose employing a small staff that can be assigned and dedicated to completing this project within one year. We strongly believe that it needs that kind of intensive effort to make it happen. The team would include people with expertise in the following areas:
- Design – provides unified and coherent graphic structure for websites
- Program technician – provides technical assistance and help desk support for content authors and channel moderators
- Conversion support - provides help desk and training support; also supervises pool of student workers to assist units convert current websites to the CMS.
- Other assistance needed (via temporary reassignment/appointment):
- Content coordination: faculty and staff from disciplinary areas who would be willing to organize content into “channels” consistent with user preferences, as well as to organize peer-review to ensure proper quality control of information posted on the websites
- Project direction: project advisory team appointed by the Vice Chancellor to provide guidance to the Assistant Vice Chancellor on the entire project [suggested membership includes representation from Extension IT, Ag Comm, Ag Ed, Administrative Services, and one or more disciplinary areas]
Materials: Hardware and platform software: $32,000 estimated
In addition to purchasing the LSU Ag Center content management system, certain other platform level hardware and software must be purchased and installed:
- Applications server, database server, staged server, backup capability (ca. $15,000)
- Windows Server 2003 (3 licenses at $319.20 = $957.60)
- Microsoft Content Management Server Enterprise Edition (2 processor license at $7,863.50 = $15,727)
- MS SQL Server Standard Edition 2005 (1 license at $325)
