Defining the strategic requirements of a content management system (CMS) could well be one of the largest IT projects undertaken by many organizations. The total cost of ownership (TCO) must be fully evaluated when potential investments could run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars in very large organizations. Therefore, it is vital that careful and thorough strategic planning be conducted in order to define not only the methods and applications, but also the tools and techniques that will be used in implementing the necessary culture change throughout the work force.

This article outlines many of the lessons that we have learned while assisting client companies throughout the CMS strategic planning process. We suggest ideas and tips, and provide an approach for identifying your unique business requirements for a Content Management System (CMS).

With literally hundreds of vendors and products, it can be difficult to make an “apples to apples” comparison. Thorough preparation and a disciplined approach to this evaluation process is critical.

IToday a Web site is the face a business or organization presents to the world. Since 1998 business-to-business and business-to-consumer Web sites have become the single most important vehicle for communicating with customers, suppliers, partners, employees, analysts, and investors.

Unfortunately, Web content quickly grows stale and becomes out-of-date. A relatively new Internet solution category—Content Management Systems (CMS) — allow business users across the organization to easily add or modify their own Web content without the assistance of the IT/Web staff. Additionally, CMS solutions ensure that contributors adhere to company Web site standards while keeping security and navigational elements intact.

Non-technical contributors can make authorized changes to Web content without having to master HTML or complicated Web scripting languages and without having to wait for IT or the Webmaster to make the changes. CMS solutions are efficient, cost effective, and easy to integrate and use.

In developing these guidelines, we made a number of global assumptions about the types of organizations considering investing in an Enterprise Content Management System: (ECMS or more commonly just CMS)

• Medium to large organizations
• The new CMS will replace the current publishing systems
• The new CMS will be used to manage the intranet, extranet and the Internet web site
• The CMS will be deployed enterprise-wide.

A wide range of content will be published using the CMS. This information can be characterized as:

• Dynamic information sourced from databases, etc
• Training materials both static and e-Learning courses
• Online manuals (policy & procedures, HR, etc)
• General business documents, i.e. Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Adobe Acrobat, etc.
• Thousands of pages in total
• Extensive linking between pages

Often a Web site is a visitor's first and sometimes only exposure to a company or organization. If the information is incomplete, out-of-date, or just plain boring, visitors may go to a competitor's Web site. Many Web sites have out-of-date content because it is too time-consuming, complicated, or expensive to change. Perhaps their Webmaster is too busy. Perhaps they have exhausted this year's budget. In any event companies need an affordable and user-friendly CMS solution to be successful online. At many companies the demand for Web content has increased exponentially. While organizations once used the Web to post basic information (i.e., brochure-ware), they are now using the Web to publish different types of content for many different types of users. For example, customers want product information, partners want the latest marketing information, and employees may want technical, training or 401k-plan information. Web content management solutions (CMS) help companies maintain and manage Web sites to allow sales, marketing, customer support, human resources, and others to add or modify content in a secure, controlled way. Content contributors are empowered to regularly update Web content without compromising Web site quality.

Anytime, anywhere Web publishing: Dynamic Web sites with CMS solutions let employees and other contributors change content whenever and wherever necessary, and in most cases, while using a standard Web browser. In contrast, static Web sites without CMS solutions tend to change infrequently. Coordinating a manual updating process is difficult when contributors and Web professionals work at different locations with different schedules.

Faster updating: Updating content is faster on a dynamic Web site than on a static site for two reasons: First, non-technical business users can add or modify content without waiting for "frazzled" Web professionals to get around to it. This common bottleneck disappears because employees in all departments can create new material and then update Web content themselves. Second, business users don't have to learn HTML or other Web scripting languages. They only have to be familiar with a Windows-like toolbar and a common Web browser interface.

Audit trail and user authentication: CMS solutions should create audit trails of Web site content changes made and also include a user authentication function (e.g., restricting the editing of investor information to the finance department).

Efficient workflow management: With a CMS solution in place, companies have a mechanism to control authoring, workflow, publishing, and document management functions New content comes from both content contributors (e.g., content professionals, information publishers, departments, routine updaters, executive messaging, outside sources) and existing corporate databases. Eliminate content bottlenecks: A good content management solution extends the responsibility for updating Web site content to business users. As a result, new content is no longer piled up for Web professionals to publish, thus eliminating an often overwhelming content bottleneck.

More valuable content: Use of a CMS solution encourages closer relationships with customers, partners, vendors, and especially employees. These groups find that their Web site content has become more valuable since it addresses their special needs.

