Building and Supporting Drupal Websites: In-House, Outhouse, or Both
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Building and Supporting Drupal Websites: In-House, Outhouse, or Both
- 1. Building and Supporting Drupal Websites: In-House, Outhouse, or Both? #12NTCinout Laura Norvig Renee Rybak Lang Matt Koltermann Johanna Bates Michelle Murrain
- 2. Evaluate This Session! Each entry is a chance to win an NTEN engraved iPad! INSERT QR CODE HERE or Online at www.nten.org/ntc/eval
- 3. Welcome, Online Peeps! #12ntcinout Slide 2
- 4. Get your tweet on Session Hashtag #12NTCinout • Laura Norvig @lnorvig • Johanna Bates @hanabel • Michelle Murrain @pearlbear • Renee Rybak Lang @rrybak • Matt Koltermann @mattkoltermann #12ntcinout Slide 3
- 5. Agenda • Getting to Know Us • Getting to Know You • In the Outhouse • In and Out – A Blended Model • The Right Blend: Best Practices and Tips • Hosting Options • Training Options • Q and A #12ntcinout Slide 4
- 6. Getting to Know Us • Laura Norvig, NSRT • Renee Rybak Lang, Education Sector • Matt Koltermann, Action Against Hunger • Johanna Bates, Collaborative Consulting • Michelle Murrain, Nonprofit Web Developer #12ntcinout Slide 5
- 7. Getting to Know You • Do you have a Drupal website already? • Do you do everything in-house? • Do you outsource everything? • Do you have a “blended” approach? • What are you here to learn? • Who went to Drupal Day yesterday? • What did you learn? #12ntcinout Slide 6
- 8. © Michael D. Brown #12ntcinout Slide 7
- 9. Outhouse flickr / A. M. Kuchling #12ntcinout Slide 8
- 10. Education Sector’s Web Project (in a Nutshell) We wanted to get from this… #12ntcinout Slide 9
- 11. Education Sector’s Web Project (in a Nutshell)… …To this: #12ntcinout Slide 10
- 12. Do We Need to Outsource? Questions to Ask… • What is your in-house tech expertise? Tech ninja or tech novice? • How complicated are your needs? • What’s your budget? • What’s your timeline? • Frequency of development? #12ntcinout Slide 11
- 13. The Process: How Do You Choose? • Get clear on your project goals • Research potential vendors • Write an RFP • Review proposals & have conversations with the vendors you like • Check references and choose! #12ntcinout Slide 12
- 14. Pros of Outsourcing • Can be cost efficient (particularly if your needs are infrequent, or simple.) • Leverage outside expertise… because they ARE tech ninjas! • Can be time effective. #12ntcinout Slide 13
- 15. Cons of Outsourcing • Outsourcing can get expensive. • Web development “on the fly.” Simply can’t be done. • Can be time-intensive. #12ntcinout Slide 14
- 16. Tips and Tricks… • Invest in the planning time up front! • No matter what, understand it’s a time commitment. • Choose an internal team for decision- making. • Communicate! • It’s OK to make tough choices. #12ntcinout Slide 15
- 17. Blended Model – Matt Koltermann #12ntcinout Slide 16
- 18. Is 100% In-House Really Possible? iStockphoto / cogal #12ntcinout Slide 17
- 19. The Right Blend: Best Practices and Tips Johanna Bates #12ntcinout Slide 18
- 20. Stretch and Wiggle Break Question: Where is your site hosted? flickr.com / kenski1970 #12ntcinout Slide 19
- 21. Hosting Options •Linode •Bluehost •Acquia •Pantheon •Rackspace •Omega8.cc •VPS.net •DreamHost #12ntcinout Slide 20
- 22. Training Options Drupal Training - drupal.org/training-services (list of many options, including in person and online) Online Drupalize Me - drupalize.me Lynda.com - lynda.com Build a Module.com - buildamodule.com Learnable - learnable.com Books Conferences DrupalCons - portland2013.drupal.org - drupal.org/drupalcon Drupal Camps - buildamodule.com/drupal-camps-calendar Development sites / Sandboxes #12ntcinout Slide 21
- 23. Q and A #12ntcinout Slide 22
- 24. Additional References • Building and Supporting Drupal Websites bit.ly/zmKvlU • CMS Building on a Budget bit.ly/GKl8Sk • Some Thoughts on Standards bit.ly/GKl1Gr #12ntcinout Slide 23
- 25. Goodbye, Online Peeps! #12ntcinout Slide 24
- 26. Evaluate This Session! Each entry is a chance to win an NTEN engraved iPad! or Online at www.nten.org/ntc/eval
Editor's Notes
- We’ll show this slide again at the end, but this is just a reminder to please evaluate the session, and for those of you who want to capture the QR code now.
- Remember, the hashtag is on the footer of each slide.
- Brian Pagels of Forum One worked with Renee and Education Sector on this project.
- Notes to include: Our website was 5 years old and was a bit tired, was beginning to be problematic/”buggy” (functionality-wise) and really no longer met our needs or the direction we were headed (more visual/interactive). Also, we need to upgrade from a proprietary CMS that was being discontinued, so didn’t have much choice in engaging in a redesign.
