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Hosting and Administering Multiuser CMSs for Higher Education
Eric Scott Sembrat October 2016
edUi Conference
Save Us, Self Service!
Eric SembratWeb Manager at Georgia Tech
Graduate Student at Georgia State
Lives in Atlanta, GA
Ziggy.DOGHubble.DOGSara.FIANCEE
@esembrat
webbeh.com
edui@edui: ~$ ./agenda-for-today
1Common Problems with WebThe issues we all face on a daily basis - documentation, best practices, and security.
2Self-Service Web 101Get the details on what self-service is, who is leveraging it, and the benefits.
3How do I Self-Service?A quick synopsis of the project plan for selecting a self-service application.
4Growing Your ApplicationNow that you have an application, how do you maintain and extend it for your unit?
Oh, Our Common Web Problems
When looking at larger decentralized organizations, there’s a common thread in issues and problems facing web development.
the web isn’t alright
BrandingExperienceSecurityTechnology
4 areas of concern:
Branding
brandingeducation
is more important than ever.
brandinghowever, most DIY
attemptsare
dreadful
exampleslet’s see some
Typically require technical expertise to accurately implement.
branding resources
Tend to lag behind centrally-maintained trends and best practices.
Experience
web editorssmall scale units have
which aren’t regular web users or which have many more job duties.
teachable?CSS, Javascript, PHP, CMS APIs…
or, is there a better way?
Security
securitytoday, we’re forced to confront
from all areas of web.
Server LayerWeb Application LayerWeb Application PluginsUser Accounts DDoSPhishing
expertsdo we force our web users to be
in updating and security management?
accessor, more importantly
to security and updates?
should we even give end-users
why not centralize?
Technology
websiteshow do we keep
up to speed on best-practices?strict for legal requirements? ready for upcoming trends?
responsivetake the last big seismic shift:
media queries?do your small website owners write
httpswhat about?
Self-service to the rescue
oncewouldn’t it be great if these challenges could be fixed
for all websites under an umbrella?
self-serviceenter
self-servicewhat is
anyways?
self-serviceseparates the
setup & configurationfrom the
site maintenance
Sets up configuration.
application maintainers:
end-users:Selects and configures appearance.
Creates and edits content.
Enables features and plugins.
Applies security + app updates.
Adds new features and plugins.
Develops campus-specific features.
Conducts training.
provisionedwebsites are
not constructed.
user-createdcontent is
using curated/approved assets.
who uses this?
(and more)
Select a CMS for development
planningthe key challenge is
and
logistics
planningwho is this intended for?what is my end-goal? what is my success metric?where will this system live? what systems are available?what framework/system will I use?
logisticswhat features are needed? what plugins are required? will I need a theme? will I need custom plugins? what about training? what about documentation?
costand, above all
(what can we afford?)
product pricecost is either determined by:
development price
or (usually)
each have their pros and cons.
product cost
each have their pros and cons.
development cost
how to findafter answering all the questions
possible solutions?
1talk to peer institutions research their solutions, challenges, projects, andfuture outlook.
2initiate a beta test group find test users in yourprimary audiences to serveas pristine guinea pigs. their feedback is genuine.
3find potential solutions after research, come to thetable with options for a solution. (cost, features, flexibility, etc)
4test, react, and analyze let your beta testers explore. let them break things. see ifwhat your goals are match reality. make notes. interview. keepmetrics.
5touch base with reality look at results and summarize all major keypoints, challenges, and successes for each tool.
6take a break. you’ve done a lot so far.
7weigh each option. score solution by itsstrengths and weakness. compare with current on-campus solutions.
8fin.
you now have a list of solutions that fit your requirements.
customizationarmed with data, now it’s all about
Customization and growth
campus integrationthe time-consuming creature
developmentusually involves
work
things to consider:
what custom services exist? what are the branding requirements? what units will need to work with? new campus initiatives?
what custom services exist?
consider faculty databases, news/event services, user authentication, etc.
integratingthe value of
should outweigh resources
standardizethese services would
practices and workflow.
buy-inand create the almighty
for prospective users.
what are the branding requirements?
legal requirements for accessibility. branding campaigns, logo usage, and header/footer requirements.
edge-caseskeep in mind
for the odd-balls.
what units will need to work with?
think about organizations that have complementary services, such as the domain registrar.
partnersthink of
and affected units on campus.
new campus initiatives?
look ahead to upcoming trends, policies, campaigns, initiatives and plan accordingly.
Case study:Georgia Tech
goals:
Outlet for Lab/Center/Personal Websites Standardize and Extend BrandingMitigate legacy CMS security vulnerabilities Meet need of a blogging platform
Provide easier CMS than on-campus Drupal
who did we look at?
Georgia State UniversityOpenScholar Drupal Multisite
how did we choose?
Our test users and their responses.
what did we develop?
GT theme (GT Boilerplate). GT branding plugin. GT CAS plugin. GT Site Maintenance plugin.
GT news/events plugin (WIP). GT directory plugin (WIP).
current challenges
Maintained by 0.2 FTE time over 3 staff. Enhanced security measures. Back-porting Drupal to WordPress.
questions?
