Stop me if you have heard queries like these before: Why am I using {Product X} to build a {Task Y} website? Why am I rebuilding {Product X} to act like {Product Y}? Why can’t this {organizational asset} be flexible for {Product Y} instead of just {Product X}? Questions like these highlight an issue we face more in our day-to-day work in the ever-evolving web: content management system tunnel vision. Sometimes, our organization gets fixated on a particular platform or content management system, even when alternatives and successors exist. And over time, this stagnation hinders growth, expansion, trends, technologies, and eventually even adoption. In this presentation, I will cover the value of creating a web system ecosystem in your institution, department, unit, or organization. I'll cover: On-Campus CMS Usage Today - Discussion on scenarios where a CMS is being reconfigured to meet a demand it wasn’t meant to do, and the fallout from said reconfiguration. Why this approach is expensive in the long haul. What is a Web CMS Ecosytem? - Discussion on a different look at a system, where CMSs are provisioned and recommended for uses and have affordances and tradeoffs. Change the Community Mindset - Let’s consider the growth, explosion, and fall of CMS systems and stay on top of trends, platforms, and best-practices. Exploring Ecosystem Adoption- Discussion on changing mindsets, running pilot studies, experimentation, exploration, and research to determine organizational web makeup, goals, needs, and expectations. Angle Your Institutional Assets - Discussion on side-effects of this move, which may include CMS-agnostic branding and style guides, flexible and scalable plugins and campus application integrations for each system, and pain-minimized migration paths between services and applications.

1. UNBUNDLE YOUR INSTITUTION
CREATING A WEB ECOSYSTEM

3. INTRODUCING MYSELF

4. THAT’S ME!

5. SEMBRAT
ERIC

6. ATL & GEORGIA TECH

7. @ESEMBRAT

8. WEBBEH.COM

10. LET’S TALK WEB ON CAMPUSES

11. OUR USERS USE THE
WEB IN UNIQUE WAYS

12. STUDENTS
UNDERGRADUATE GRADUATE
FACULTY / STAFF

13. STUDENTS
STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS PROJECT / ASSIGNMENTS
COURSES / LMSPERSONAL / PORTFOLIO
RESEARCH INITIATIVES
& MORE

14. FACULTY / STAFF
UNITS / DEPARTMENTS EVENTS
ORGANIZATIONS / GROUPSPROJECTS
NEWS WORKFLOW
& MORE

15. WE NEED HELP BUILDING
THESE PLATFORMS & SITES.
HOMEGROWN / CUSTOM
USUALLY CAN’T CUT IT.

16. WE TURN TO:
SYSTEMS, FRAMEWORKS, &
PLATFORMS TO EASE BURDEN.

17. WE COMMONLY GET STUCK
INNOVATING AND SETTLE
WITH ONE SYSTEM.

18. CHANGE IS HARD.
VARIETY IS EXPENSIVE.
BUT IS GOING SOLO BAD?

19. YESIGNORING OTHER/BETTER TOOLS FOR A WEBSITE
MAKES YOUR JOBS MORE COMPLEX AND FRAGILE

20. LET’S CONSIDER…

21. ENTER THE SCENARIO…
YOU’RE A DRUPAL CAMPUS.
AND YOU WANT TO OFFER A
WEBSITE SERVICE SOLUTION.

22. WORDPRESS BLOG MULTI-
USER INSTALLATION
DRUPAL MULTISITE BLOG
INSTALLATION
5 HOURS SETUP 30 HOURS SETUP
1 HOUR MAINTENANCE 10 HOURS MAINTENANCE
1 HOUR NEW FEATURES ? HOURS NEW FEATURES

23. WORDPRESS BLOG MULTI-
USER INSTALLATION
DRUPAL MULTISITE BLOG
INSTALLATION
5 HOURS SETUP 30 HOURS SETUP
1 HOUR MAINTENANCE 10 HOURS MAINTENANCE
1 HOUR NEW FEATURES ? HOURS NEW FEATURES
WHICH WOULD YOU CHOOSE?

