Summary

Lead the development and design of a Content Management System capable of running the University's many department and college websites.

Utilizing ColdFusion and the Fusebox framework on SQL Server, the CMS was designed and built from the ground up to meet the University's diverse content needs. The CMS features web-based creation and editing of webpages, weblogs, highly customizable media galleries, as well as a simple, user-defined database module which allows users to create online data matrices for managing varying types of information. The CMS is supported by a central media archive and features user, group, and item-based publishing permissions and was designed with a simple, intuitive interface.

The CMS is now in production running high traffic public websites such as the UNH Athletics website, supporting an archive of over 6000 press releases and the Computing and Information Services website, supporting over 600 individual pages of content. The College of Liberal Arts is currently rebuilding all of their 20+ department websites using the CMS and will launch these new sites throughout the fall of 2007.

Each CMS client site utilizes a centralized core code package to interface and interact with the central content database. The CMS is available to all University departments as a subscription-based service.

I was also responsible for leading the redesign of the UNH Athletics website.

Summary

Prior to my arrival at UNH the Course Catalog, which had been online in static form for several years, was redesigned and an online system was created to dynamically edit an publish the Catalog's content each year. The system was managed by a single editor and had a large list of problems, including general usability and several long term issues which would make publishing yearly editions of the Catalog or making important edits a time consuming task.

I had the opportunity to lead the project to analyze the current system, speak with the editors and lead a redesign of the information architecture and overall design of the backend management tools. In addition to the overall redesign we also needed to implement an all new publishing system. This system would create a distributed content editing and approval process to enable department level control over each section of the Course Catalog. This system would replace a paper process which had previously required the full-time attention of a dedicated staff editor. It would also be utilized in the creation of the print version of the Catalog, saving weeks of time.

The new system features a tiered publishing process, allowing Department staff to work with their respective College administrators in approving content changes for each section of the Catalog. The College administrators and Department staff utilize a 'track changes' feature to monitor content changes throughout this editing process. Once the College Deans have approved the final versions of each section of the Catalog, the section is approved and is now under the editorial control of the Editorial and Create Services. Here final design changes can be made and the content can be approved for publishing.

Depending on the various types of content, the online management system allows users to edit large text areas, tables of information, faculty listings, and degree requirements. College administrators also have control over the directory information for their faculty and staff members. This includes their educational history, positions and titles within the University and other related pieces of information.

Once an edition of the Catalog is ready for publication, editorial staff can now publish the Course Catalog with ease and generate an XML feed of each section of the Catalog. This XML feed was designed to interface directory with Adobe InDesign, allowing a simple import process to replace weeks of content and design edits.

The new Online Course Catalog administration system has been a huge success and the University's investment in this tool continues to provide a huge return for their investment.

Summary

Lead the development of a subscription based community site which offers online learning, file downloads, online forums and a searchable directory for users across the country.

Developed from the ground up the GOF website was designed with usability in mind to easily delivery information and content to both new and returning users. An online learning system was developed to allow subscribers access to online learning sessions – complete with interactive quizzes and video clips. Members can track their progress through each course and their quiz answers are saved for future reference. At the end of each completed course they recieve a printable certificate and can access a library of related materials and links.

The online resource library features hundreds of files, available in both Word and PDF formats, organized by category and keyword. This file system features a search interface which scans not only the file names, but also the file content to provide the most accurate results possible.

The system currently supports several thousand subscribers and allows account managers to add and manager their additional account users.

The administrative back-end allows the GOF staff to manage subscriptions and site content through a series of custom developed tools. The system also connects directly with CMD's online storey at CMDNet.org allowing users to purchase access to the website or renew their subscription.

Summary

Lead the development of the CMD corporate website offering subscription based content, an online catalog, and an online store.

The CMD website offers a service called Youth Ministry Access which is similar in design to that of the Generations of Faith model. The YMA system offers online courses and content, but offers greater organization and categorization of content.

The YMA system is supported by a back-end administration module which allows files to be uploaded by CMD staff members and categorized using many custom fields. Files are tagged based on their content and this information is utilized in organizing the files for members, allowing them to browse and search for files based on this metadata.

The CMD website also features an online store offering both physical products and online content subscriptions. Like GOF, the Youth Ministry Access subscription system can be managed by users and also offers an administration module for CMD staff.

The CMD website also offers an online event registration system and event manager which allows staff to manage registration for conferences as well as publishing event dates for their certificate programs.

Since it's initial development the CMD website has been upgraded to support a custom Content Management System which allows CMD Staff the ability to add webpages, create new content, edit existing content and control many other aspects of their website. This increased functionality has allowed CMD to further utilize their website as a source of up-to-date, relevant information for their customers.