Four or five years ago, it was sufficient enough for companies to create brochure-ware Web sites—company location and directions, brief product descriptions, and occasionally an e-mail address for reaching a real person. As sites have grown larger and more complex, companies have become "accidental" Web publishers—with unanticipated extra responsibilities.

Traditional publishers have always planned for the next edition long before the ink was dry. Similarly, having constructed a Web site, organizations find they must continually publish new material to keep the site up-to-date. Acquiring affordable CMS solutions helps facilitate this process.

With Web content coming from workers headquartered in Cleveland, road warriors based in Brazil, and distributors located in Barcelona, companies need new ways to automatically make authorized changes to Web content. With a CMS solution, a dynamic Web site, and input from many sources, content is fresher, giving visitors a reason to linger longer and return more often to the Web site.

• Increased involvement in Web site publishing throughout the company.
• Reduced risk of losing customers or disengaging staff because of dated Web content.
• Smaller number of time-consuming and costly phone calls to marketing and HR and other departments to answer common questions not answered on the site.
• Increased productivity resulting from employees' quicker access to essential information and documents.
• Increased collaboration and teamwork from providing an effective mechanism for presenting multiple points of view.
• Easier access to latest information 24x7 (especially important to off-site employees).
• Increased savings by empowering non-technical, lower-paid business users to self-publish.

• Zero learning curve: Allows update of content using familiar Windows-like toolbar and standard Web browser interface (e.g., Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator).
• Access to instant self-publishing: Empowers people from marketing, sales, and human resources departments to make their own changes and publish live within minutes or hours, instead of the typical turnaround of days or weeks.
• Site consistency: Enforces compliance with corporate publishing standards (e.g., layout, font size, background color).

• Enforces controlled changes (i.e., in accordance with pre-determined procedures and roles-based security).
• Eliminates workflow bottleneck by shifting responsibility from overworked IT staff to non-technical people.
• Simplifies integration since some vendors offer the option of "no client software to install or upgrade."
• Provides "anytime anywhere" access for administration of the content management solution.
• ractically eliminates the time and cost for the training content contributors.

• Gives visitors access to more timely and valuable content because it can be changed quickly and easily.
• Encourages repeat site visits because of fresh content (e.g., current product selection, pricing).
• Encourages longer site visits because of more in-depth and useful content (e.g., FAQs, non-product content).

Changing the content of static sites is difficult since text, graphic, and multimedia content usually reside in multiple files (i.e., HTML pages), not in databases, making it cumbersome to change content on multiple Web pages at once. Also, attempting to change a static site Web page could lead to file overwriting or corruption of important non-content areas of the site, such as security code or navigational sections.

Web professionals are usually the only people who can format and control the content on static sites. If business users were allowed to make changes, they might accidentally use a format that was inconsistent with the Web site's standard format

Finally, "workflow delays" often occur on static sites while content contributors wait for help from technical staff.

A dynamic Web site is somewhat like a traditional newspaper. Once a graphic artist has designed the newspaper's logo and its general look and feel, printing a different edition once a day is relatively simple. (Writing the stories is another matter, of course!) Similarly, once a dynamic Web site format is created, content contributors can change text, graphics, audio, or video content. Companies must first separate the look and feel (or structure) from the actual content. However, companies accomplish this by storing the content in a database and by using a Web application server to generate Web pages "on the fly. The combination of a CMS solution with a dynamic Web site empowers business users by putting a workflow and publishing process in place using standard network components. They can see and evaluate changes as they make them. Web site administrators define and assign user privileges such as create, edit, delete, restore, view, publish; across sections of the site, while enforcing a standard Web site look and feel.

The transition from a static site to a dynamic site involves a one-time integration process with a systems integrator or a Web developer managing the process. After the transition is made, minimal ongoing maintenance will be necessary.

An enterprise-wide CMS will fail unless all stakeholders are involved from the outset

• What is our Internet strategy?
• What are we trying to accomplish with our Web site?
• Which type of Web site best suits our needs—a static site (i.e., very low cost; content doesn't change much) or a dynamic site (i.e., more expensive; content changes frequently; developer involvement is needed)?
• What are the "costs" of leaving the content updating process status quo instead of implementing a CMS solution?
• How soon would our company reach pay back after investing in a CMS solution? What would the ROI be?
• Do we have a well-developed and articulated process for content management? If, not, are we willing to create one before integrating a solution?

