The University of Sheffield has been using their Polopoly CMS since 2003 but it is no longer supported and regular users find it slow and difficult to use. They are considering replacing it with a new CMS. The document discusses communicating the need for change, developing a new CMS, and creating a migration process to move content over from the old system to the new one department by department.

1. Replacement CMS“Getting it right and getting the buy-in” Richard Brierton The University of Sheffield July 14th 2010

2. E-mail: r.brierton@sheffield.ac.uk Twitter: youlooklovely * If you want to talk about me behind my back #iwmw10 #p8 *I never say anything interesting 13/07/2010 © The University of Sheffield 2

3. Where we are coming from... Polopoly CMS since 2003 600 editors; 100,000 pages; 14,000 new pages per year No longer running a supported product Regular users are fine with it Casual users are less-fine with it 13/07/2010 © The University of Sheffield 3

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5. “I use CMS almost daily and it is incredibly slow and awkward to use.”

6. “CMS is a catastrophe:the interface is clunky,slow, unattractive”

7. “CMS. Please. It's shit. It's unbelievablybreathtakingly shit.”

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9. Opportunity for change 13/07/2010 © The University of Sheffield 9

10. “Just because you've always done it that way doesn't mean it's not incredibly stupid.” Despair.com – “Tradition” http://despair.com/tradition.html

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12. Communication 13/07/2010 © The University of Sheffield 12

13. “To be able to walk hundreds of miles a man must believe that something good awaits him at the end. He needs the prospect of a promised land.” War and Peace – Leo TolstoyPage: 1217

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15. If CMS is the answer, what is the question?

16. Disobedient.

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18. 7 Commandments Keep the 90% in mind all the time One voice - we are not a coalition Training is cheap Content is expensive 13/07/2010 © The University of Sheffield 18

19. ... Editors will often best-guess when unsure Avoid unnecessary flexibility Most editors don’t care 13/07/2010 © The University of Sheffield 19

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21. The practical bit Develop new CMS Develop migration process Mix of generated HTML, parsing content XML from old system, CouchDB, Polopoly import tools Roll-out departments one-by-one 13/07/2010 © The University of Sheffield 21

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23. E-mail: r.brierton@sheffield.ac.uk Twitter: youlooklovely #iwmw10 #p8 13/07/2010 © The University of Sheffield 23