$30 off During Our Annual Pro Sale. View Details »

Managing Content on the Princeton Web

humansky
November 11, 2009

Managing Content on the Princeton Web

During the past decade, Princeton’s web site has grown from a relatively simple tool supporting producers and consumers of information about the institution, its programs, and its people to what is today a complex, mission-critical appliance for teaching, research, administration, and collaboration.

Such complex web sites publish and sustain every day vast amounts of time sensitive information. To manage the mountain of content, Princeton has turned to Content Management Systems that offer an integrated set of powerful features for creating, storing, versioning, and publishing everything from news articles and brochures though audio, video, and images.

humansky

November 11, 2009
Tweet

More Decks by humansky

Other Decks in Technology

Transcript

  1. Managing Content on
    the Princeton Web
    Lunch 'n Learn - Princeton University
    November 11th, 2009
    Thursday, November 12, 2009

    View Slide

  2. Content
    Thursday, November 12, 2009

    View Slide

  3. Where to Begin?
    • define the site’s goal
    • ask questions
    • filter the answers
    • design document
    Thursday, November 12, 2009

    View Slide

  4. What is IA?
    “Information architecture (IA) is the art of
    expressing a model or concept of
    information used in activities that require
    explicit details of complex systems.”
    Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_Architecture
    Thursday, November 12, 2009

    View Slide

  5. portabello
    poppies
    zinnias
    snapdragons
    shitake
    sliders
    snapping
    bog musk
    chanterelle
    tulips
    marigold
    impatiens hedgehog
    porcini
    clematis hydrangea
    painted
    matsutake
    Thursday, November 12, 2009

    View Slide

  6. portabello
    poppies
    zinnias
    snapdragons
    shitake
    sliders
    snapping
    bog musk
    chanterelle
    tulips
    marigold
    impatiens hedgehog
    porcini
    clematis hydrangea
    painted
    matsutake
    Thursday, November 12, 2009

    View Slide

  7. portabello
    poppies
    zinnias
    snapdragons
    shitake
    sliders
    snapping
    bog musk
    chanterelle
    tulips
    marigold
    impatiens hedgehog
    porcini
    clematis hydrangea
    painted
    matsutake
    Thursday, November 12, 2009

    View Slide

  8. portabello
    poppies
    zinnias
    snapdragons
    shitake
    sliders
    snapping
    bog musk
    chanterelle
    tulips
    marigold
    impatiens hedgehog
    porcini
    clematis hydrangea
    painted
    matsutake
    Thursday, November 12, 2009

    View Slide

  9. portabello
    poppies
    zinnias
    snapdragons
    shitake
    sliders
    snapping
    bog
    musk chanterelle
    tulips
    marigold
    impatiens
    hedgehog
    porcini
    clematis
    hydrangea
    painted
    matsutake
    Thursday, November 12, 2009

    View Slide

  10. Thursday, November 12, 2009

    View Slide

  11. Thursday, November 12, 2009

    View Slide

  12. Information Architecture
    • Data Sheets
    • User Stories
    • Concept Map
    • Bullseye Diagram
    • Navigation Map
    Thursday, November 12, 2009

    View Slide

  13. Creating Data Sheets
    • collect general information about each of
    your interviewees
    • find out about the interviewee’s goals upon
    visiting your site
    • If redesigning:
    • likes/dislikes about current site
    • content navigable/understandable?
    Thursday, November 12, 2009

    View Slide

  14. One-on-one Interviews
    • come to the interview unprepared
    • take user off-subject to gain understanding
    • write a thank you note
    Thursday, November 12, 2009

    View Slide

  15. Data Sheets
    Thursday, November 12, 2009

    View Slide

  16. Creating User Stories
    • agile software/web development
    • use 3x5 cards
    • customer creates user story
    • prioritize
    Thursday, November 12, 2009

    View Slide

  17. User Stories
    Thursday, November 12, 2009

    View Slide

  18. Creating Concept Maps
    • make a list of nouns in your domain
    • draw lines connecting terms (nouns)
    • annotate lines with relationships (verbs)
    Thursday, November 12, 2009