24. VS

25. AND

26. AND
WEB ECOSYSTEM 101.

27. DRUPALWORDPRESS
CMS LAND
STATIC
GENERATORS
PLATFORMS
KALTURA
SHAREPOINT WIKIS
FORUMS
ORGSYNC
DIGITAL ASSET
MGMT.
LMS
ETC. INTO INFINITY
ONE OFF PROJECTS

28. DRUPALWORDPRESS
CMS LAND
STATIC
GENERATORS
PLATFORMS
KALTURA
SHAREPOINT WIKIS
FORUMS
ORGSYNC
DIGITAL ASSET
MGMT.
LMS
ETC. INTO INFINITY
ONE OFF PROJECTS

29. WITHOUT A GUIDING HAND,
CAMPUS WEB IS GOING TO
SEGMENT AND SILO UP.
AND THOSE WEB SITES WILL
REBUILD RESOURCES.

30. FOLKS WILL REINVENT THE WHEEL.
OVER. AND OVER.
AND OVER. AGAIN.

31. A WEB ECOSYSTEM, THEN, IS…

32. CAMPUS END-USERS
CAMPUS WEB SUPPORT TEAM
BLOG /
MICROSITE
HEAVY CMS /
WEB PLATFORM
CRM / FORM /
WORKFLOW
SUPPORT INFRASTRUCTURE
STATIC WEBSITE
ASSETS
PORTFOLIO TOOL
CONTENT
REPOSITORIES

33. A WEB ECOSYSTEM IS A
COLLECTION OF
PLATFORMS, TOOLS,
SERVICES, AND ASSETS
TO BLEND CAMPUS WEB IDENTITY
ACROSS ANY* APPLICATION.

34. PLATFORM

35. CAMPUS END-USERS
CAMPUS WEB SUPPORT TEAM
BLOG /
MICROSITE
HEAVY CMS /
WEB PLATFORM
CRM / FORM /
WORKFLOW
SUPPORT INFRASTRUCTURE
STATIC WEBSITE
ASSETS
PORTFOLIO TOOL
CONTENT
REPOSITORIES

36. STATIC WEBSITE
ASSETS
CAMPUS END-USERS
CAMPUS WEB SUPPORT TEAM
CONTENT
REPOSITORIES
BLOG /
MICROSITE
HEAVY CMS /
WEB PLATFORM
CRM / FORM /
WORKFLOW
PORTFOLIO TOOL
SUPPORT INFRASTRUCTURE

37. WHERE, PHYSICALLY, DOES
YOUR WEB OFFERINGS LIVE?

38. THE CLOUD

39. ON SITE

40. WHEN CONSIDERING WHERE
YOUR PLATFORMS SHOULD
LIVE:
FEATURES
SECURITY
UPDATES
SUPPORT

41. TOOLS

42. CAMPUS END-USERS
CAMPUS WEB SUPPORT TEAM
BLOG /
MICROSITE
HEAVY CMS /
WEB PLATFORM
CRM / FORM /
WORKFLOW
SUPPORT INFRASTRUCTURE
STATIC WEBSITE
ASSETS
PORTFOLIO TOOL
CONTENT
REPOSITORIES

43. STATIC WEBSITE
ASSETS
CAMPUS END-USERS
CAMPUS WEB SUPPORT TEAM
CONTENT
REPOSITORIES
BLOG /
MICROSITE
HEAVY CMS /
WEB PLATFORM
CRM / FORM /
WORKFLOW
PORTFOLIO TOOL
SUPPORT INFRASTRUCTURE

44. TOOLS ANSWER THE QUESTION.
WHAT HELPS ME DO THE
JOB OF WEB DEVELOPMENT?

45. TOOLS PROVIDE WORKFLOW FOR
CODE AND DEPLOYMENT.
HOW DO I BACK UP?
PULL DOWN/PUSH UP CODE?
WHAT SCAFFOLDS EXIST?

46. 2 PRIMARY FORMATS.

48. CODE HELPERS.
PREPROCESSORS,
VARIABLES, AND
REUSABLE CODE CHUNKS.

49. A LIVING BREATHING DOCUMENT.
TAKES THE DON’T-REPEAT-
YOURSELF APPROACH TO
CODE SNIPPETS.

51. CODE SHARING, ARCHIVAL,
AND VERSIONING.
ALLOWS FOR COLLABORATION
ACROSS CAMPUS (& BEYOND!)

52. SERVICES

53. CAMPUS END-USERS
CAMPUS WEB SUPPORT TEAM
BLOG /
MICROSITE
HEAVY CMS /
WEB PLATFORM
CRM / FORM /
WORKFLOW
SUPPORT INFRASTRUCTURE
STATIC WEBSITE
ASSETS
PORTFOLIO TOOL
CONTENT
REPOSITORIES

