I presented these slides during a three hour workshop at the Gilbane San Francisco 2009 Conference. This version of the presentation has some improvements over last years including a description of a decision making process based on Doubt

1. < !- - c on tent he re -->
How to Select a Web Content
Management System
Seth Gottlieb
The Gilbane Conference
San Francisco, CA
June, 2009
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Agenda
>> Introductions
>> Horror story
>> The selection process
.. Business context
.. Requirements analysis
.. Solution definition
.. Market filtering
.. Selection
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Introductions: Seth Gottlieb
>> Seth Gottlieb
.. Former CMS customer, integrator, vendor
.. Dislikes them all (sometimes)
>> Content Here, Inc. (est. March 2007)
.. Vendor neutral strategic consulting and advisory
services around content technologies: commercial,
open source, and SaaS
.. Clients from high tech, media and entertainment,
government, and professional services industries
.. Reports on Drupal for Publishers and Java Open
Source Web Content Management Systems
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Introductions: And you are...
>> Name, role, and company
>> Type of Site?
.. Marketing?
.. Media?
.. Internal?
>> Why are you here?
.. Selecting a WCMS for the first time?
.. Want to avoid another disaster?
.. Just came to gloat after a wildly successful
selection?
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Why is selection so hard?
>> Fragmented market place
>> Platforms not applications
>> Convergence of process and technology
>> Information management is immature
>> Are we on Web 2.0 or 3.0?
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You are not just buying software
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You are adopting a solution
Solution
app. support
customization
configuration
support & maintenance
governance process
3rd party add-ons
hosting
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Plenty of other chances to fail
Badly designed customizations
+ Ineffective integrator
+ Insufficient training
+ Failed content migration
+ No real usability testing
+ No content management strategy
+ Poor organizational support
= Same mess, different container
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A cautionary tale...
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Too busy to create content
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Let’s solve it with tools!
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20 product “short list”
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Demo burnout I think I like “FatSite”
the best
You mean
that system that did
that thing with the
assets? I don’t think I saw
that one.
I liked the one
with the cute He was cute
sales guy. wasn’t he?
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Demo burnout
What about the
workflow
requirement?
He said it would be
They ALL said
possible with
that for
customization
everything!
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Math, don’t fail me now!
I think I
When you add Maybe we
But that one hate them all.
it all up, the had our Let’s start over.
was so hard to Can we build
winner is pretty weightings
use. something
clear. wrong. custom?
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When numbers fail...
Can’t we just go with
the vendor who will
endure the most
punishment?
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After the decision
I guess we
should call a couple
of references
now.
http://flickr.com/photos/nichollsphotos/2906834393/
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$500,000 later....
...the users hate it.
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And the cycle begins again
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What went wrong?
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There has to be a better way!
>> Business context
>> Leading requirements
>> Solution definition
>> Market filtering
objective viability
subjective fit
>> Short list evaluation
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Your selection team
>> Representatives from:
.. Contributors
.. Site owners
.. Site developer/maintainers
.. Visitors (or their advocates)
>> Size: < 10 decision makers
>> Onlookers welcome for
transparency
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Step 1: business context
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http://flickr.com/photos/pictim/2579694742/

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Business context
>> Organizational context
.. Role of content in your business
.. Processes and tools
.. Breakdowns and pain points
>> Technology context
.. Current infrastructure
.. Supported technologies
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Business Case
>>Why you are doing it
>>Where it is going to fit
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A necessary digression:
ROI
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ROI exercises lead to...
Unrealistic
expectations
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If you want to measure something
Measure the value of your content
and then
Then do things to maximize it
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Part of a broader initiative
>> Clean up/reorganize your content
>> Redesign (with wireframes and mockups)
>> Reorganize responsibilities
Before you implement
your new WCMS
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One possible result
>> Clean up content
>> Revise content model
>> Streamline workflow
>> Reward employees for good content management
>> Upgrade existing CMS to the current version
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Step 2: leading requirements
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Leading requirements are...
>> Important to your business
>> Powerful filters
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Two categories
>> Non-Functional Requirements: the “ilities”
>> Functional Requirements: features that the system
interacts with
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Non-functional requirements
>> What is the budget?
>> Who is going to be supporting this solution? What are
their skills?
>> What are the hosting capabilities?
>> The structure and inter-relatedness of the content
>> What kind of traffic will this site get?
