APLAWS Content Management System What is content Content

APLAWS Content Management System What is content? • Content is a resource • Content - articles - reports - pictures - audio - email • Call each of these a content item

APLAWS Content Management System What is content management? • • • Create the content Store the content Retrieve the content Publish the content Archive the content Manage the content end - to - end

APLAWS Content Management System What is content management? • • Create content Need systems to manage content Authors - write and produce content Update and change content - editors Describe the content - meta data Keep track of the changes Display the content in the right format Share the content with others

APLAWS Content Management System What is a Content Management System? • • Stores the content in a database Templates are separate from the content Set of editing tools Workflow can be set up between authors, editors and publishers

APLAWS Content Management System What can a CMS do? • • • Enable self-service Produce consistency Avoid web publishing chaos Help show relationships between content Provide powerful site administration tools Enable same content to be published differently Allow a site to grow in size more effectively Keep track of changes Display different content to different people

APLAWS Content Management System APLAWS CMS • • Accessible Personalised Local Authority Web Sites Open Source Pathfinder Project Partners - London Boroughs of Camden, Newham, Lewisham, Bromley, Harrow, RNIB, Age Concern, Sun Microsystems, Oracle, Red Hat Linux

APLAWS Content Management System APLAWS Workstreams • • Content Management Information Architecture Meta Data Usability and accessibility

APLAWS Content Management System Information Architecture • • • Survey of all London Boroughs Web Sites Some with common architecture - but not all Over 500 differently described links Home page - 50+ links Different ways to describe things - jobs, vacancies, employment Consistent top level navigation

APLAWS Content Management System Information Architecture • • • A - Z of local authority services Category list Top level set of categories Common elements on a page - latest page update - owner of page - privacy, disclaimer, copyright Common set of URL’s - eg www. yourcouncil. gov. uk/housing

APLAWS Content Management System Meta Data • • e-GMS - e-Government Metadata Standard e-GMF - e-Government Metadata Framework meta data - key elements to describe content APLAWS metadata list Use of category list and metadata APLAWS has a metadata tool 7 - 9 key elements CMS - automate meta data

APLAWS Content Management System Accessibility and Usability • • e-GIF - e-Government Interoperability Framework Accessible web sites Sites that are easy to use Make site accessible - easier for everyone Use of Templates XML and XSL - create text only version… …but the graphic version is also accessible Research - elderly people in Camden visually impaired users in Bromley and Newham

APLAWS Content Management System Creating a business case • • • May have 100 html pages - may have 1 m CMS - easier to increase size Will cost money Potential long term savings Users and staff In Newham, looked at current method - lots of staff going on html authoring courses - 10 k over 1 year. How effective? Lot of money going to ‘design’ which wasn’t corporate Work out savings if staff save 15, 30, 60 mins a week Compare costs of user of web, letter, phone call, face to face CMS = higher set up costs, lower running costs reduce risk

APLAWS Content Management System Implementation • Cultural change – – – information strategy corporate standards and guidelines govt guidelines content plan teams of people? – Technical culture of the organisation?

APLAWS Content Management System Lessons …! • • • One year is a short time in IT development… user evaluation different way of working - costs of web production identified evaluation of pathfinders? What happens next to the products? Its not all about technology - describing and organising content

APLAWS Content Management System Potential. . . • • • Council tax online? Creating online communities Enabling community publishing Showing relationships - library catalogue and community info Get the users involved from the start = free consultancy Enable effective publishing for non-technical authors Share data more effectively across organisations Share data more effectively within organisations Share and capture data more effectively between users and organisations. .

APLAWS Content Management System Resources • • • www. aplaws. org www. stoke. gov. uk www. lgolpathfinder. gov. uk/