Here is an overview of the process to follow when integrating a CMS solution:

• Determine what new features and functionality are needed on the Web site.
• Map your existing Web site.
• Determine where content management is needed on the Web site.
• Establish a site policy for format, layout, and overall style.
• Define user groups and roles.
• Map workflow and approval process.
• Install CMS solution and add "starter" content (i.e., may be real, but could be placeholder text and graphics)
• Test system with "starter" content.
• Make necessary changes to system and workflow.
• Train staff on using the system; including content contributors, approvers, and Web site administrators.
• Load system with real content.
• Conduct final QC/QA test with real content.
• Go live and closely monitor users' actions.
• Hold feedback improvement sessions on a regular basis with key team members.

• Integrated authoring environment:  The CMS must provide a seamless and powerful environment for content creators. This ensures that authors have easy access to the full range of features provided by the CMS.
• Separation of content and presentation:  It is not possible to publish to multiple formats without a strict separation of content and presentation. Authoring must be style-based, with all formatting applied during publishing.
• Multi-user authoring:  The CMS will have many simultaneous users. Features such as record locking ensure that clashing changes are prevented.
• Single-sourcing (content re-use):  A single page (or even paragraph) will often be used in different contexts, or delivered to different user groups. This is a prerequisite to managing different platforms (intranet, extranet) from the same content source.
• Metadata creation:  Capturing metadata (creator, subject, keywords, etc) is critical when managing a large content repository. This also includes keyword indexes, subject taxonomies and topic maps.
• Powerful linking:  Authors will create many cross-links between pages, and these must be stable against restructuring.
• Non-technical authoring:  Authors must not be required to use HTML (or other technical knowledge) when creating pages.
• Ease of use & efficiency:  For a CMS to be successful, it must be easy to create and maintain content.
• Version control & archiving:  Strict version control is necessary for legal accountability, backup and disaster recovery. A simple but powerful interface must be provided for these features.
• Workflow:  Decentralized content creation relies heavily on a powerful workflow model, which can be easily customized, and is resilient against organizational change. Understand the needs of your authors: they will be doing all the hard work
• Security:  Adequate security levels and audit trails must be in place to protect the integrity of the content.

A CMS is typically only one of a number of systems used to present information on the intranet or Internet website. An enterprise-wide CMS will only be successful if it can be cleanly integrated with existing business systems. The mechanisms for achieving this must be fully documented, and based on open or industry standards.

The CMS must provide an extensive range of reports, for both users and administrators. Ideally, the system should proactively report on any issues that arise. Support for customized reporting is also desirable.

The publishing engine takes the content stored in the repository, and generates the final pages. While this may be a dynamic or batch process, the same basic requirements apply. Key requirements may include:

• Style sheets:  Final appearance is controlled through the use of cascading style sheets. This provides easy flexibility and expandability.
• Page templates:  Overall page layout is specified via page templates. Ideally, a non-technical interface should be provided for managing this.
• Extensibility:  It must be simple for web developers to integrate code "snippets" or additional features to provide enhanced publishing functionality. The CMS must support a process of software version upgrades in interface design.
• Support for multiple formats:  The CMS must publish to multiple formats such as: HTML (web), printed, PDF, hand-held devices (WAP), and more. It should be possible to add support for additional formats, which will be necessary as new standards evolve. In order to achieve high-quality in every format, it is critical that the content be separated from presentation at the time of authoring. This allows distinct style sheets to be used for each output. The most important part of a CMS is the content itself.

Different information is presented based on either user profiles, or metadata in the source content. This is typically required for large "portal" websites.

The CMS must allow comprehensive usage statistics to be gathered, including: most popular pages, daily usage, and search engine usage. This information allows the success of the site to be tracked, and any usability issues identified.

The published pages must meet certain standards if they are to be of value to your users. It is important to specify these requirements if you are asking the vendor to design the appearance and layout of the web pages.

• Usability:  This covers aspects such as ease of use, ability to learn and use efficiently. Usability can be assured by conducting tests on the prototype designs with real users. Usability heuristics (iteration) must also be followed.
• Accessibility:  The CMS must conform to standards such as the W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) and XML Accessibility Guidelines (XAG).
• Cross browser support:  The pages must be viewable in all major web browsers (Internet Explorer, Netscape, Opera, and Mozilla’s Firefox etc). Specify which browser versions are to be supported.
• Limited client-side functionality:  You may wish to limit which client-side technologies (Java, JavaScript, Flash, etc) are required to view the site. This is more important for an Internet website than an intranet.
• Speed:  Page size must be limited to ensure that load times are acceptable for users. Specify the typical user access methods (LAN, modem, cable, etc).
• Valid HTML:  All pages must conform to the current HTML 4.0 specification. This ensures maximum compatibility across browsers and platforms.
• VEffective navigation:  Users must be provided with consistent, comprehensive and usable navigation aids.

