CMS Mythbuster and ISITE Design co-founder Jeff Cram's Eduweb 2012 presentation on CMS Survival inside Higher Education. Web content management is the achilles heel of most University web teams. It's a mission critical part of a successful digital strategy, yet almost impossible to get right and satisfy the organization. What is promised as the silver bullet for web publishing across a highly decentralized environment ends up being a political nightmare as end users revolt, IT and Communications fight and web teams struggle to support the growing demands of external groups.

1. CMS
CMS Survival in
Higher Education
Confab 2011
Click to type title
Jeff Cram
CMS Myth & ISITE Design
@jeffcram
#cmslove
#confab
Jeff Cram, ISITE Design
@jeffcram
Jeff Cram, ISITE Design
@jeffcram #eduweb12

2. Let’s play a game
CMS Survival in Higher Education #eduweb12 @jeffcram

3. CMS Survival in Higher Education #eduweb12 @jeffcram

4. CMS Survival in Higher Education #eduweb12 @jeffcram

5. http://research.isitedesign.com/cms-wisdom-report/
CMS Survival in Higher Education #eduweb12 @jeffcram

6. www.cmsmyth.com
CMS Survival in Higher Education #eduweb12 @jeffcram

7. “I’m a CMS Survivor”
(True story)
CMS Survival in Higher Education #eduweb12 @jeffcram

8. “I inherited a
CMS project
gone horribly
wrong”
CMS Survival in Higher Education #eduweb12 @jeffcram

9. “I inherited a
CMS project
gone horribly
wrong”
“I have been attempting to
maneuver around our
institution's bureaucracy”
CMS Survival in Higher Education #eduweb12 @jeffcram

10. “I inherited a
CMS project
gone horribly
wrong” “We have no in-
house expertise
“I have been attempting to with CMS”
maneuver around our
institution's bureaucracy”
CMS Survival in Higher Education #eduweb12 @jeffcram

11. “I inherited a
CMS project
gone horribly
wrong” “We have no in-
house expertise
“I have been attempting to with CMS”
maneuver around our
institution's bureaucracy” “Our CMS contract was
enormous. We set out to
redesign the site, strategize the
content, implement the CMS,
and build new large-scale
features into the CMS”
CMS Survival in Higher Education #eduweb12 @jeffcram

12. “I inherited a
CMS project
gone horribly
wrong” “We have no in-
house expertise
“I have been attempting to with CMS”
maneuver around our
institution's bureaucracy” “Our CMS contract was
enormous. We set out to
redesign the site, strategize the
content, implement the
CMS, and build new large-scale
features into the CMS”
“We eventually came
out the other end, but
battered and bruised”
CMS Survival in Higher Education #eduweb12 @jeffcram

13. “I inherited a
CMS project
gone horribly
wrong” “We have no in-
house expertise
“I have been attempting to with CMS”
maneuver around our
institution's bureaucracy” “Our CMS contract was
enormous. We set out to
redesign the site, strategize the
“I've always thought content, implement the CMS,
of myself as a and build new large-scale
CMS survivor” features into the CMS”
“We eventually came
out the other end, but
battered and bruised”
CMS Survival in Higher Education #eduweb12 @jeffcram

14. survival tip #1
CMS Survival in Higher Education #eduweb12 @jeffcram

15. http://www.uncg.edu/mat/sermon/2007/campusmap.jpg
CMS Survival in Higher Education #eduweb12 @jeffcram

16. survival tip #12
How to deal with
a cheapskate
boss and get the
funding you need
CMS Survival in Higher Education #eduweb12 @jeffcram

17. Source: gapingvoid.com
CMS Survival in Higher Education #eduweb12 @jeffcram

18. The digital goal
posts have moved...
CMS Survival in Higher Education
Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/georgehoffman/168099742/sizes/l/in/photostream/
#eduweb12 @jeffcram

19. We’re moving the
digital goal post
…beyond the university website
CMS Survival in Higher Education #eduweb12 @jeffcram

20. The role of digital has changed.
Most universities have not.
University University
Marketing/Co Digital
IT
mm. Strategy
Web
Past Present
CMS Survival in Higher Education #eduweb12 @jeffcram

21. Competitive benchmarking gets attention
CMS Survival in Higher Education #eduweb12 @jeffcram

22. Find a revenue generating line of
business (and don’t let go)
Source: Noel Levitz 2012 E-Expectations Report
CMS Survival in Higher Education #eduweb12 @jeffcram

23. There’s always
plan C
CMS Survival in Higher Education #eduweb12 @jeffcram

24. survival tip #21
How to stop
obsessing over
selecting the
perfect CMS
CMS Survival in Higher Education #eduweb12 @jeffcram

