A high-level discussion of how Georgia Tech staff leveraged tools, knowledge, and community to help adopt a bold redesign.

2. Success of the
“One Georgia
Tech” Redesign
Enabling a web culture of sharing,
collaboration, and inclusiveness

4. welcome!

6. me!

8. work

10. play

12. let’s get started

14. looking back

15. looking back

20. mobile?
white space?
feature
space?
all the
menus
outdated
quick
links
dated design
static HTML
too.
many.
links.
tiny articles
social media?

21. mobile?
white space?
feature
space?
all the
menus
outdated
quick
links
dated design
static HTML
too.
many.
links.
tiny articles
social media?

22. mobile?
white space?
feature
space?
all the
menus
outdated
quick
links
dated design
static HTML
too.
many.
links.
tiny articles
social media?

24. the redesign

33. what about
everyone else?

34. One
Georgia Tech

35. Institute
Communications
One
Georgia Tech

36. Institute
Communications
One
Georgia Tech
Front Page
Administration &
Finance
Top Level
Content

37. Institute
Communications
One
Georgia Tech
Front Page
Administration &
Finance
Top Level
Content
DONE

38. Institute
Communications
One
Georgia Tech
Front Page
Administration &
Finance
Top Level
Content

39. Institute
Communications
One
Georgia Tech
Front Page
Administration &
Finance
Top Level
Content
College of
Sciences
College of
Engineering
College of
Business
College of
Architecture
IAC College of
Liberal Arts
College of
Computing

40. Institute
Communications
One
Georgia Tech
Front Page
Administration &
Finance
Top Level
Content
College of
Sciences
College of
Engineering
College of
Business
College of
Architecture
IAC College of
Liberal Arts
College of
Computing Internal Staff/
Faculty Websites
Georgia Tech
Alumni Assoc.
New Websites &
Initiatives

41. Institute
Communications
One
Georgia Tech
Front Page
Administration &
Finance
Top Level
Content
College of
Sciences
College of
Engineering
College of
Business
College of
Architecture
IAC College of
Liberal Arts
College of
Computing Internal Staff/
Faculty Websites
Georgia Tech
Alumni Assoc.
New Websites &
Initiatives
Facilities
Auxiliary Services
Student Services
Laboratories &
Research Groups
GT Research
Institute
Special Events
Websites

42. Institute
Communications
One
Georgia Tech
Front Page
Administration &
Finance
Top Level
Content
College of
Sciences
College of
Engineering
College of
Business
College of
Architecture
IAC College of
Liberal Arts
College of
Computing Internal Staff/
Faculty Websites
Georgia Tech
Alumni Assoc.
New Websites &
Initiatives
Facilities
Auxiliary Services
Student Services
Laboratories &
Research Groups
GT Research
Institute
Special Events
Websites
School,Department,andCourseWebsiteswithinEachCollege

43. Institute
Communications
One
Georgia Tech
Front Page
Administration &
Finance
Top Level
Content
College of
Sciences
College of
Engineering
College of
Business
College of
Architecture
IAC College of
Liberal Arts
College of
Computing Internal Staff/
Faculty Websites
Georgia Tech
Alumni Assoc.
New Websites &
Initiatives
Facilities
Auxiliary Services
Student Services
Laboratories &
Research Groups
GT Research
Institute
Special Events
Websites
School,Department,andCourseWebsiteswithinEachCollege
Our work isn’t
done yet!

45. how did we fix
this mess?!

47. Standardize & Customize Options
#1 Provide a standard system(s), tool set(s), and best
practices - as well as plug-and-play features!

48. Standardize & Customize Options
#1 Provide a standard system(s), tool set(s), and best
practices - as well as plug-and-play features!
Document Everything
#2 Assume a high barrier-to-entry, little prior knowledge.
Build it like your grandmother would use it.

