Mark Dehmlow, Head of the Library Web Department at the University of Notre Dame At the University of Notre Dame, we recently implemented a new website in concert with rolling out a “next generation” OPAC into production for our campus. While much of the pre-launch feedback was positive, once we implemented the new systems, we started receiving a small number of intense criticisms and a small wave of problem reports. This presentation covers how to plan for big technology changes, prepare your organizations, effectively manage the barrage of post implementation technical problems, and mitigate customer concerns and criticisms. Participants are encouraged to bring brief war stories, anecdotes, and suggestions for managing technology implementations.”

2. Thanks
• People Whose Ideas and Work that Contributed to
this Presentation
– Dan Brubaker-Horst, Project Applications Developer
(dan.brubaker.horst@nd.edu)
– Robert Fox Sr Systems Administrator
Fox,
(rfox2@nd.edu)
– Tim Jones, Interface / Graphic Designer
(Timothy.Jones.378@nd.edu)
(Timothy Jones 378@nd edu)
– Tom Lehman, Digital Access Librarian
(tlehman@nd.edu)
– A
Aaron Bales, Systems Librarian
B l S t Lib i
(abales@nd.edu)
– Andre Murniek’s Design Class

3. Overview
• Motivations for Change
• Cycle of Planning and Implementation
• Tools for Web Development
p
• People and Managing Change
• Personnel Needs
• Continuous Integration
• Next Steps

4. What Precipitated Change
• Website
– Sense of overwhelm (particularly novice users)
– Need for better marketing space
– Enhance the visual character
• Catalog
– Meet our user’s search/retrieval expectations
/ p
– Reduce the amount of work and expertise needed to
get from query to research material
– Improve service
– Needed and extendable platform
– Plurality of metadata
y

5. Outcomes
• Provide access to a large number of
dissimilar resources in a simple clean
simple,
interface that doesn’t overwhelm users
• Meet needs of advanced/power users
• Provide both search and browse access
to resources and services to
accommodate different information
interaction styles
• Enhance visual look of site

6. Project Management Cycle
Assess
Implement Idea/PP
Internal
Maintenance
External
Test Test
Development

7. Assessment
• Usability
• Web statistics
• Focus groups
g p
• Feedback
– Anonymous
– Targeted
• Surveys
• Competitive Intelligence

8. Testing
• Internal
• Usability
– Designed around a series of tasks
• Release to stakeholders
– What to keep in mind
– Why formalize?

9. Usability
• Undergrads
• Graduates & Faculty
• Sample:
p
1. Find three books discussing American department stores.
2. Find three journal articles on AIDS in Africa.
3. Does the library have access to the article "Reflections on the End
Reflections
of History, Five Years Later," by Francis Fukuyama, published in
History and Theory 1995 34(2): 27-43?
4. What time does the Main Library close on Friday?
5. Find the page that tells how to renew books you have checked
out online.

10. Usability Cntd.
• Keep it simple
– Develop basic scale
• What to consider
– Time on task
– Number of clicks
– Success or failure
• Morae
– Measures clicks
– Records session (
(screen and p p )
participant)

11. Idea
• Define problems
• Brainstorm added
features
• Sketch wireframe and
paper prototype
<Test>
<T t>

12. Develop
• Rapid development around prototype
– Integrate basic design elements
• Experiment with tools, decision
• Formalize the design – IA
• Construct Templates
<Test>
• Fi issues
Fix i

13. Wireframes

14. Implement
• Migrate site, prepare project for
production
d ti
• Flip to production
• Collect feedback
– (Clear your calendar for 6 weeks)
– Mitigate Problems
– Fix issues

15. Start Over
Back to Assesment
http://www.alexross.com/81382-big.jpg
p g jpg http://davidakin.blogware.com/200808271106.jpg
p g jpg

16. New Website - Decisions

17. Tools
• CMS
• CSS F
Frameworks
k
– Blueprint, jQuery UI CSS FW, Yahoo YUI
• J
Javascript Lib i
i t Libraries
– jQuery, Yahoo YUI, prototype
( p //jq
(http://jqueryui.com/demos/)
y / /)
• Widgets
– Colorbox, jQuery UI, Carousel
, jQ y ,
• Analysis
– Urchin, analog, google analytics
, g, g g y

18. Tools cntd
• In browser analysis
– Firebug (Firefox) Web Developer (Chrome)
(Firefox),
• Browser Testing
– IE Tester (http://www.my-debugbar.com/wiki/IETester/HomePage)