54. STATIC WEBSITE
ASSETS
CAMPUS END-USERS
CAMPUS WEB SUPPORT TEAM
SUPPORT INFRASTRUCTURE /
SHARED ASSETS
CONTENT
REPOSITORIES
BLOG /
MICROSITE
HEAVY CMS /
WEB PLATFORM
CRM / FORM /
WORKFLOW
PORTFOLIO TOOL

55. DRIVEN BY A TOOL KIT OF
PLATFORMS AND SYSTEMS
SUPPORTED AND LEVERAGED.
CAMPUS WEB DOSSIER.

56. 4LEVELS OF COMPLEXITY FOR CAMPUS WEBSITES.

57. STATIC/OLD WEBSITES THAT NEED A FRESH COAT OF PAINT
BROCHUREWARE/LOW-LEVEL WEBSITES THAT BENEFIT FROM
SHARED ASSETS
COMPONENT/OBJECT-BASED WEBSITES LEVERAGING A CMS TO
STORE/DISPLAY DATA
CUSTOM-FIT APPLICATIONS A LA CRM, DAM, REPOSITORIES,
ETC.

58. SHARE RESOURCES AND ASSETS
(THEME) BETWEEN ALL FOUR
ASPECTS AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE.
REUSABILITY IS KEY.

59. STATIC/OLD WEBSITES THAT NEED A
FRESH COAT OF PAINT
BROCHUREWARE/LOW-LEVEL
WEBSITES THAT BENEFIT FROM
SHARED ASSETS
COMPONENT/OBJECT-BASED WEBSITES
LEVERAGING A CMS TO STORE/
DISPLAY DATA
CUSTOM-FIT APPLICATIONS A LA CRM,
DAM, REPOSITORIES, ETC.
STATIC SITE GENERATOR
VERY LIGHT CMS
LIGHT CMS
BLOGGING PLATFORM
HEAVY CMS
CUTTING EDGE WEB FRAMEWORK
DIGITAL ASSET REPOSITORY
CUSTOMER-RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT

60. BROCHUREWARE/LOW-LEVEL
WEBSITES THAT BENEFIT FROM
SHARED ASSETS
COMPONENT/OBJECT-BASED WEBSITES
LEVERAGING A CMS TO STORE/
DISPLAY DATA
CUSTOM-FIT APPLICATIONS A LA CRM,
DAM, REPOSITORIES, ETC.
LIGHT CMS
BLOGGING PLATFORM
HEAVY CMS
CUTTING EDGE WEB FRAMEWORK
DIGITAL ASSET REPOSITORY
CUSTOMER-RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT
STATIC/OLD WEBSITES THAT NEED A
FRESH COAT OF PAINT
STATIC SITE GENERATOR
VERY LIGHT CMS
SHARE CONFIGURATION AND ASSETS WITHIN EACH TYPE.

61. STATIC/OLD WEBSITES THAT NEED A
FRESH COAT OF PAINT
BROCHUREWARE/LOW-LEVEL
WEBSITES THAT BENEFIT FROM
SHARED ASSETS
COMPONENT/OBJECT-BASED WEBSITES
LEVERAGING A CMS TO STORE/
DISPLAY DATA
CUSTOM-FIT APPLICATIONS A LA CRM,
DAM, REPOSITORIES, ETC.
STATIC SITE GENERATOR
VERY LIGHT CMS
LIGHT CMS
BLOGGING PLATFORM
HEAVY CMS
CUTTING EDGE WEB FRAMEWORK
DIGITAL ASSET REPOSITORY
CUSTOMER-RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT
AND WHENEVER POSSIBLE, SHARE THROUGHOUT THE SPECTRUM.

62. ASSETS

63. CAMPUS END-USERS
CAMPUS WEB SUPPORT TEAM
BLOG /
MICROSITE
HEAVY CMS /
WEB PLATFORM
CRM / FORM /
WORKFLOW
SUPPORT INFRASTRUCTURE
STATIC WEBSITE
ASSETS
PORTFOLIO TOOL
CONTENT
REPOSITORIES

64. CAMPUS END-USERS
CAMPUS WEB SUPPORT TEAM
BLOG /
MICROSITE
HEAVY CMS /
WEB PLATFORM
CRM / FORM /
WORKFLOW
SUPPORT INFRASTRUCTURE /
SHARED ASSETS
PORTFOLIO TOOL
CONTENT
REPOSITORIES
STATIC WEBSITE
ASSETS

