Challenges
In the first phase of the project, there were configuration changes made to redirect traffic across multiple servers (multiple versions of the CMS software) and those needed to be deprecated as each individual school went live to reduce performance issues. As the project progressed, there were normal enhancements to Smart Forms but also new functionality created that made use of the already well-defined taxonomy and features of the CMS. Configuring the pages, templates and content associated with each phase were regular challenges for the project.
As we completed the third phase of the project, we also considered several robust challenges to site performance with regards to server configuration, content authors usage and other caching strategies.
The Details
Web Content Management System (WCMS)
The New School chose to remain on its existing CMS software, Ektron. The site was configured intuitively within Ektron, and the page layouts were aligned appropriately with the foldering strategy defined previously. Part of the site was hosted on the new version of the CMS, and part of the site on the older version. The migration of the CMS was originally done internally, and to solve this, unique routing solutions were developed to support these non-parallel upgrades.
The site was configured to make appropriate use of taxonomy. However, there were inappropriate configurations that made use of the taxonomy reach beyond its intended purpose. While this was acceptable for the site as it was, it presented several challenges as the team attempted to migrate to a new CMS in future phases. Overall, the code required substantial clean-up, and was optimized to improve user/author capabilities, performance and ongoing maintenance.
The University needed a migration transition to a more modern CMS in order to better engage its audience.
The Project/Team
The project team consisted of The New School, with Mozaro leading the development effort, working in close partnership with AREA 17, leading the strategy, UX, design and front-end. Communication and collaboration, along with modifications in the requirements and sliding deliverables, made it necessary for the team to change the original plan—a Waterfall approach—to a more sprint-based approach. This was a good exercise in planning and necessary to support the University’s extensive list of content reviewers needed to launch each departmental website.
The Mozaro team was led by our in-house project manager. The project also included a development lead and a content lead, both of whom worked closely with other developers and content engineers to deliver under the evolving conditions. The team did an exemplary job and tackled, with grace, every request.