Fast track to Web Channel strategy learnings: 2010

It's been awhile since I posted last. Life and work took me off and away. And now I'm back.

Next week I release a new CMS and government of Canada website that's filled with best practices for user experience based on user tasks and usability.

And this is the first time that I have worked with all of the winning conditions:  a budget, open source CMS software (Drupal), a smart, talented and dedicated team: specialists in web design, information architecture, content, SEO, and importantly, a client who sees the absolute potential of the web to transform business process and operations.

It's a unique site the hails the beginning of user task websites. My next few entries will be based on this, so stay tuned...

Choosing a CMS

I have used a lot of Content Management Systems (CMS) over the years, everything from a custom developed CMS, to a simple CMS, to an industry standard CMS, to open source CMS. There are key factors to choosing, deploying, using, and widely adopting a new CMS. The most important factors relate to technology integration and self-publishing user adoption:

Technology integration

1. Review your existing technology environment. What technology stack are you using? Research and choose a CMS that integrates and deploys easily because integration will be one of the biggest sources of failure - and the biggest financial cost to your organization. Enterprises CMSs that I have used are Sharepoint and Interwoven. 

2. Your other choice is an Open Source CMS which can be deployed stand-alone to quickly migrate existing content and get your new site easily deployed. Once deployed you can spend the time integrating with the existing technology stack. Good open source options that I have used are Joomla, WordPress and Drupal. This CMS Rating Guide accurately describes how users rate the many OpenSource CMS options.

User adoption

Other than how easily your existing techology integrates, the only big thing you have to think about is how easy it will be to have internal users adopt and self-publish in your new CMS. This should be treated as a separate project, after the new site(s) is deployed.  Best practices include creating:

• governance for your new CMS
• publishing workflows
• training guides and tutorials
• first and second level user support
• user support site
• CMS rollout schedule starting with internal users who are eager to be your champions
• simplified admin panel

The big thing here is making sure the admin interface is easy to use - strip or comment out any fields that aren't required. Your users will thank you and your user adoption/self-publishing success rate will sky-rocket.
Check out the CMS best practice links posted on the side of my blog.