Why Could Your CMS Implementation Fail?

A Webinar Lead By Dustin Collis, Director of Development

NavigationArts Profile

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NavigationArts helps market-leading organizations optimize their online channels for communications,commerce and community. We offer a full-rangeprofessional services related to the planning,evaluation, design and development of effectiveweb sites, intranets, portals and web applications.

2001

McLean, Virginia

60+

Disciplined, innovative, spirit-of-service

User-experience as the only sustainable competitive advantage online

Web StrategyInformation ArchitectureVisual DesignContent ManagementTechnology Implementation

Awarded ten 2009 Web Awards from the WMA

Founded

Headquarters

Professional Staff

Culture

Ruling Passion

Centers of Excellence

Recognition

Introducing… Dustin Collis

• Director of Development at NavigationArts

• Specialties• CMS Selection

• CMS Implementation

• Search Implementation

• E-Commerce Integration

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What is Web Content Management? Managing the text, images, flash, PDFs, and other multimedia that make up your Web site(s)

Content

Content Producers

Content

Content

Content

Content

Content

ContentContent

Content

Content

Content

CMS

Audience

Editors

Business Managers

Technical Staff

Site Owners

Page Owners

Corporate branding guidelines

Best practices and standards

Business Goals

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What is a Web Content Management System?A software system that helps you manage the content that appears on your Web site(s)

• Provides a central repository for your Web site content

• Publishes content to your Web site(s)

• Enables companies to exert greater control over the branding and presentation of their Web properties

• Helps to establish a repeatable and tunable process for creating, testing, approving, and deploying content

• Simplifies content re-use

CMS Vendors… (just a few)

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Warning

• According to Forrester Research, more than 60% of Web Managers are dissatisfied with their current CMS

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Results of a Successful CMS Implementation

• Enables your Web site to have content that is….• Engaging

• Fresh

• Timely

• Re-usable

• Helps meet business needs including…• Multi-channel content delivery

• Optimized communication and engagement with site visitors

• Building a true online presence that reflects your evolving brand and message

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Results of a Successful CMS Implementation

• Web site is managed by Marketing Team vs. IT Department

• Developers can focus on new capabilities to add value/functionality instead of maintaining site

• Ability to target existing content to new technologies

• iPhone, widgets, iPad, Androids, RSS, blogs, and future emerging technologies

• Increased traffic, findability and search engine rankings

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Implications of Failure

• No one likes to use the CMS

• Stale Content

• Decreased focus on Web site

• IT becomes bogged down with CMS upkeep “firefighting”, fixing bugs

• You begin to hear the answer “Can’t” or “Expensive” when it comes to adding more capabilities

• You will replace your CMS more quickly

• Expensive

• Effort to re-migrate content to new CMS

• Lowers morale and adoption of the site by internal users

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Things to Consider Up Front

• Desired Features and Functionality

• Usability for content authors / web managers

• Technical Platform and development languages: Java, .NET, PHP, etc. Oracle, MS SQL Server, MySQL etc.

• Openness and Extensibility

• Budget

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CMS Selection Tips

• Include your CMS users (marketing/web team) in the evaluation. They are the ones who are going to have to use it.

• Traditional Checklist-style evaluations usually produce the answer YES for all CMS systems• Find out how much development is actually needed before that system can achieve a yes.

• Try to write scenario narratives as a better evaluation method

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3 Top Reasons for Failure

• Complexity of the System and Implementation

• Extended Timelines and Cost Overages

• Lack of Flexibility and Extensibility of the System

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Complexity of the System and Implementation : The Problem• Some CMS’s are more proprietary than others

• Some focus on larger content management scenarios such as enterprise document management that make them less optimized for web content management

• The CMS has “hoops”, “gotchas”, “tricks” you can only know about from experience, blogs, training or word-of-mouth

• Complexity and ease of use for both Web managers and developers

• Lack of an ongoing support system – training, developer community, availability of documentation

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Complexity of the System and Implementation : The SolutionPlan first, build once

• Ensure the complexity of the system does not overwhelm your actual needs

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Complexity of the System and Implementation : The SolutionPlan first, build once

• Ensure the complexity of the system does not overwhelm your actual needs

• Depending on the size of your implementation, you will need to prepare your internal staff that their time will be needed.

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Complexity of the System and Implementation : The Solution Plan first, build once

• Ensure the complexity of the system does not overwhelm your actual needs

• Depending on the size of your implementation, you will need to prepare your internal staff that their time will be needed.

• Implement the site for your users

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Intuitive site tree

Reusable content

Complexity of the System and Implementation : The Solution Plan first, build once

• Ensure the complexity of the system does not overwhelm your actual needs

• Depending on the size of your implementation, you will need to prepare your internal staff that their time will be needed.

• Implement the site for your users

• Do your homework

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Extended Timelines and Cost Overages : The Problem• Unrealistic expectations around the amount of development involved

• Failure to understand the necessary phases for full implementation

• Failure to understand the costs and associated skill sets• Internal hosting vs. external hosting provider such as Rackspace

• Developers – availability, community, training schedules

• Content migration – in-house vs. outsourced?

• Ongoing maintenance – who?

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Extended Timelines and Cost Overages : The Solution• Do your homework

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Extended Timelines and Cost Overages : The Solution• Do your homework

• Achieve buy-in for entire scope of work

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Extended Timelines and Cost Overages : The Solution• Do your homework

• Achieve buy-in for entire scope of work

• Assume that mistakes will be made and rework will be required

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Extended Timelines and Cost Overages : The Solution• Do your homework

• Achieve buy-in for entire scope of work

• Assume that mistakes will be made and rework will be required

• Stick to your scope – use “Phase 2” as a parking lot for all of the great ideas you uncover

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Lack of Flexibility and Extensibility of the System : The Problem• CMS – Proprietary ways prevent or inhibit standard integration

points

• Publishing paradigm not well suited for broader uses (mobile, social)

• Too difficult for most developers, requires too much training

• CMS limitations are not known up front

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Lack of Flexibility and Extensibility of the System : The Solution

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Build for today, plan for the future

• Do your homework

Lack of Flexibility and Extensibility of the System : The SolutionBuild for today, plan for the future

• Do your homework

• Imagine the future of your Web needs

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Lack of Flexibility and Extensibility of the System : The SolutionBuild for today, plan for the future

• Do your homework

• Imagine the future of your Web needs

• Ensure that your CMS has a track record of trend recognition

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Plan for the road ahead

Q & A with Dustin

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Selected NavigationArts Clients:

THANK YOU

Contact Us• sales@navigationarts.com

• www.navigationarts.com

• 703.584.8935

• Twitter: @navigationarts

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