Managing Chaos

In the 20+ years since it first emerged, the UND website has grown organically with little oversight resulting in an unorganized and overloaded website. Our web redevelopment project will lay a new solid foundation, but governance (specifically clear roles and responsibilities, and an official policy) will ensure we enjoy a healthy and vibrant web presence for years to come.

What’s new?

For this reason, we revised the University Website policy originally approved as an interim document in December 2013. The biggest change to the original policy is the addition of a governance model. mStoner thoroughly evaluated our current business practices and recommended the new governance model with advisement from President Kennedy. The model repositions the web team from its current reactive mode of operation to a strategic role that provides a broader level of service to the university community. Publishing review and approval workflows will be introduced to OmniUpdate, aiding in upholding the quality of our web presence.

Primary and support units (as defined by MIRA) will fit into one of the three governance model options identified in the table below. Per the MIRA model, all revenue-generating units will pay for services, regardless if they choose to use them. The MIRA model anchors to the standard option.

How we’ll work together?

A phased, well-orchestrated, multi-year approach is required to transition to the new governance model. Units should expect to work collaboratively with the web team to prepare and plan for the transition. Details are yet to be finalized, but will include the phases previously defined in a blog post.

We’ll work with each primary and support unit during the redevelopment project to jointly determine what model each site will be managed under. By a general rule, many of the colleges will fit in the Standard model and larger units with in-house IT staff will fit into the Independent model. Sites with marketing significance such as Financial Aid and Essential Studies will likely be Fully Managed.

Who is the web team?

The ‘web team’, as defined in the policy includes “technical and marketing staff with official responsibility for overseeing all UND public facing websites.”

The current web team includes staff from the Office of Marketing & Creative Services and the Office of the Chief Information Officer:

• Sarah Nissen, Executive Director Marketing & Creative Services, is ultimately accountable for the success of the team, provides strategic direction, and represents the team at the executive level.
• Tera Buckley, Assistant Director Web & Digital Marketing, leads and manages the team on a day-to-day basis and provides expertise in content and web strategy.
• Nathan Clough, Lead Web Application Developer, provides technical leadership, with a focus on back-end development.
• Kelicia Christianson, Web Designer, provides web design, front-end development, and OmniUpdate development services.
• Matt Schill, Web Specialist, manages and administers the OmniUpdate environment, and trains and supports people across campus who contribute content to the web.
• Other members of the Office of Marketing & Creative Services, Office of the Chief Information Officer and North Dakota University System Core Technology Services participate on a project or ad-hoc basis.

What is the web team’s role on campus?

Specifically, web team duties will include:

• Consulting on best practices in content strategy, user experience, visual design, and technology.
• Designing and building web pages or websites for priority university initiatives.
• Evolving and enhancing UND’s web presence and suite of tools on an ongoing basis.
• Working proactively with units to maintain high quality content on their sites.
• Providing web analytics and search engine optimization guidance.
• Training and supporting users of OmniUpdate.
• Administering and supporting the content management system and other web tools.
• Managing underlying technology infrastructure and domain names.

What’s next?

The proposed University Website policy is out for public comment until August 30, 2017. Please submit your comments online. Direct questions to Tera Buckley, Assistant Director Web & Digital Marketing, Office of Marketing & Creative Services, at tera.buckley@UND.edu or 701.777.4941.