Ingeniux CMS Training in Seattle
I spent all of last week in Seattle attending CMS training at Ingeniux’s offices. It was time very well spent.
I came away from the week of training even more impressed with Ingeniux, especially it’s flexibility and robustness as a CMS. The first day we covered all of Ingeniux’s terminology and their use – site controls, components, page types, navigation types (taxonomy vs. standard navigation), among others. We covered workflow and permissions as well as the underlying technology that powers Ingeniux – XML, XSLT (stylesheets), and schemas. It was a lot to pack into five days.
Ingeniux Selected as New Content Management System
I’m pleased to announce that we have selected Ingeniux as our new content management system (CMS). The selection comes after nearly eight weeks of work and with considerable assistance and input from our Web vendor, BarkleyREI, and the CMS Selection Group, which included staff, faculty, and student representation.
The CMS finalists were Ingeniux (based in Seattle) and Hannon Hill (based in Atlanta). Both CMSs have a strong foothold in the higher education space with hundreds of college implementations between the two companies. Both CMS companies spent a full day on campus in April where they met with the Web staff, key staff from Information Technology, and provided two-hour demos of their CMSs in front of our selection group.
We started the CMS selection process with a clear understanding of our CMS functional requirements and objectives. These were communicated early on in the Web redesign project in the original RFP and then again during the CMS selection process. Both vendors submitted full proposals, which covered in detail how they matched up against our functional requirements. Their on-site demos also addressed how each product addressed our requirements. Both Hannon Hill and Ingeniux met most of these requirements, but in the end, Ingeniux came out on top. Read more
Schedule Set for On-Site CMS Demonstrations
All faculty and staff are invited to attend two upcoming content management system (CMS) on-site demonstrations. The dates for these sessions are included below. If you wish to attend any of the sessions, RSVP with Tricia Halliday at 656-7240 or thalliday@anselm.edu so we can provide a head count to Dining Services for refreshments and have enough seats set up to accommodate everyone who wishes to participate.
As was announced previously in this blog, a campus group is assisting College Communications and Marketing will CMS selection. The CMS is the software used by the college to manage Web site content.
INGENIUX – http://www.ingeniux.com
Date/Time: Wed., April 15 – 9:30a.m.-11:30 a.m
Location: NHIOP Auditorium
Ingeniux has more than 100 college implementations of their CMS, including Stonehill, Franklin and Marshall, Bates, Roanoke, Swarthmore, University of the Pacific, University of Puget Sound, and University of Pittsburg, to name a few.
HANNON HILL CASCADE SERVER - http://www.hannonhill.com
Date/Time: Wed., April 22 – 1:30 p.m.-3:30 p.m.
Location: NHIOP Auditorium
Hannon Hill has more than 100 college implementations of their Cascade Server CMS, including North Carolina State University, William & Mary, Bowdoin, Brandeis, Duke, Emory, Hofstra, and Northwestern, among others.
Campus Group to Assist With CMS Selection
As part of the redesign project, the college will be selecting and implementing a new content management system (CMS). The CMS is the software used by the college to manage Web site content.
The following faculty, staff, and students are assisting College Communications and Marketing with reviewing three-to-four content management systems. The CMS Selection Group will review content management system proposals, participate in on-site demos for each system, and provide feedback and recommendations to College Communications and Marketing regarding CMS selection.
CMS Selection Group Members
Doug Minor, Communications and Marketing (chair)
Adam Albina, Information Technology
Katherine Bentz, Fine Arts
Lauren Chooljian, Student, History
Lorie Cochran, NHIOP
John Dillon, Geisel Library
Fr. Mathias Durette, O.S.B., Student Affairs
Lisa Gowern, Events Management
Nancy Griffin, Admission
Keith Hrasky, Admission
Rui Li, Information Technology
Anne Lord, Alumni Relations
Br. Issac Murphy, O.S.B., Monastery
Jessica Pappathan, Chapel Art Center
Michelle Rocheleau, Academic Affairs
Laura Rossi, Communications and Marketing
Bob Shea, Dana Center
Cory True, student, politics
College Communications and Marketing is very appreciative of this group’s assistance during this phase of the redesign project during what is a very busy time of year for everyone.
Web Redesign Update: Strategy, Staffing/Web Management Assessment, and CMS Recommendations
Since BarkleyREI’s three days of on-site discovery meetings in late January we’ve been busy. We reviewed pages and pages of discovery notes and other information compiled during their time on campus. We’ve provided BarkleyREI with additional college research, Web analytics data, findings from campus listening sessions and Web redesign survey, and finalized a project schedule.
The BarkleyREI team has been a joy to work with. They have a very talented team and we are very pleased with the progress made so far.
Last week BarkleyREI presented their initial Web redesign strategy via conference call and Web presentation. We’re currently reviewing the document with internal stakeholders and will include an overview of the site strategy in this blog in the next couple of weeks.
BarkleyREI began their strategy presentation by saying the following:
“Arriving on campus we had certain perceptions about a small, Catholic, liberal arts college, but after hearing the many stories and experiences of faculty, staff, and students, you blew us away. Saint Anselm College is truly a special place. I want my kids to go there.”
So What’s Next?
As part of BarkleyREI’s work, we’ve asked them to review our current Web staffing level, how the site is currently managed and supported, adequacy of training provided to faculty and staff, and current Web budget. The goal of this exercise is to better understand the resources required to maintain and support an interactive, engaging Web site that incorporates multimedia technologies and content. BarkleyREI will present their recommendations to us later this week.
We’ve also asked BarkleyREI to recommend three content management systems (CMS), based on what they’ve learned during the discovery and strategy phases. In the coming weeks, we will seek the assistance of a core group of faculty, staff, and students to help us with CMS review and selection. The review and demonstration of each CMS product will be done through an open process. Once the CMS demonstrations are scheduled, campus-wide e-mails will be sent to faculty and staff inviting people to participate in each session. We’re also hopeful people will use the commenting features of this blog to provide feedback during the CMS selection process.