65. REUSABLE COMPONENTS.
PLUG-AND-PLAY ELEMENTS.

66. STATIC WEBSITE ASSETS
THEME / BRANDING NEWS / EVENTS TOOL
DIRECTORY TOOLEMERGENCY INTEGRATION
ACCESSIBILITY TOOLS LOGO REPOSITORIES

67. ABOVE ALL ELSE.
DOCUMENTATION.

68. STATIC WEBSITE ASSETS
THEME / BRANDING NEWS / EVENTS TOOL
DIRECTORY TOOLEMERGENCY INTEGRATION
ACCESSIBILITY TOOLS LOGO REPOSITORIES
DOCUMENTATION
HOW/WHY/WHERE/WHEN.

69. THE UNSPOKEN ELEMENT

70. COMMUNITY

71. OUR SUBJECT-MATTER-EXPERTS.
CONSUMERS, CONTRIBUTORS,
AND KNOWLEDGE-MAKERS.

72. BUILD A COMMUNITY-OF-PRACTICE.
BUILD COMPETENCY, EXPERTISE,
AND EXPERIENCE FOR USERS
OUTSIDE OF YOUR TEAM.

73. STATIC WEBSITE ASSETS
PLATFORMS, TOOLS, SYSTEMS
WEB SUPPORT STAFF
END USERS

74. REUSABLE COMPONENTS AND THEME FRAMEWORKS.
USE-CASE DRIVEN WEB SOFTWARE AND BEST PRACTICES.
WEB EXPERTISE AND RESEARCHERS.
A COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE FOR BUILDING, MAINTAINING,
AND ENCOURAGING GROWTH AND EXPERTISE.

75. MAKING THE CHANGE

76. ONE MAJOR CAVEAT.
DISTRIBUTED WEB CAMPUSES
WILL TAKE LONGER TO SEE
RESULTS.

77. 1.DEFINE YOUR END-GOAL GOAL.

78. LOOK AT YOUR PRESENT WEB
INFRASTRUCTURE.
WHAT WORKS?
WHAT DOESN’T?

79. MOST IMPORTANTLY…
WHAT IS MISSING?

80. CONSIDER YOUR END-USERS.
YOUR STAKEHOLDERS.
AND YOUR EXPERTS.
HOW CAN THEY BE A FORCE FOR
CHANGE?

81. ADVERTISE YOUR END-GOAL.
SHOWCASE THE BENEFIT AND
CURRENT LIMITATIONS.

82. 2.GET CAMPUS BUY-IN/INPUT.

83. REACH OUT TO WEB USERS AND
WEB DEVELOPERS ON CAMPUS.
ASK THEM THE SAME THREE
QUESTIONS YOU ASKED YOURSELF.

84. WHAT WORKS?
WHAT DOESN’T WORK?
WHAT’S MISSING?
YOU’LL FIND SOMETHING YOU
DIDN’T EXPECT.

85. IF DECENTRALIZED…
FIND PARTNERS, SUPPORT, OR
BUY-IN FROM CENTRAL UNITS.

86. IF DECENTRALIZED…
FIND PARTNERS, SUPPORT, OR
BUY-IN FROM CENTRAL UNITS.
PLAY THE POLITICS GAME.

87. 3.FIND A POTENTIAL FIX, AND MAKE THE CHANGE.

88. PROOF OF CONCEPT.

89. IF DECENTRALIZED,
THIS SHOULD BE EASY.
IF CENTRALIZED,
TAKE A LOOK AT WHAT RESOURCES
YOU’RE WORKING WITH TODAY.

90. FIND AN ‘EASY WIN' PROJECT.
GO THROUGH THE PROJECT
PHASES TO TEST A SOLUTION
(AT A SMALLER SCALE).

91. WHERE TO FIND ISSUES?
ASK WEBDEVS.
ASK WEB USERS.
ASK CENTRAL WEB GROUP*.
ASK YOURSELF WHAT’S MISSING.

92. 4.PUSH FOR CHANGE. OR MAKE CHANGE.

93. BEGIN BEING THE CHANGE
YOU WANT TO SEE.
GET BUY-IN FROM LEADERSHIP,
DEVELOPERS, AND END-USERS.
BRING CHANGE TO YOUR CAMPUS!

