Insert author details here, using the following paragraph as an example.
Kathy Reid , Team Leader, Applications Unit, Information Technology Services Division, Deakin University
Chris Reed , Unit Leader, Applications Unit, Information Technology Services Division, Deakin University
Simon Diderrich , Team Leader, Applications Unit, Information Technology Services Division, Deakin University
This poster aims to delineate the progression of Deakin University's web presence from the mid-1990s to the present, and beyond. Development milestones are explored through a number of indicators such as standards compliance, accessibility and organisational factors.
In 1997, the Deakin University website was in its infancy. While the home page provided access to commonly used electronic information, it was little more than 'brochureware'. The page heavily utilised graphics, which imposed more maintenance overhead that that required for updating textual information. Moreover, the large number of images meant that the page took longer to load. This was detrimental to off-campus users connecting via often slow modem connections. The University at this time did not have common branding across internal websites, and once visitors moved from the home page they were likely to encounter a different visual style.
2001 signified a major change for the Deakin University site. The home page was re-designed to tie in with a major re-branding effort across the institution. Similarly to the 1997 design, the page was image rich and required a high maintenance overhead. In stark contrast to the previous site, the structural layout aimed to categorise content according to visitor type rather than organisational hierarchy. 2001 also saw the first attempt at common branding across University websites, with the introduction of a firstly static, and then dynamic template system. Organisational areas were able to have their own colour scheme, while keeping the overall look and feel of the home page.
In late 2002, Deakin established the executive-level position of Pro Vice-Chancellor (Online Services). The intent of the position was to provide high-level sponsorship to University initiatives aimed at enhancing the University's online delivery of learning and services. The Pro Vice-Chancellor's portfolio was broad in scope, and incorporated the initiation of the 'Deakin Online Project' to deliver an institution-wide Learning Management System (LMS), an enterprise-wide Portal, enhancements to the University website and an appropriate policy framework in which to govern them. The watershed appointment of Professor Brian Corbitt to this role foreshadowed a number of major changes to the University's web presence.
Key among these was the implementation of the University's first portal solution, utilising the JASIG/uPortal framework <www.uportal.org>. The Portal represented a milestone in the development of the University's web presence for a number of reasons;
Although the uPortal implementation of late 2002 was a step in the right direction, it soon became evident that this portal solution was not in line with the strategic technology direction of the University. In 2003, the Portal was redeveloped in-house, using the University's preferred Oracle/PHP combination. The custom solution allowed for smoother integration with other University applications, most of which run on Oracle RDBMS. An additional benefit derived from this choice was the ability to do away with separate servers for the Portal, and host it from the main web server.
A deliverable of Phase 1 of the Deakin Online Project, the redesign of the Deakin home page in 2003 was a major break with tradition. Firstly, the graphic design of the page was outsourced to an external company. Secondly, a process of consultation was used to determine from the organisational areas of the University which links should appear on the home page. The development team was then able to derive the structure of the top two levels of the University website.
Another key feature of this design was the employment of colour rotation. At a particular hour of the day, the home page would change colour. This was intended to keep the look of the site 'fresh' in the minds of visitors.
However, a major drawback of this development was the accessibility and compliance of the underlying HTML code. The code itself was not HTML 4.01 compliant, and the large image on the page extended download times beyond what was desirable.
As a result of user feedback, the home page design was modified in 2004 to have a series of smaller rotating images rather than the central image which ad featured in 2003. The previous hyperlinked images were also replaced with text, to aid the accessibility of the page. A second 'Web Template System' was also introduced in 2004, which allowed those tasked with the responsibility of maintaining Faculty nd Divisional web content to utilise the branding seen on the home page. 2004 saw the creation of a new University-wide position of Web Manager. The position has responsibility to ensure that all University websites utilise best practice in terms of content generation, display and maintenance. For the first time, accountability for timeliness, quality and compliance of content with University policy was introduced. This was tracked through a custom-built 'Web Registry System', which allowed the Web Manager to audit sites. The introduction of the Web Registry System necessitated a major clean-up of the University's web server with several pages of content being archived and removed.
In 2005, the Web Template System and the Web Registry System were merged into one web application, the Web Management Tool. The delegation of accountability for maintaining the University's web presence was formalised with the creation of the nominal roles of 'Designated Web Manager' and 'Web Administrator' for each website. Each website has to be formally requested and registered within the system in order to be published to the live environment.
For the first time, the University now has integrated development, user acceptance testing and production environments. Content can only be transferred from one environment to another via the WMT, as direct access to production has been remove din almost all cases. The WMT also tracks the compliance of websites with the relevant University policies.
Although Deakin's web presence has progressed considerably in the past decade, there are many challenges still to be faced.