Tips for implementing Web content management
Tony Pietrocola, Bridgeline Software, posted on their blog seven ways to "Avoid These Common Mistakes When Implementing WCM". Two of the tips he gives have been giving me trouble lately.
2. Have the requirements from all stakeholder groups been accounted for? One of the critical issues that sink CMS investments in the organization is missing all necessary input and buy-in.
3. Trying to solve too much from the very beginning and be all things to all people is a recipe for disaster. In order to be successful, work in manageable phases. Don’t be afraid to upset the apple cart and prioritize.
What do you do when all the stakeholders buy into the CMS but see everything on their laundry list as a priority for implementation? Sometimes having all the stakeholders involved is why tip #3 can be very difficult to do and maintaining a WCM can bring no joy. There is a lot of negotiation skills involved to make WCM implementation and maintenance happen. Unfortunately, not all IT project leaders are good at the negotiation table.
I will have to ponder on these issues a bit more...
About this CMS Enthusiast
Bryan Ruby is the owner and editor for CMS Report. He founded CMSReport.com in 2006 on the belief that information technologists, website owners, and web developers desired visiting sites where they could learn about content management systems without the sales pitch. Outside of his late night blogging hours, he is the Information Technology Officer for a field office in the federal government.
Comments
#1 Process for input
Getting the right amount of input while product managing the CMS implementation to be focused / phased can be tough. When I was at the World Bank, eventually we formed a process that included the various groups but didn't get too far into a "kitchen sink" mentality. Each major group (there were 30 or so) had a vote, and each group could submit requests. These requests were entirely public, as were the votes. So people could see that if no one else wanted to implement their request. Before that, groups would still argue that there was an "institutional need" for various small requests. Anyway, the World Bank is an unusual place, but I think having a process to deal with requests is important for large CMS implementations.
#2 Definitely a challenge
It's certainly a challenge gathering all stakeholder input. It's always easier said than done. There are so many variables (size of company, stakeholder availability, internal passion, etc) that can impede good progress. David, your voting method is an interesting concept.
A great vendor should certainly help a company along in figuring out what is priority, but the internal passion must be there, too.