49. Standardize & Customize Options
#1 Provide a standard system(s), tool set(s), and best
practices - as well as plug-and-play features!
Document Everything
#2 Assume a high barrier-to-entry, little prior knowledge.
Build it like your grandmother would use it.
Keep It Simple & Safe
#3 Make scaffolded customization as simple and easy as
possible. Leave the expert functionality to experts.

50. Standardize & Customize Options
#1 Provide a standard system(s), tool set(s), and best
practices - as well as plug-and-play features!
Document Everything
#2 Assume a high barrier-to-entry, little prior knowledge.
Build it like your grandmother would use it.
Keep It Simple & Safe
#3 Make scaffolded customization as simple and easy as
possible. Leave the expert functionality to experts.
Communicate & Revise
#4 Build community - talk to end users. Be prepared to
revise, expand, or rebuild based on campus needs.

51. Standardize & Customize Options
#1 Provide a standard system(s), tool set(s), and best
practices - as well as plug-and-play features!

52. content mgmt.
(simplifying web authorship)

53. content mgmt.
(simplifying web authorship)
Open Source / Free
#1 Drupal, WordPress, etc. Products which are free but rely
on community for new features, documentation, etc.

54. content mgmt.
(simplifying web authorship)
Open Source / Free
#1 Drupal, WordPress, etc. Products which are free but rely
on community for new features, documentation, etc.
Closed Source / Proprietary
#2 Purchased products which the source code cannot be
reviewed or edited.

56. Security Flexibility
Maintainability Age
Learning Curve
Scaffolding
Price
Features
Future Custom Devel.

57. Security Flexibility
Maintainability Age
Learning Curve
Scaffolding
Price
Features
Future Custom Devel.
Case studies,
discussion, and
research!

58. what we did…

59. what we did…

60. end product(s)

61. Drupal
Primary CMS for campus usage. Open Source.
Used for front page, most large websites, and many
internal tools.
Relatively high barrier-to-entry, built for
developers.
end product(s)

62. Drupal
Primary CMS for campus usage. Open Source.
Used for front page, most large websites, and many
internal tools.
Relatively high barrier-to-entry, built for
developers.
WordPress
Secondary CMS. Open Source.
Used for brochure-ware, simple
websites.
Low turn-around time, easy to work
with.
end product(s)

63. tool sets
(making websites easy to build)

64. tool sets
(making websites easy to build)
Content & Structure Hardening
#1 Whitelist only certain HTML tags, WYSIWYG features,
content options, configuration settings.

65. tool sets
(making websites easy to build)
Content & Structure Hardening
#1 Whitelist only certain HTML tags, WYSIWYG features,
content options, configuration settings.
Import/Enable Features
#2 Allow for supplemental functionality (i.e. slideshows) to
be enabled and configured. Build a feature-suite.

70. best practices
(features as learning experiences)

71. best practices
(features as learning experiences)
Show, Don’t Tell
#1 Showcase (alongside documentation) how best to build
websites. Lead by example, not by decree.

72. best practices
(features as learning experiences)
Show, Don’t Tell
#1 Showcase (alongside documentation) how best to build
websites. Lead by example, not by decree.
Educate on Security & Requirements
#2 Provide ‘hows’ and ‘whys’ to 508/accessibility compliance,
student record privacy, and content system updates.

74. Accessibility,
Security,
Privacy, &
Standards

75. Accessibility,
Security,
Privacy, &
Standards
Office of Disability Services
Office of
Information
Technology
Office of Dean of
Students
Institute Communications

76. Document Everything
#2 Assume a high barrier-to-entry, little prior knowledge.
Build it like anyone could use it!

77. best practices
(document like a pro)

78. best practices
(document like a pro)
Leverage Existing Resources
#1 Link, quote, and reference existing documentation where
appropriate. Give back to the community if yours is better.

79. best practices
(document like a pro)
Leverage Existing Resources
#1 Link, quote, and reference existing documentation where
appropriate. Give back to the community if yours is better.
Let Any User Update/Create Docs
#2 Give the power to the end-users to expand, adjust, and
create articles. Others can clean up content added.