>> What other systems does the system need to
integrate with?
>> What other services are needed from the vendor?
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Powerful non-functional filters
>> Infrastructure:
.. Server operating systems
.. Client operating systems
.. Database
.. Security policy
>> Technology skills
>> Content modeling
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Content modeling
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Content modeling
Pages or Objects?
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Content modeling
>> Data types: string, numeric, date, etc.
>> Validation: required, format
>> Structure: nestedness, inter-relatedness
>> Organization: folder based, faceted
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Content model example: Quiz
>> Title (string)
>> Description (rich text)
>> Instructions (rich text)
>> Questions (ordered collection)
.. Question (complex type)
•Question text (string)
•Points (numeric)
•Answers (ordered collection)
–Answer (complex type)
»Answer text (string)
»Answer explanation (rich text)
June 2, 2009
»Correct (boolean)
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Functional requirements
>> Scenarios based:
.. Not if but how
.. Phased
>> Think of three classes of personas:
.. Contributor/Editor
.. Developer/Administrator
.. Visitor
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Typical contributor scenarios
>> Edit semi-structured page
>> Create article
>> Create unstructured page
>> Create re-usable image/video/audio
>> Build photo gallery
>> Edit section landing page
>> Build interactive form
>> Search repository
>> Run content aging report
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Create article questions
>> Task assignment?
>> Are there different types of articles?
>> How are articles organized?
>> Associations with other content
>> Template selection
>> Preview scenarios
>> Approval rules
>> Approval notifications
>> Scheduled vs. immediate publishing
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Typical visitor scenarios
>> Register
>> Login and view restricted content
>> Rate article
>> Comment on article
>> Search site
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Typical developer scenarios
>> Create, test, deploy presentation template
>> Configure workflow
>> Create user (with permissions)
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Step 3: solution definition
Solution
app. support
customization
configuration
support & maintenance
3rd party add-ons
hosting
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How much help will you need?
Delegated DIY
• SaaS + SI • SaaS + You • COTS + You
• SaaS + SaaS • COTS + SI + You • FOSS + You
• COTS + SI + Managed • FOSS + SI + You
Hosting
• FOSS + SI + Managed
Hosting
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Step 4: market filtering
http://www.yukonhostels.com/new_photos.html
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Market filtering
>> Educate one of your own
.. CMS Report
.. Web Content Management in Java
.. Gartner
.. Walk the exhibition floors
.. Call peers
>> Hire a vendor neutral consultant
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Market filtering
>> Technology filters
.. Architectural patterns
.. Technology stack
>> Company filters
.. Company viability
.. Experience in your industry
.. Company health (gossip)
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A necessary digression:
WCMS Architecture I: Baking vs. Frying
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They all do it
When?
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Different architectures
Request Publish
Time Time
FRY BAKE
!=
delivery publisher delivery
repository repository
management management
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Each has its advantages
FRY BAKE
Performance/
Dynamism
Stability
personalization availability
high traffic
access control
cost savings
“website in a decoupling
box”
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Most products are based on one of the strategies
FRY BAKE
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Each has its coping
FRY BAKE
Performance/
Dynamism
Stability
caching code publishing
fragment publishing
clustering
structured publishing
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For more information
Read
Enter Content Here: CMS Deployment Patterns (http://
www.contenthere.net/2007/06/cms-deployment-
patterns.html)
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Why does this matter?
>> Visitor facing behavior
.. Commenting, Rating
.. Registration
>> Traffic
>> Integration with existing front end functionality
>> Immediacy
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Another necessary digression:
WCMS Architecture II: Central vs. Distributed
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Stand-alone vs. Distributed
*Drupal *FatWire
*Ektron *Ektron
*OpenCMS *Magnolia
*Plone *Sitecore
*Typo3 *Tridion
*Vignette
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Stand-alone clustered
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Other architectural factors
>> LDAP Integration: not “yes/no” but “how”
>> Backup: what happens to the site?
>> Search integration: how to notify index
>> Templating: language and your skills
>> Configuration management: how do you deploy code
production
content code/
qa
configuration
development
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Another necessary digression:
A word about vendor risk
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Another necessary digression:
What about open source?
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open source != open source != open source
know the ecosystem
>> Community open source
know the business
model
>> Commercial open source
>> Institutional open source
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66. And you were confused <!-- content here -->
by
commercial software
cheap!