    View Slide

  19. Concept Map
    Thursday, November 12, 2009

    View Slide

  20. Creating Bullseye Diagram
    • make a list of tasks (user stories)
    • draw a bullseye with three rings
    • place tasks in rings
    • look for natural relationships/structure
    Thursday, November 12, 2009

    View Slide

  21. Bullseye Diagram
    Thursday, November 12, 2009

    View Slide

  22. Creating Navigation Map
    • pick a landing place/page/screen
    • loosely define the UI for that “place”
    • backup one step. How do you get there?
    • sketch siblings that are connected
    • step back & look for patterns/relationships
    Thursday, November 12, 2009

    View Slide

  23. Navigation Map
    Thursday, November 12, 2009

    View Slide

  24. Manage
    Thursday, November 12, 2009

    View Slide

  25. Managing Content
    • focus on top tasks
    • know your audience
    • write for the web
    • keep content current
    • archive content/web records
    Thursday, November 12, 2009

    View Slide

  26. Focusing on Top Tasks
    • listen to customers
    • review your data
    • talk to customers
    Thursday, November 12, 2009

    View Slide

  27. Know Your Audience
    • usability testing and
    research
    • customer satisfaction
    surveys
    • focus groups
    • market research
    • web server logs
    • email, phone calls,
    letters, etc
    • input from other web
    content managers
    • analyze search data
    • commercial products
    Thursday, November 12, 2009

    View Slide

  28. Write for the Web
    • write for your audience
    • written in plain, simple language
    • tailor your writing to the audience with the
    least expertise
    • test your writing with typical visitors
    Thursday, November 12, 2009

    View Slide

  29. Keep Content Current
    • establish a content review process
    • use date stamps
    • manage links
    • review homepage, major entry points, and
    navigation elements
    Thursday, November 12, 2009

    View Slide

  30. Systems
    Thursday, November 12, 2009

    View Slide

  31. What is a CMS?
    “A content management system (CMS)
    is a collection of procedures used to
    manage work flow in a collaborative
    environment”
    Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Content_management_system
    Thursday, November 12, 2009

    View Slide

  32. Types of CMS
    • Enterprise CMS (ECMS)
    • Web CMS (WCMS)
    • Document Management System (DMS)
    • Mobile Content Management System
    • Component Content Management System
    • Media Content Management System
    • Knowledge Management System
    Thursday, November 12, 2009

    View Slide

  33. Managing Content
    • metadata
    • integration
    • capture
    • indexing
    • storage
    • retrieval
    • distribution
    • security
    • workflow
    • disaster recovery
    • retention period
    • archiving
    • collaboration
    • versioning
    Thursday, November 12, 2009

    View Slide

  34. Features of a Web CMS
    • collaboration
    • automated templates
    • easily editable content
    • web standards
    • workflow
    • delegation
    • reusability
    • decentralized
    maintenance
    • non-technical
    • separation of content
    from design
    • access control
    Thursday, November 12, 2009

    View Slide

  35. Various CMS
    Thursday, November 12, 2009

    View Slide

  36. Recommended Readings
    • Designing Web Usability by Jakob Nielson
    • Designing with Web Standards 3rd
    edition by Jeffrey Zeldman
    • Information Architecture for the World
    Wide Web by Louis Rosenfeld and Peter
    Morville
    • Princeton's Guide to Creating Website
    Information Architecture and Content
    http://tinyurl.com/pu-site
    Thursday, November 12, 2009

    View Slide

  37. Questions?
    Thursday, November 12, 2009

    View Slide

  38. Contact
    Henry Umansky
    Princeton University
    [email protected]
    A special thanks goes to...
    Beck Trench at Duke University, Michael Muzzie at Princeton University, Mark Ratliff at
    Princeton University, Web Development Services at Princeton University, Office of Communications at
    Princeton University, The IT Crowd, Geek and Poke, Jakob Nielson, Jeffrey Zeldman, Louis Rosenfeld
    and Peter Morville
    Thursday, November 12, 2009

    View Slide