81. http://drupal.gatech.edu

91. http://webmasters.gatech.edu

93. Keep It Simple & Safe
#3 Make scaffolded customization as simple and easy as
possible. Leave the expert functionality to experts.

95. Pages Slideshow(s)
GT-specific
Configuration
Menus
CKEditor & Theme
Configuration
GT-specific
Modules
Basic & General Usage Functionality

96. Pages Slideshow(s)
GT-specific
Configuration
Menus
CKEditor & Theme
Configuration
GT-specific
Modules
Basic & General Usage Functionality
80% of Users

97. Pages Slideshow(s)
GT-specific
Configuration
Menus
CKEditor & Theme
Configuration
GT-specific
Modules
Basic & General Usage Functionality
Rules Logic
Workflows, Content
Approval
GT Overrides
Custom-Made
Modules
Template
Overrides
Application Devel.
(DAM, PM)
Views & Panels
Integrations
Custom-Tailored
Design & Theme
Competitions,
Programs
Expert-Level Views
Usage
Advanced & Large-Scale Functionality
80% of Users

98. Pages Slideshow(s)
GT-specific
Configuration
Menus
CKEditor & Theme
Configuration
GT-specific
Modules
Basic & General Usage Functionality
Rules Logic
Workflows, Content
Approval
GT Overrides
Custom-Made
Modules
Template
Overrides
Application Devel.
(DAM, PM)
Views & Panels
Integrations
Custom-Tailored
Design & Theme
Competitions,
Programs
Expert-Level Views
Usage
Advanced & Large-Scale Functionality
80% of Users
20% of Users

99. Pages Slideshow(s)
GT-specific
Configuration
Menus
CKEditor & Theme
Configuration
GT-specific
Modules
Basic & General Usage Functionality
Rules Logic
Workflows, Content
Approval
GT Overrides
Custom-Made
Modules
Template
Overrides
Application Devel.
(DAM, PM)
Views & Panels
Integrations
Custom-Tailored
Design & Theme
Competitions,
Programs
Expert-Level Views
Usage
Advanced & Large-Scale Functionality
80% of Users
20% of Users
We cover you!

100. Pages Slideshow(s)
GT-specific
Configuration
Menus
CKEditor & Theme
Configuration
GT-specific
Modules
Basic & General Usage Functionality
Rules Logic
Workflows, Content
Approval
GT Overrides
Custom-Made
Modules
Template
Overrides
Application Devel.
(DAM, PM)
Views & Panels
Integrations
Custom-Tailored
Design & Theme
Competitions,
Programs
Expert-Level Views
Usage
Advanced & Large-Scale Functionality
80% of Users
20% of Users
We cover you!
We help you when you
get stuck!

102. Communicate & Revise
#4 Build community - talk to end users. Be prepared to
revise, expand, or rebuild based on campus needs.

106. Community
& Sharing!

107. Community
& Sharing!
Dreadful
Silos

108. Community
& Sharing!
Dreadful
Silos

109. Community
& Sharing!
Dreadful
Silos
How to make this
migration?

111. Give all of our users
an equal voice!

113. Who We Develop & Target For

114. IT Folks Web Developers
Faculty
Members
Graduate
Students
Students Researchers
GT Drupal Community
Leadership Non-TechnicalManagers
Who We Develop & Target For

116. Let all of our users
see each other!

117. Let all of our users
see each other!

122. Generate buy-in
from products
developed from
feedback!

124. in review.

125. Standardize & Customize Options
#1 Provide a standard system(s), tool set(s), and best
practices - as well as plug-and-play features!
Document Everything
#2 Assume a high barrier-to-entry, little prior knowledge.
Build it like your grandmother would use it.
Keep It Simple & Safe
#3 Make scaffolded customization as simple and easy as
possible. Leave the expert functionality to experts.
Communicate & Revise
#4 Build community - talk to end users. Be prepared to
revise, expand, or rebuild based on campus needs.

127. questions?