*con
enterprise
committer
grade
?
we
IRC
zzz
forge rock!
leading
easiest foundation
sprint integrator
to use
hack-
not
leading
license
integrator fest
dead!
leading
meetup
integrator
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Remember the stack
Solution
app. support
customization
configuration
support & maintenance
hosting
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Remember the stack
sales
Solution
app. support
supplier
customization
configuration
support & maintenance
June 2, 2009 hosting
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Remember the stack
sales
Solution
app. support
your i.t.
customization
configuration
support & maintenance
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Commercial open source
sales
Solution
app. support
I.T. customization partner
configuration
support & maintenance
3rd party add-ons commercial
foss
hosting
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sales
app. support
customization
configuration
support & maintenance
Vendor
hosting
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Step 5: short list evaluation
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THE RFP
PROCESS IS
BROKEN
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The RFP should open a dialog
>> The RFP should concisely communicate:
.. Business Context
.. Desired Solution
.. Description of selection process
.. Establish lines of communication
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The RFP should not
>> Be a casting call
>> Be an invitation for sales rhetoric
>> Insulate the buyer from the seller
>> Take the thought out of the process
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RFP Prototype Specification
Prove that your product will
work within our organization
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RFP Prototype Specification
The scenarios are the script
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RFP TOC Example
>> Introduction
.. Business Context
.. Technology Context
.. RFP Objectives
.. RFP Response
.. Response Timeline
>> Non-Functional Requirements
>> Usage Scenarios
>> Contact Person
>> Appendix A: Example Content Types
.. Article
.. Quiz
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For more information
Read
Enter Content Here: The RFP is DEAD, Long Live the
RFP (http://www.contenthere.net/2008/02/the-rfp-is-
dead-long-live-the-rfp.html)
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Demo Prep
>> Coach suppliers
.. Build relationship
.. Validate understanding of requirements
.. Recommend demo format
.. Let them rehearse
>> Prepare audience
.. Assemble selection group
.. CMS theory overview (so the suppliers don’t have to)
.. Participation guidelines
.. Scoresheets
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Proposed demo agenda:
Time (min) Description Audience
0 - 30 Vendor intro Selection Team, Technologists,
Project Manager, Money Guy,
Rubber Neckers
30-60 High level product walk through Selection Team, Technologists,
Project Manager, Money Guy,
Rubber Neckers
60-75 Break
75-135 Custom usage scenarios Selection Team, Technologists,
Project Manager
135-150 Break
150-210 Technical walk through Technologists, Project Manager
210-240 Product licensing and terms Project Manager
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Participation guidelines
>> Read the proposals
>> Mind your manners
>> Attendance
>> Ask questions
>> Represent your
colleagues
>> Take notes
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Postmortem facilitation
>> Report scores
>> Strengths/concerns
>> Leave behind demo
>> Follow on questions
>> Call references
>> Training
>> Prototype (potentially)
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For more information
Read
Enter Content Here: How to make the most out of a
vendor demo (http://www.contenthere.net/2007/09/
how-to-make-the-most-out-of-a-vendor-demo.htmll)
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Step 6: selection
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Alignment meeting agenda
>> Initial survey (how close are we?)
>> First elimination
>> Open questions/concerns/risks
>> Scenario winners
>> Discussion of doubts
>> Apache style voting for the front runner
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Decision Making Through Doubt
>> Focus on risks and limitations of the solutions
.. missing feature
.. awkward implementation
.. technical incompatibility
.. unsatisfactory answer
.. supplier doubt
>> Address each doubt
.. verify
.. develop mitigation strategy (customization,
integration, process change, tolerance)
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Apache style voting
>> -1: Over my dead body (veto)
>> -0: I don’t like it but don’t let me stand in the way
>> 0: No opinion
>> +0: I like it but I don’t really know why
>> +1: I like it and I will help make it happen!
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Negotiation
>> Make it a win/win
>> Explore discounts
>> Share risk/credit
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Summary
>> Understand what you are looking for - you may
already have it!
>> Leading requirements:
.. non-functional are the coarsest filters
.. scenarios describe desired functionality
>> Demos determine fit:
.. Functional fit
.. Organizational fit
>> Create a win/win partnership
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Thank You
Seth Gottlieb
Content Here
seth@contenthere.net
http://www.contenthere.net
For more information about selecting a CMS, go to:
http://www.contenthere.net/category/selection
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