All pages must provide sufficient metadata to allow effective indexing and searching. This should conform to a standard such as Dublin Core Metadata initiative (DCM). The total cost of running a CMS includes the skills and resources needed within your business, not just the dollar values.

Key requirements may include:

• Training:  The vendor must list the training materials that exist for the CMS, and the professional services that they can provide.
• Documentation:  The CMS must be supported by adequate documentation: for users, administrators and developers.
• Warranty:  The warranty period provided, once the software has been purchased.
• Maintenance agreements:  The vendor must outline their preferred support arrangements, including Service Level Agreements (SLA) and upgrade processes.
• Resources required:  The hardware, software and operating systems required by the CMS. Skills required What skills and knowledge will be required within your organization to customize and maintain the CMS?
• Cost:  Both the fixed costs for the CMS and the per-user ("per-seat") costs must be defined. The latter is generally more significant for a large organization.
• Scalability:  The load levels that the CMS supports and the additional resources (hardware & software) required for increased usage.

Specify any pre-existing hardware or software that the CMS must interface with, or run on. This includes specific operating systems, databases or web servers.

The vendor must supply a number of sites where the software has been successfully implemented. These must match the characteristics of your organization.

• Understand your content:  Conduct a thorough survey of the information that is to be published via the CMS. The nature of this content will influence the functionality required. It is important not to lose sight of the content when selecting the content management system.
• Relate to business needs:  Every requirement must be associated with one or more business needs. This allows you to identify the reasons for the requirements, and to priorities them.
• Avoid technical details:  Ensure you specify business needs, not implementation details. Vendors should be free to propose any methods or technologies that are able to meet your goals.
• Provide descriptions:  Your challenge is to make your needs understood, despite differences in vendor backgrounds and understanding. Avoid using jargon terms, and spell out your requirements in as much detail as possible.
• Use examples:  Examples provide concrete situations and business needs, and are an effective way of supporting your requirements. Use wherever possible.
• More not less:  It is better to have too many requirements than too few. The CMS must work for your entire business for several years at least; do not be surprised if the final list of requirements is long.

As of this writing, there are more than five hundred companies producing CMS software solutions ranging from free open source tools to complete end-to-end CMS suites costing over a hundred thousand dollars. Once your requirements have been identified, these must be used initially to narrow down the long list to of potential vendors. When you have established your short list of qualified vendors based on your requirements, there are a number of approaches that may prove useful in determining the best overall candidate.

The vendors must be required to provide detailed descriptions of how each of your requirements will be met by their system. These responses may be gathered in a variety of ways, but the most common is a formal proposal process, (i.e. RFP). Using this approach ensures that the vendors are accountable for any promises or commitments they make regarding their CMS.

You must ensure that vendor demonstrations are more than just a sales pitch. To be of value, they must demonstrate how the product will meet your business' needs. The best way to achieve this is to develop scenarios. These describe common or important tasks that will be performed using the CMS. By presenting these in a "narrative" form, considerable scope can be covered in a relatively brief description.

Provide these to vendors at least a week before the presentations, and require strict adherence. This allows direct comparison between the vendors' products.

Whatever evaluation processes are followed, you must eventually chose a single successful vendor. To do this in an impartial way, create a scoring system. Determine this before the vendors are contacted, and incorporate the results of any proposals or demonstrations. Using a formal scoring system eliminates the potential for accusations of bias or corruption.

Businesses and organizations currently using a dynamic Web site (or planning to upgrade their static site to dynamic) should consider implementing a CMS solution. With an appropriate solution in place, employees (and sometimes vendors) are empowered to contribute content while IT and Web professionals maintain control over a site's look and feel.

The ultimate objective is to provide a process whereby timely and engaging Web site content encourages site visitors to stay longer and make frequent repeat visits. When up-to-date and relevant Web content becomes a reality, the customer experience is greatly improved — translating into increased customer (or employee) satisfaction and loyalty.

Whatever revenue model a site is based upon, companies and organization can directly increase their bottom-line metrics with an affordable and simple Web content management solution in place.

« Back to Newsletter Archive  |   Top of the page