- Notes to include: We wanted a website with a fresh design and site architecture along with enhanced usability to more easily incorporate more dynamic, interactive features into our site – data visualization, social media, video, etc., better presentation/usability of our reports, etc. while also preserving many existing features we had on the old website and blog. A CMS was a must (and we also migrated a custom database to salesforce)No real preference on proprietary -vs- open source. But flexibility of open source, and that it’s widely used, benefits of updates and module add-ons was very appealing. And the fact we didn’t want to risk another closed system that could be discontinued again… Another key was migrating all of our existing content to new site smoothly.
- In our case, we’re a small nonprofit (less than 20 staff), and our IT needs aren’t too complicated. We’re not an advocacy group so we don’t have a “membership” base, or really have complicated campaigns that require constant attention, or dynamic web updates, etc. Our “products” are fairly standard (policy reports), and planned in advance. We’re a policy think tank so we’ve chosen to invest in our internal human capital accordingly – policy, communications, editorial, and development staff, not IT. We outsource almost all of our IT/Tech work, so outsourcing development of our website was only natural and it was just plain efficient– we don’t have that kind of expertise on staff (no tech ninjas), and haven’t seen a need to invest in a whole person to fill that role. The demand just isn’t there.
- How we picked: (the process). Get clear on your goals: hold internal conversations, investigate/research your needs, must-haves, budget, timeline etc. What’s worked in the past? What hasn’t? Write them down! Invest the time up front!Research potential developers. Ask the NTEN community for recommendations; Ask other organizations you admire who they used. Reach out and hold “informal interviews” with recommended developers to get a sense of their work.RFP process. This is not easy to do. Ask for examples (again, NTEN is a great source), and refer to bullet one = Invest the time up front! This is super important for a well thought out RFP and efficient process. We did not do an all-call, but rather invited firms to submit proposals.Review proposals. Have the vendors you like come in to present (show you what they’re proposing) and ask questions. This is very important if there are one or two you really like and just can’t decide. Most important indicator that you have the right vendor is comfort level --- do they “get” us and what we’re trying to accomplish? We picked F1 b/c they’re a firm that works a lot with policy organizations, and they really understood our needs as a think tank – the need to offer options for consuming our work, leveraging visuals, ability to relating content in numerous ways and across platforms. This can also be the time to begin to review the budget and expectations there.Reference checks; follow up conversations/negotiations, and you’re onto a contract. Checking references is very important. Try to check references of the team you’ll be working with, not just with the company generally. Try to talk with at least 2 or 3. And try and check one that’s NOT listed as a reference for the vendor. Ask tough, honest questions about the firm you’ll be working with and what the client’s experience was like: Was it on time/budget? How responsive were they? Where did you have the most challenges?
- Cost effective: Great for an org with a small staff that needs to prioritize where the investment in human capital is. If your IT needs are low, for example, outsourcing can be cost-effective/efficient. Same goes for web. If you have a fairly standard product, or there isn’t a need for constant updates, or fancy displays, or you plainly have a small staff that already wear multiple hats, outsourcing development on a website, and one that you can manage easily via a CMS post-development, can be a good choice.Leverage the real Tech Ninjas! Outsourcing web development allows organizations to leverage outside expertise and strategic thinking on the best uses of technology, the web, and even social media for your org. particularly post-development. In other words you don’t always need to be up-to-date on the latest and greatest of the web, latest CMS update, or best tools for doing x,y,z. Web companies eat, live, and breathe this stuff. Take advantage and learn from them. We have strategy discussions w/ Forum One at least once every 6 -9 mos. on priorities for our org, etc.Can be time effective. Outsourcing development can be time-effective, particularly for an org that’s doing a lot already in-house . Our whole process took about 5 months (from signed contract to launch.) Once we signed our contract we were on a strict schedule, and so we needed to be efficient internally on decision-making etc. It’s possible that internal development simply creates more bureaucracy and red tape to complete the finished product. (If not careful about managing this process internally, and externally with your vendor, I might argue this as a “con” too… “too many cooks in the kitchen” argument… )
- Cons/challenges of outsourcing:Cost: Depending on the work, outsourcing can be rather expensive. (Our own cost was low six figures). Likewise, budgeting for potential development, bug “fixes,” updates, and overall management post-project.Web development “on the fly.” Simply can’t be done. Outsourcing means planning in advance, and being intentional about it. Major changes to your website have to be plannedTime-intensive (same bullet as pro, but as a con). Web development can take a long time. And, If not careful about managing this process internally and communicating clearly with your vendor, I might argue this as a “con” too… “too many cooks in the kitchen,” cause for delays, escalating cost of the project, etc.
- Invest in the planning time up front! – this makes for a stronger, more successful project all the way around. Clear goals; strong candidates; etc.No matter what, understand it’s a time commitment. Sometimes it takes just days or weeks, or months. (planning takes time, other time commitments factor in sometimes, go with it.) Choose an internal team for decision-making. Choose an internal project manager to lead the effort and keep you on task. I had a 3-person team though out the entire project for all decision-making, including me as the lead/point. I had additional team members (3) to provide input on bigger, more visual decisions. This helped to cut down on the bureaucracy.Communicate with your vendor /team, and take really good notes. Lean on your vendor for expertise and informed decisions.It’s OK to make tough choices, and when in doubt, go w/ your gut…. Sometimes in mid-process, things you want to do have to get cut to stay on task/budget. That’s OK. That’s what later is for…
- Some key considerations when deciding what to outsource and what to do in-house.
- Some key considerations when deciding what to outsource and what to do in-house.