Upload
antonia-cameron
View
216
Download
0
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
Center Web Sites
Operations Management – Session 1
NSF I/UCRC Meeting January 12, 2006
NSF I/UCRC 2 Jan. 12, 2006
Elements of a good web site
Delivers a message immediately Logo, name, what you do
Conveys information effectively Easy to read Easy to navigate to find more information
Creates an impression You want people to remember and return
Your home page is your “window on the world”
NSF I/UCRC 3 Jan. 12, 2006
Elements of a good I/UCRC home page
NSF logo or name, link to I/UCRC site Membership information
Benefits of membership, how to join, costs Corporate members: list, logos, links Academic partners: list, logos, links Contact info for directors, staff Copyright and date
NSF I/UCRC 4 Jan. 12, 2006
The best I/UCRC home pages have:
Research objectives, mission statement Current research project abstracts Accomplishments:
Tech transfer, new products Publications, theses
Meeting agendas and registration online Email form to get more info
NSF I/UCRC 5 Jan. 12, 2006
Challenges for I/UCRC sites
Conveying complex ideas in simple terms Protecting confidential information
Members only Board, PIs, students
Keeping content current Staff = Time and $ Students require supervision = Time and $
NSF I/UCRC 6 Jan. 12, 2006
What you’ve said … survey results
16 of ~50 sites responded (34%) Summary here, details in last slides Purpose of web site:
Public presence for center (16) Membership marketing (16) Deliver project updates (14) Report news on center changes (12) Symposia, workshop materials archive (12) Project documentation archives (8)
NSF I/UCRC 7 Jan. 12, 2006
What you’ve said … survey results
What is your biggest problem or concern regarding your web site?
Timely updates (4) Members don’t visit the site as often as we
would like (4) Getting content from faculty to update it Keeping external links up to date
NSF I/UCRC 8 Jan. 12, 2006
Examples from I/UCRC sites
Variety of Centers big, well funded small, underfunded
Discuss what works, what doesn’t If your site is featured, lead us through it:
how were decisions made what are the most active areas of the site what are the problems
NSF I/UCRC 9 Jan. 12, 2006
IUCRC for Intelligent Maintenance Systems http://www.imscenter.net/ Simple, easy to navigate Landscape orientation puts most info in
the screen, no need to scroll down Membership info on home page Research links on left menu Link to brochure What do you like? Dislike?
NSF I/UCRC 10 Jan. 12, 2006
Center for Identification Technology Research http://www.citer.wvu.edu/ Clean, simple presentation Comments on home page? Where’s the contact info? Research area: good length of abstracts
NSF I/UCRC 11 Jan. 12, 2006
Center for Nondestructive Evaluation
http://www.cnde.iastate.edu/ Where does the eye go first? What is the most important info? Where would you place it?
NSF I/UCRC 12 Jan. 12, 2006
Center for Advanced Vehicle Electronics
http://cave.auburn.edu/ Do you like that banner? Easy to navigate, lots of information in
links Research Areas: brief summary, then
requires log-in Web PPTs and videos for membership
promotion
NSF I/UCRC 13 Jan. 12, 2006
Cooling Technologies Research Center
http://widget.ecn.purdue.edu/~CTRC/ Amount of text
Reader habits have changed Expectation for hyperlinks
Pull-down menus: do you like them? What are the problems?
NSF I/UCRC 14 Jan. 12, 2006
Center for Design of Analog-Digital Integrated Circuits
http://www.cdadic.com/ Beautiful graphics but where’s the info? Size of text in menus Inside pages well organized
Who We Are Members Meetings
NSF I/UCRC 15 Jan. 12, 2006
Center for Advanced Polymer and Composite Engineering
http://www.capce.ohio-state.edu/ Uses frames … different in Firefox &
Explorer Moving objects: NSF and “new” Link to another web site, all acronyms …
why? Newsletters link … list by volume
NSF I/UCRC 16 Jan. 12, 2006
IUC for Glass Research
http://cgr.alfred.edu/cgr.html Rollover menus: discuss Membership
Most information below screen. How to sign up?
Frames: not universally compatible Link: The Glass Researcher
NSF I/UCRC 17 Jan. 12, 2006
Center for Engineering Logics and Distribution
http://celdi.ineg.uark.edu/ Doesn’t show in Firefox, compare to
Explorer Research areas requires you to read a
PPT
NSF I/UCRC 18 Jan. 12, 2006
Center for Wireless Electromagnetic Compatibility
http://www.ou.edu/engineering/emc/ Another example of why frames don’t work
across browsers. Compare in IE and then Firefox … news
line at bottom, page title at left side
NSF I/UCRC 19 Jan. 12, 2006
IUC for Biosurfaces
http://wings.buffalo.edu/iucb/ Look at flashing highlight for news …
below screen What does the graphic tell you?
NSF I/UCRC 20 Jan. 12, 2006
Center for the Built Environment
http://www.cbe.berkeley.edu/ Information rich and easy to navigate Probably the largest IUCRC? Obviously
has resources for web maintenance and design.
What do you like? Dislike?