19. QA – Quality Assurance
• Determine representative pages for
testing
t ti
• Determine browsers and OSs
– get from log analysis
• Determine environments
ete ee o e ts
– Screen Resolution, W3C
(http://www.w3schools.com/browsers/browsers_display.asp)
p p y p

20. People
• Develop Partnerships
– Departments
– Key stakeholders
–OOpportunites
t it
• Design class
• G t F db k
Get Feedback
• Integrate Suggestions
• Determine appropriate level of
committee decisioning
g

21. Change Management
• Change is disruptive
• People have different tolerances to
change
– Change Style Indicator (Discovery
Learning Press)
Conservers Pragmatists Originators

22. Kotter’s 8-Step Change Model
• Create Urgency
• Form a Powerful Coalition
• Create a Vision for Change
• Communicate the Vision
• Remove Obstacels
• Create Short-term Wins
• Build on the Change
• Anchor Changes in Culture
Source – MindTools - http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newPPM_82.htm
p // /p g / /

23. Stages of Change
Resistance Confusion Integration Commitment
Source: “Traveling Through White Water: A Manager’s Guide to
Organizational Change.” Linda R. Fisher & Rose L. Kennedy

24. Preparing the Organization
• Garnering organizational support
• Focus Groupsp
• College Visits
• Targeted Email
g
• Campus Newsletter
• Story in Campus Paper
• News Channel in Campus Portal
• Online Feedback
– incentives
– 350+ responses
p

25. Mitigating the Fallout
• What were the biggest issues
– My stuff moved
– Preferred Links
• Dealing with upsets
– Kill them with kindness
– Don’t take it personally
– Thank them for their input and address
their inquiry

26. New Website

27. Enhancing the Catalog

28. Enhancing the Catalog

29. Enhancing the Catalog

30. What it Takes to Bring it Together
• Customization and development require
– Programmers to lead
developments and
d l t d
extend systems
– Web Developers
with basic
understanding of
patron
scripting
– Time and support
for those with
potential to develop
needed skills
– Willingness for some
risk

31. Learning Technologies
• Learn through doing
– Ti practical goal t
Tie ti l l to
learning technology
• Choose “gateway”
gateway
technology
– php
http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/
– Perl 1/2/0/5/0/ar120996349105021.jpg
• Graduate to more sophisticated technology
– procedural code vs object oriented code

32. Managing Programs/Site
• Multiple Environments
– dev, preprod, prod
• Version management
– Subversion, CVS
• Build Tools
– Ant, Capistrano
• Continuous Integration
– Hudson

33. Deployment
Subversion
Hudson
H d
PPrd
oh crap!
rollback
Prd Dev

34. Next Steps
• Post-mortem
• Reorganizing
• Communication
• Implementing
Recommendations
• Future Planning
• St t
Strategy

35. Post-mortem
• How it went
– First two weeks insane
• What we missed
– More communication, earlier
– Education about CatalogPlus
g
– More testing of CatalogPlus

36. Reorganization
• Creating Teams
– Advisory group
– System Architecture /
UI team
• Leveraging existing
teams
– ELK – Library Communications Committee

37. Communication
• Move WPIT to WAG (formal input)
• Annual meetings with key
departments
• Education / Outreach
• Visit satellite sites

38. Implementing Recommendations

39. Implementing Recommendations

40. Implementing Recommendations

41. Future Planning
• Primo Central – aggregated index
• Content Management System
– Integrated database driven data
• Holistic Discovery / Services Approach
– Integrated request queue
• Developing technologies
• Single sign on
• Explore Portalization

42. Strategy - Holistic
desktop mobile syndication
Production Test
discovery
services
Exp.
Exp content Beta

43. Resources
• Organizational HR trainings
• O’Reilly Books (Safari)
• Websites
– 37signals Signal vs. Noise - http://37signals.com/svn/
– A List Apart - http://www.alistapart.com/
– Smashing Magazine - http://www.smashingmagazine.com/
– UX Magazine - http://uxmag.com/
– Fast Co. Design - http://www.fastcodesign.com/
– Dribbble - http://dribbble.com/
– User Interface Engineering: http://www uie com/articles/
http://www.uie.com/articles/
– Jakob Nielsen's Website: http://www.useit.com/
Source: Tom Lehman and Tim Jones

45. Thank You
Mark Dehmlow
Digital Initiatives Librarian
574-631-3092
mdehmlow@nd.edu