94. BEGIN BEING THE CHANGE
YOU WANT TO SEE.
GET BUY-IN FROM LEADERSHIP,
DEVELOPERS, AND END-USERS.
BRING CHANGE TO YOUR CAMPUS!
PLAY THE POLITICS GAME.

95. BEGIN BEING THE CHANGE
YOU WANT TO SEE.
GET BUY-IN FROM LEADERSHIP,
DEVELOPERS, AND END-USERS.
BRING CHANGE TO YOUR CAMPUS!
COMMUNITY BUILD!

96. FORWARD PLANNING

97. YOU CAN’T PREDICT THE FUTURE.
YOU CAN PLAN FOR CHANGE.
AND FOR GROWTH.

98. CONSIDER THE MIGRATION:
DRUPAL 7 (PHPTEMPLATE)
DRUPAL 8 (SYMFONY, TWIG)

99. PLANNING AN ECOSYSTEM
ISN’T JUST ABOUT TODAY.
IT’S ABOUT LOOKING FORWARD

100. WHERE TO LOOK?

101. OUTSIDE HIGHER-ED.

102. COMMUNITIES OF
PRACTICE.

103. IN THE WILD…

104. A QUICK NOTE.
AS MY CAMPUS IS HEAVILY
DECENTRALIZED, I DON’T SPEAK
FOR THE CAMPUS AS A WHOLE.

105. HOWEVER, I DO SPEAK FOR THE
WEB DEVELOPERS.
MY WORK PRIMARILY IS WITH
COMMUNITY-BUILDING AND
SUBJECT-MATTER-EXPERTISE.

106. AROUND 2011.

107. DRUPAL WAS KING.
ALL WEBSITES USED DRUPAL
BECAUSE THERE WAS NO
ALTERNATIVE FOR ‘SUPPORT’.

108. DRUPAL THEME
200 WEBSITES WITH
CENTRAL CAMPUS THEME.
~300 WEBSITES WITHOUT A
CENTRAL CAMPUS THEME.
THE WILD WEST FOR ALL
OTHER WEBSITES.

109. THE PROBLEM…
ONE SYSTEM CAN’T DO IT ALL.
AND ATTEMPTS TO DO SO AGED
POORLY.

110. IN 2017

111. DRUPAL STILL REIGNS.
BUT DRUPAL ISN’T A FIT FOR
EVERYONE. BECAUSE DRUPAL
ISN’T EASY.

113. WORDPRESS RULES FOR THE
DIY WEB USER ON CAMPUS.
SO WE TOOK WORDPRESS AND
TURNED IT INTO A SERVICE.

114. HTML WEBSITES CONTINUE TO
SURVIVE AND DECAY.
SO WE’RE LOOKING INTO WAYS TO
MAINTAIN, ARCHIVE, OR SUPPORT
THOSE WITH LITTLE OVERHEAD.

115. AGNOSTIC THEME FRAMEWORK
800 DRUPAL WEBSITES
WITH CENTRAL CAMPUS
THEME.
WORKFLOW TO ENCOURAGE NEW WEBSITES TO ECOSYSTEM
COMPONENTS.
800 WORDPRESS WEBSITES
WITH CENTRAL CAMPUS
THEME.
COMMUNITY-OF-PRACTICE AND EXPERTS ACROSS CAMPUS TO
BUILD AND EXTEND.
STATIC SITE GENERATOR
PROOF OF CONCEPT
WEBSITE-AS-A-SERVICE A
WORK IN PROGRESS.

116. HOW DID WE DO THIS?

117. COMMUNITY BUILDING WAS KEY.
PASSING ON KNOWLEDGE TO
OUR END USERS ALLOWED
DECENTRALIZATION TO REALLY
MEAN DEMOCRATIZATION.

118. WORDPRESS WAS THE RESULT OF
TWO COLLEGES TEAMING UP.
FIXING THE CHALLENGE OF
‘MICROBLOGS’ AND
‘BROCHUREWARE’ WEBSITES.

119. DRUPAL 8 IS COMING…
AS AN END RESULT OF
OUR COLLEGES AND
EXPERIMENTATION.

120. OLD WEBSITES ARE
BEING PHASED OUT.
SECURITY CONCERNS
SINGLE-SIGN-ON
NEWS/EVENTS INTEGRATION

121. BUT IT’S WORTH NOTING…

122. THERE’S STILL WORK TO DO.

123. QUESTIONS?