NSF I/UCRC 21 Jan. 12, 2006
Power Systems Engineering Research Center
http://www.pserc.wisc.edu/ Another large IUCRC, site is very info
heavy … but does it work? Note use of page locators at top, very
helpful. Not consistent in sections from side menu.
NSF I/UCRC 22 Jan. 12, 2006
Berkeley Sensor and Actuator Center
http://www-bsac.eecs.berkeley.edu/ Very info heavy, but well managed. I prefer a landscape layout to portrait. Browse top menu, note page locators.
NSF I/UCRC 23 Jan. 12, 2006
Center for Pharmaceutical Processing Research
http://www.cppr.purdue.edu/index.html Plain and simple, well packaged Do you like the fade-in for university
names?
NSF I/UCRC 24 Jan. 12, 2006
Measurement & Control Engineering Center
http://mcec.engr.utk.edu/index.html A bit busy on the home page How would you group or link the
information differently?
NSF I/UCRC 25 Jan. 12, 2006
IUCRC in Coatings
http://www.psrc.usm.edu/NSFIUCRC/ Where’s the name of the center? NSF logo? 2002 date for meeting Size of text Seems to be a case where a lovely web
site was designed but upkeep not funded
NSF I/UCRC 26 Jan. 12, 2006
Connection One http://www.connectionone.org/ Frames? Too much info, scroll down Image mapping: NSF (how many people do
this?), names of universities, home page Page locator: left menu and top of page Research project abstracts: well done Full publications: how many others do this? Search engine Email address form
NSF I/UCRC 27 Jan. 12, 2006
Biomolecular Interaction Technologies Center
http://www.bitc.unh.edu “Wrap” of banner and side menu What does the logo tell you? Membership info buried in Administration Research titles should have more info Most efforts go into maintaining the
members section … behind the scenes
NSF I/UCRC 28 Jan. 12, 2006
BITC behind the scenes
Admin interface IAB online voting via survey Evaluator surveys online Project documentation & meeting archives Protected files = upload & download Not used as much as we had expected:
Member surveys & forums Board listserv
NSF I/UCRC 29 Jan. 12, 2006
Summary
Multiple purposes: Marketing for membership Research documentation Communication for stakeholders
Good info wins over pretty graphics Reader habits have changed Short text lines and LINK to more info
Web sites need to be maintained = $
NSF I/UCRC 30 Jan. 12, 2006
Lingering questions
Does anyone use web conferencing? Problems with audio & video? Do you allow or encourage direct IAB-PI
contact via the web? How can we increase members’ use of the
web site? How do your students use your web site? Any other questions?
NSF I/UCRC 31 Jan. 12, 2006
Other resources
web design http://www.useit.com/alertbox/991003.html
home page http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20020512.html
web pages that suck http://www.webpagesthatsuck.com/
NSF I/UCRC 32 Jan. 12, 2006
Survey: Purpose of your web site?
Public presence for center (16) Membership marketing (16) Deliver project updates (14) Report news on center changes (12) Symposia, workshop materials archive
(12) Project documentation archives (8)
NSF I/UCRC 33 Jan. 12, 2006
Purpose of your web site?
Board-staff communication (4) Job postings for members (4) PI-staff-board communication (2) Posting student resumes (2) Directions and list of local hotels (2) Other (from http://bsac.berkeley.edu ):
researcher resources, profile postings for researchers, faculty profiles, relevant links, patent disclosures,)
NSF I/UCRC 34 Jan. 12, 2006
Survey: Registered users?
283 … 125 … 79 … 50 … 42 … 30 … 30 … 30 … 20 …
40 in past but now use CDs to distribute materials
Larger numbers: industrial members, faculty, researchers and students, center staff
Smaller numbers tend to be board members, faculty and center staff
NSF I/UCRC 35 Jan. 12, 2006
Survey: Documentation of projects
What do you provide on your web site for documentation of research projects?
Title (13) Presentations (10) (2 are restricted) Abstract or summary (9) Publications (9) Progress reports with data (8)
NSF I/UCRC 36 Jan. 12, 2006
Survey: Maintaining your site
Who creates/maintains your site? Most: staff and/or student
How often is material updated? Varies: as needed, every couple of days, every two
weeks, monthly, 3-4 times a year, twice a year for board meetings.
NSF I/UCRC 37 Jan. 12, 2006
Survey: Biggest problem or concern? Timely updates (4) Members don’t visit the site as often as we
would like (4) Getting content from faculty to update it Keeping external links up to date Making the content understandable not only to
technical people but financial and administrative people
Incompatibility with Mozilla & Netscape Problem is frames, which is an older method and not
universally compatible. When you change web pages, use tables. Mozilla has an HTML editor (free) called Composer which is easy to use.
NSF I/UCRC 38 Jan. 12, 2006
Survey: Biggest problem or concern?
IP concerns make it difficult to make the site useful because info is restricted Need to use privilege-based access and restrict
some areas
Driving traffic to the web site Have students browse for it. Feed them.
Making it valuable as a recruiting tool Member-researcher “chat” or special interest
blogs or wickys