Karey Patterson, NTech Media [HREF 1], Lismore, NSW, Australia, 2480. karey@ntechmedia.com
The development of Web sites and Web delivery systems and Content Management Systems (CMS) have historically been a process driven by technologists and technical advocates rather than client orientated or user advocates.
There have been many techniques developed to improve the results and efficiency of the Web site and application development process. This paper discusses a relatively relaxed and informal process where client administrators and users have steered the development and growth of a CMS system from a basic framework to a framework that offers rich features and many different configuration options - all driven by real needs as dictated and specified by users.
The benefits to this approach include the fact that forays into feature and application development are guided by real word application and the likelihood of immediate use and not exercises in Research and Development (R&D). The development team focus only on priority features for clients. Clients only pay for features they need. All features and developments are retained on the code tree for reuse and extension in future - allowing a flexible framework for repurposing as needed.
Over recent years, there has been considerable increase in the growth and development of efforts directed towards richer Web application development [HREF 1] as opposed to simple Web site development (known as Web 1.0). The evolution and development of a richer and diverse Web is commonly known as Web 2.0 [HREF 2] where Web-based services, such as rich search, blogging and Web sites such as Wikipedia are a platform for users to access, interact and manipulate rich data as opposed to information only delivery. People wanting to deliver their content in a Web 2.0 format often require the use of a Content Management System (CMS).
NTech Media [HREF 3] have developed a range of Web delivery and management software systems from the ground up. Initially inside the company there was resistance to the development of our own rang software products - mostly due to concern at potentially "recreating the wheel" - there were already many competing products available.
Clients had requested the setup and configuration of CMS' for their Web site management and as a result implementation of some of the CMS software available to small and medium enterprises led our team to modify or adjust off the shelf software to suit the individual circumstances that each of our clients' projects required. Several projects were implemented in this manner and due to the differences between projects and client needs and the nature (structure and logic) of the code in the applications used, additional time and increased cost to projects resulted.
The application development and implementation teams decided our extensions and additions really only added value to the developer of the original CMS application and in some circumstances we were unable to do what a client needed with an off the shelf product - the way it was designed couldn't accommodate some requirements.
The World Wide Web (WWW) has been often cited as being a very fluid and changeable medium [HREF 4]. Throughout its short history competing technologies have risen, fallen and been ignored. Assessment of the worth of a particular technology or delivery system at a user level is often based on user experience, expectations and uptake by other users and influenced by market and media hype [HREF 5].
NTech Media was primarily a Web site design and site implementation business in the late 1990's. Early Web site projects were often made up of static HTML pages and the tiresome maintenance and manual management of these types of projects proved a very strong incentive for both clients and our team to implement Web sites in a Content Management System (CMS). Cost, immediate and future use and flexibility and timeliness were key driving factors behind the development process.
In mid 2003 it was decided to develop our own suite of software products to best cater to the needs of our clients and in the future for sale to other technical teams.
From the start it was decided that the key feature of the CMS would be its flexibility. The system had to have no restrictions on design, templates and limitations in the way it could be configured. It should allow a client to specify a given feature or design and layout option and the system would accommodate it. At the very least it should accommodate extensions and additions that added functionality without massive effort.
Clients would specify their needs without a group of technologists dictating product and feature development. Working with clients to implement features and processes based on user need each implementation of a given system built on and extended prior implementation and features.
The new CMS system was named PrimeTime and a product logo and identity was commissioned and developed.
In order to allow the system to be extended and accommodate many different client requirements a framework had to be implemented that would allow a feature or requirement to not impede future development and extensions. This was achieved with the use of custom tags, snippets of code (snippets) and elements that can be custom managed. Custom tags allow the creation of specialised and custom scripts and extensions that sit outside of the core CMS functionality and as such dont impede or affect the flexible framework that is the CMS. Upgrades to the CMS infrastructure don't break or affect the custom tags and custom scripts so all sites can be kept up to date with the latest version of the CMS without difficult upgrade issues or loss of functionality that are sometime side affects of software updates.
Clients have requested features for PrimeTime that include:
The process of developing our own CMS environment has had significant business benefits. All support is for a consistent product regardless of the support issue and differences between clients support needs. System documentation and user documentation are standardised and processes for project implementation and rollouts are much faster.
New staff can be trained and indoctrinated into new processes and become productive integrated team members very quickly. Clients benefit from a consistent delivery of service and staff support. Documentation and materials supplied are based on a standard platform and added to as needed as new jobs completed and features added. Not all clients need all features activated so the application (and documentation) can be as "thin" or as "fat" as needed.
In 2003 average project duration was six weeks from commencement to completion. Since the development and use of the PrimeTime CMS we have been able to implement 15 comparable Web sites a day! The CMS is now a key part of NTech Media's product strategy and a central piece of our client service strategy.The PrimeTime CMS has evolved quickly and is now a very flexible and richly featured application. The development, usefulness and stability of the application is due to a focus on clients highest priority requirements and features. Many clients have similar needs but the way that the features are implemented varies from client to client and project to project. Providing a stable and flexible foundation allows a high degree of configurability to suit each client and their needs in an efficient manner.
Cohn, M, (2006). Agile Estimating and Planning. Boston, Pearson Education. ISBN 0-1314-79415
Highsmith, J, (2004). Agile Project Management . Boston, Pearson Education. ISBN 0-321-21977-5
Patterson, K. & Ellis, A. (2002) Design and Navigation: A Survey of Australian University Homepages , Proceedings of AusWeb02, Southern Cross University Press, Lismore, ISBN 1 863844 53 8