WEB – Extreme make-over

EUPRIO 2008, Stavanger

Monique JippingDirector Communications ServicesUtrecht University

This workshop (1)

• How to lead an organisation and its many stakeholder groups into the direction you want?

• How to structure and implement decisions?

• How to manage completely decentralised ICT and communications services in order to apply website and portal functionalities?

This workshop (2)

• About Utrecht University• Preliminary stage• Project approach• Main conclusions• Evaluation of visual design• Implementation and lessons learnt

About Utrecht University (1)

• Students 30,000• Staff 8,600• Budget €700 million• 4 locations in Utrecht and Zeeland

• 7 Faculties (covering all disciplines except technology and agriculture)

• 49 undergraduate programmes (3 English-taught)

• 196 graduate programmes (89 English-taught)

• Shanghai Ranking: no. 1 in the Netherlands, no. 7 in Europe, no. 42 in the world.

About Utrecht University (2)

• Communications policy and its implementation at university level are carried out by 2 departments (more than 60 staff, coming under the Secretary General and Executive Board)

• Communications teams within faculties (of 3 to 8 people, coming under the faculty directors)

• Communications professionals within service departments (1 or absent)

• A total of approx. 150 communications professionals

Preliminary stage (1)

• ICT and Communications issues• Administrative discord• Rivalry between ICT and Communications directors

Shared interests: • Consistent communicative appearance• ICT efficiency

Preliminary stage (2)

The objective of the project was formulated as follows:

A modernised web presence facilitating

• Information exchange, communication and

collaboration

• With internal and external target groups

• From a single information source, which is

• Used by all university departments

Preliminary stage (3)

Concrete aims:

• A digital service desk for Intranet and Internet

• A question-oriented information structure

• A single corporate CMS (= one information source) with

integrated portal functionality

• Consistent and attractive lay-out

• Improved search functionality

• Changed management structure

• Collaborative tools

Preliminary stage (3)

We started off in an unconventional way:

• We formulated objectives (which is still conventional)

• We immediately set up a project organisation (which is not)

The project objectives managed to unite the Executive Board members.The project organisation showed that developments in the fields of ICT and communications are inextricably linked.

Project approach (1)

In November 2005 a preliminary document was drawn up and approved by the Executive Board. The project would include the following steps:

• Proof of concept

• Product selection

• Final report (November 2006)

• Migration plan

• Programme of demands

• Management plan

• Information structure

• Information structure and management model (February

2007)

Project approach (2)

• The Executive Board was designated commissioner• The ICT and Communications directors were designated

contractors• A project group was formed consisting of talented ICT

and Communications staff, from central, faculty and service department levels.

• Later on a steering committee was set up consisting of a faculty director, a faculty dean and a representative of the implementation partner.

• Numerous working groups consisting of staff from faculties and service departments carried out work on various parts of the site.

• A survey was conducted into the English version of the site.

Main decisions (1)

• Product selection: Microsoft Office Sharepoint (MOSS 2007)

• Plan of action / migration plan (phasing)

• Information structure and management model

• Visual Design

Main decisions (2)

Product selection

• External orientation (conference, work visits)• Internal sounding boards • Programme of demands• Proof of concept• Decision to purchase MOSS 2007

Main decisions (3)

Plan of action /migration plan

• No “big bang” but going live in phases• First corporate, then faculties, service departments and

portals

Main decisions (4)

Information structure

• We cannot all feature on the home page!

Main decisions (5)

Management model

• Web coordinators and key users• Corporate and local web teams• Service desk and operational management by own

organisation• Outsourcing of technical management

Main decisions (6)

Visual design

• ‘Navigation, design and content’ working group (November 2006)

• Selection of design bureaus• Internal evaluation of three optional designs • Interaction design• Visual design (October 2007)

Evaluation of visual design (1)

• Working group and work sessions• Consultant• Communications Network• Presentation to the Executive Board• Design• Decision

Evaluation of visual design (2)

Design principles:

• Fixed page layout including fixed frames• Images used as distinctive element• Consistent application of corporate logo (sol) and arch• Utrecht University yellow used as distinctive (corporate)

colour

Evaluation of visual design (3)

Principles:• Design in line with corporate house style (logo, arch,

typography, imaging material, colour)• Fixed page composition: 1 basic pattern, 3 basic pages (main

page, introduction page and detailed information page)

Implications for faculties:• The basic pattern applies to all departments which are for

100% part of Utrecht University. • Individual profiling is allowed with regard to content, sub-

menu, imaging material, header and individual start pages. • Departments which are not for 100% part of Utrecht University

(inter-university research institutes) can participate in the new CMS. They will have to commit to the corporate web policy, even with regard to design.

Evaluation of visual design (4)

The consultant developed an evaluation form, requesting opinions per page and per design.

Use the simplified form to evaluate the new home page of Utrecht University yourself!

UU colours:- Corporate: red and yellow ochre- Faculties: pink, dark red, bright yellow, pale blue, dark

blue, green, purple

Handing in results; the English version of the original form will be put on the EUPRIO-site as a model.

Implementation

• Going live was planned for April, we did not meet this deadline

• ICT setbacks: outsourcing of technical management, bugs in MOSS 2007, new insights regarding method of feeding content

• Communications setback: resistance

Lessons learnt

• Communications and ICT are complementary

• Use the best people and keep them motivated

• Intranet first, internet second

• Meeting deadlines is essential; extending them is reality …

From August to end of 2008: www.uu.nl!

Just a little bit longer … and then we will have this:

Evaluation

• Thumbs up• Thumbs level• Thumbs down