25. CMS Survival in Higher Education #eduweb12 @jeffcram

26. CMS Survival in Higher Education #eduweb12 @jeffcram

27. Obsessing over CMS
product selection is an
unhealthy distraction from
the real work that’s needed
CMS Survival in Higher Education #eduweb12 @jeffcram

28. from CMS selection to CMS readiness
CMS Survival in Higher Education #eduweb12 @jeffcram

29. survival tip #71
How to stop
redesigning the
same [expletive] site
every five years
CMS Survival in Higher Education #eduweb12 @jeffcram

30. “Insanity is doing the
same thing over and over
again but expecting
different results”
CMS Survival in Higher Education #eduweb12 @jeffcram

31. “Insanity is doing the CMS
over and over again but
expecting different results”
CMS Survival in Higher Education #eduweb12 @jeffcram

32. The average EDU has had their CMS 3.3 years
Higher Education CMS Usage Survey (Dec 2011)
http://doteduguru.com/id7800-results-higher-ed-cms-usage-survey-2011.html
CMS Survival in Higher Education #eduweb12 @jeffcram

33. File under: Not sustainable
CMS Survival in Higher Education #eduweb12 @jeffcram

34. “Content needs to be the central focus to a
CMS strategy. Without content, and a
coordinated strategy, the most powerful
CMS will do nothing for you.”
Source: CMS Wisdom Report
CMS Survival in Higher Education #eduweb12 @jeffcram

35. Templates. Important, but overrated.
Beyond wireframes
CMS Survival in Higher Education #eduweb12 @jeffcram

36. Is 2012 (finally) the year of the content model?
“Unstructured content is
stupid and old-fashioned.
It’s costly, complex and
does not generate a
competitive advantage.”
Ann Mulhay, ex-CEO of Xerox
CMS Survival in Higher Education #eduweb12 @jeffcram

37. The case for content architecture
Source: Cleve Gibbon, CTO at Cognifide
http://www.clevegibbon.com/content-architecture/
CMS Survival in Higher Education #eduweb12 @jeffcram

38. 46% of institutions lack a strategy
for content reuse
Higher Education CMS Usage Survey (Dec 2011)
http://doteduguru.com/id7800-results-higher-ed-cms-usage-survey-2011.html
CMS Survival in Higher Education #eduweb12 @jeffcram

39. Mapping content to a student journey
Source: http://wagner.nyu.edu/students/journey/guide.php
CMS Survival in Higher Education #eduweb12 @jeffcram

40. The end game: An integrated content strategy
Five guiding principles from
Phillip Gravely of the
University of Richmond
Storytelling and real experience
Exceptionally clear and simple
wayfinding
Shared, single-source content
Highly flexible, integrated content
types
Incorporate the web to facilitate
business processes
Source: Jboye Philadelphia 2012 Presentation
CMS Survival in Higher Education #eduweb12 @jeffcram

41. survival tip #92
How to keep users
out of your CMS
CMS Survival in Higher Education #eduweb12 @jeffcram

42. CMS Survival in Higher Education #eduweb12 @jeffcram

43. CMS Survival in Higher Education #eduweb12 @jeffcram

44. CMS Survival in Higher Education #eduweb12 @jeffcram

45. CMS Survival in Higher Education #eduweb12 @jeffcram

46. Beware of the infrequent CMS user
CMS Survival in Higher Education #eduweb12 @jeffcram

47. Should faculty be your expert CMS users?
CMS Survival in Higher Education #eduweb12 @jeffcram

48. Who REALLY needs to be in the CMS?
CMS Survival in Higher Education #eduweb12 @jeffcram

49. survival tip #134
How to keep afloat
and also focus on
what matters
CMS Survival in Higher Education #eduweb12 @jeffcram

50. Survival is
not enough
CMS Survival in Higher Education #eduweb12 @jeffcram

51. Web operations Strategic projects
Managing the day to day Investing in the future
Technical support Mobile and responsive web
Analytics reporting & dashboards Multivariate testing & optimization
Political brushfires Content strategy
Designing new templates Personalization
Internal presentations Web governance
Social monitoring and engagement Community
End user training Journey mapping
Campaigns Social strategy
Blogging Staffing and team development
Software upgrades Strategic planning & vision
Content development Video and rich media engagement
Universities need the
people, processes and
resources to do both
CMS Survival in Higher Education #eduweb12 @jeffcram

52. The future of CMS is bright…
CMS Survival in Higher Education #eduweb12 @jeffcram

53. Thank you
Jeff Cram
ISITE Design
617-401-2295
jcram@isitedesign.com
www.isitedesign.com
On Twitter: @jeffcram
Blogging at: www.cmsmyth.com