how does an organization manage hundreds of sites?
DESCRIPTION
Traditionally, organizations of all sizes have managed their Web properties in a largely ad-hoc manner. However, as the sophistication and impact of the organizational Web presence broadens, it is necessary to adopt a more mature approach to both Web Operations and web content management. This presentation from Gilbane Conference Boston 2011 discusses the important aspects of web operations, from strategy to governance and execution. It takes an in-depth look at a case study of the largest multi-tenant implementation of public-facing websites in the healthcare industry. Presented by: John Scudder (Director, Communication & Design Services, Hospital Corporation of America)TRANSCRIPT
Observations on Mega Multisite, Multitenant Management and Implementation
Some Context
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Before After
Don’t Just Build One
• If your implementation has several different site types, consider building at least one of each type in you pilot/planning phase
• Helps discover opportunities for re-use and relationships you would not otherwise consider
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Testing 1, 2, 3…
• If you have an implementation of significant scale can you really manage without a test environment?
• Developers and site builders need practice and then a process to move/ deploy code & product
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Think Roles Not Permissions
• dotCMS has a super granular and powerful content permissions scheme…
• Don’t use it, as much as possible
• Set up roles early, establish them and battle test them with your user base
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The work of “Content Management” is similar no matter the industry – identify the ways certain people/roles will use the system.
Share Up, Share Down, Share All Around Town
• Regardless of hierarchy or relationship of sites to one another, work to make content flow and be available across all sites
• Preferably, do this without managing permissions
• Globalinc, Shared Content Host
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Be sure to facilitate content sharing across the entire network of sites
Meet Sally, our Product Analyst
• If you can – get one, have one, be one
• A good CMS needs a trusted and reliable friend
• Choose between a product management approach versus a service management approach
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Code Globally – Style Locally
• An almost philosophical approach, you probably can’t think this way too much
• Is this supportable if I do this for 700 websites?
• Globalinc, Local CSS
• Go ahead! Manage the code when you can (and should)
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Ownership Has Rights and Privileges
• Insist on clear lines of ownership
• Decide what is “global” code and own it - Decide what is “local” code and do not own it
• Insist that site owners, own their sites and local code… then just avert your eyes
• Understand what code your CMS vendor will own, manage, warranty and understand what is your “implementation” code
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Decentralized (multi-team) Development
• Coordination is the key – local, other team, corporate development
• Process & routine upgrades
• Integration Guidelines – when to integrate when you won’t
• It paid off… documented our standards and process even before we knew how it would work – take a best guess, change as you go. DRAFT!
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Love Your Data Structures
• The path to consistency
• The way to speed and scale
• What about schema.org and micro tags?
• Think ahead
• Provides ability to “use properties” for presentation
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Go Ahead! Manage the Data… control freak!
• Be vigilant to reduce variations in structures and structured data, really you must resist temptation to compromise and customize
• NO ONE (except the content gods) change structures… and the gods better have a &^@!$ good reason to do so
• Is this supportable if I do this for 700 websites? Scalable?
• If you own the CMS, you own the structures
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Managing structures well ensures your system will play well with other
systems
Mobile
• Really – you built that site and it looks like that on an iPhone?
• Consider a Mobile First approach to website building
• No Mobile = FAIL
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Governance - When in the course of human events….
• Governance and bureaucracy
• How long can you wait to keep doing nothing?
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Some Will Some Won’t - non-technology aspects of your project
• The People and Change-Management aspects could make or break your implementation project
• Face the facts – the system is good and can be learned by most, avoid too much accommodation
• It’s not necessarily all about training but it is all about who will and who won’t learn the new system
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People use systems. People decide if they are willing or not to learn something new…
Holding Hands
• With hundreds of individual business units to “accommodate”… a standard engagement with customers is necessary
• Build and bank on your production process = “This is how we do it…”
• Start with defining the customer engagement
• Don’t let your relationship go any further than holding hands!
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Embrace Your New BFF
• Along the way you’ll discover some new BFF’s – when you’ve identified them and they have proven themselves, embrace and support them, give ‘em extra love…
• Early adopters
• Build community, teach these customers to fly…
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