WUG Meeting Minutes: July 20, 2017
Notes:
The first meeting of the Web Users’ Group (WUG) to discuss developmental updates and the progress of the project as a whole. The group will meet monthly to discuss these topics.
Mission:
To provide a regular forum for discussing WordPress concerns, questions, and best practices as well as receive updates on changes and enhancements. The WUG was created, with the idea of the Web Pro team in mind, to establish an information sharing platform for those using WordPress. Information and feedback from WordPress users shared at these meetings will also be taken into consideration by the ITS team.
Review:
Unit leadership plays a small role in the migration process, which is appointing the Unit Web Coordinator. The Unit Web Coordinator is not expected to be a web or WordPress expert but acts as a point of contact for the unit and ITS. A consultative meeting with the Unit Web Coordinator established a migration workflow for the unit. ITS will identify what sites the unit has, keeping in mind that WordPress roles and definitions may be different from Ektron. A Site Steward is someone trained and willing to oversee WordPress operation’s within their unit/department. Site Stewards may not have WordPress publishers working with them, but ideally they would.
Next steps:
Don’t want to start blending or migrating sites too early in the operation. ITS is working hard to identify what is that users most care about and will be most impactful and effective.
Questions and Discussion:
Q. Should units/departments start discussing information architecture before consultation?
A. No.
Q. What level of training are WordPress publishers required to go through?
A. Site Stewards and Publishers are required to complete the designated Lynda and ITS in-person training. Training is essential to Site Stewards so they are knowledgeable about web operations and can establish consistency in their site. ITS is shifting focus to training by unit and has moved beyond voluntary training.
Q. Should former Ektron users complete the Lynda training before migration?
A. User’s roles may change and WordPress is an entirely new platform, so training is required.
Q. Do stewards get notifications when changes are made to a site?
A. This could be a potential feature available in WordPress, however, this is why it’s important for stewards to be able to login to WordPress. A process of review and approval could also help with the situation.
Q. Should those who went through early training continue to use their sandbox or wait for site launch?
A. Training sandboxes are in the process of being shut down. It’s preferred that user slow use while ITS works on processes. Content that user have stated they want to preserved, will be preserved.
Q. Have users and training participants been experimenting with WordPress or trying to rebuild Ektron sites?
A. It has been a mix as it is up to the individual. Rebuilding could be problematic as there no guarantee that things will transition the same.
Q. What units are close to launching sites?
A. Graduate College, College of Education, Social and Behavioral Science, CEFNS, and CHSS are the earliest sites set to launch within the next few weeks.
Q. What is the timeline for a new sandbox?
A. No exact date has been determined.
Q. Will all functionality be available when sites launch?
A. Yes.
Q. When will single repository functionality for directory be available?
A. ITS has decided to use the faculty/staff data that the university uses, which expands on the Human Resources system. Each department on campus can control their data. This will also include a link to view Faculty 180 profile in tabbed view. This functionality will be ready by the end of the quarter.
Q. Who are departments appointing as Site Stewards?
A. This is determined in consultations with ITS and varies by department.
Q. How much power does a Unit Web Coordinator have?
A. Power and control will vary by unit.
Q. When will PhotoShelter access be made available to WordPress users?
A. PhotoShelter will be enabled on WordPress sites moving forward. Site Stewards will have a user account to Photoshelter