Post on 01-Apr-2015
WCM at Tourism WA
Team Structure, Software Structure, Infrastructure, and Beyond
with MOSS 2007
Who?You!
Michael Hanes
Contractor with DiversusDevelopment Coordinator/Tech Lead @ Tourism WA
blog.mediawhole.com
Who?You!
Matthew Menezes
Consultant with DiversusSenior Developer @ Tourism WA
Who?The MAN
Steve Davison
Blue ManaDevelopment Manager @ Tourism WA
AgendaHow we do WCM, Part 1: Dev
Branding, custom web part development, VS solution structure , features, solution-based deployment, localisation, SEO, accessibility, search, migration, and analytics
AgendaHow we do WCM, Part 2: Env
Site collection structure and variations, hardware/software environment, farm configuration, virtualisation, security, performance, tooling, content delivery (Akamai), content deployment
MOSS is Big!
Introducing...The Tourism WA eMarketplace!
The name is a bit old school...
An evolving business and technological platform for supporting the tourism industry and promoting tourism to Western Australia
A 10 year, $9.8M strategy initially funded by the state government in 1996 to get the tourism industry online
wes
tern
aust
ralia
.com
LaunchMay 2007
Stats
Monthly Unique (2008):1.78M
Page Views(2008):7.75M
tour
ism
.wa.
gov.
auLaunchMay 2007
Stats
Monthly Unique (2008):136K
Page Views(2008):409K
aust
ralia
snor
thw
est.c
om LaunchSept 2008
One of 5 RTO sites One of 30+partner sites
Stats
Monthly Unique (2008):86K
Page Views(2008):348K
expe
rienc
eper
th.c
om
Interfaces
Weather from the BoM (FTP)Video from westernaustralia.tvGoogle Maps with product overlay and itinerary plannerDreamMail (for email marketing)Omniture (for analytics)Commonwealth Bank (for ATDW membership subscriptions)TripItUser-generated content (pics, video, reviews)
InteractivityRich content
Team Structure
Dev & Graphics
3 x Senior Dev1 x Junior Dev/Flash/Graphics (gov)1 x Dev Coordinator
Administration
1 x Systems/Networks Admin1 x DBA (vacant)
Content/BA/Management/
4 x Dig. Marketing5 x SDCM1 x BA (vacant)1 (2) x PM1 x Dev Manager1 x CIO (Rolly Hester)
MigrationIt’s early 2006...MCMS 2002 v MOSS 2007
All eMarketplace sites built on MCMS 2002Skilled in-house MCMS dev teamYears of experience with the productWA.COM relaunch would coincide with the MOSS 2007 RTM
Question: deliver with a proven technology in the allocated timeframe or gamble on sales pitch to avoid yet another rebuild?
MigrationLimited MCMS product lifetimeMOSS 2007 support via TAPContent & API migration
MOSS 2007 Beta 2Access to the SharePoint Ranger TeamSupport through Beta 2 to RTMMigration = learn & rebuild & migrate content by handProof of concept? Yup.
MigrationTake 2: The partner sites.MOSS is well understoodMigration still an issue
Different goals for a different group of users: Rapid site provisioning FlexibilityCustom built migration tool
SharePoint Designer?Features?
User Controls?Web Parts?
Field Controls?OOB or Custom?
WA.COM
Partners
Design ApproachWA.COM:CSS design by Different
Wireframes, style guide, and coded mock-ups (HTML) No MOSS experience/considerationDev required to “convert” pure CSS to master pages, layouts, controlsSimple page structure with fixed elements (trouble)
Design Approach7 master pages41 page layouts
Embedded user controls Layout sprawlControl and consistency
Design ApproachInternet brandingCustomise or custom dev?
SPD is often the first step on the WCM learning curveCustom built controls (mainly user controls, custom controls) for familiarityIt’s all about managing complexity – beware IDisposable!Reusable contentContent types and lists not in heavy use
Design ApproachPartner sites:One year post-WA.COM
Different requirementsA lot more sites!Set off on the right foot higher up the learning curveDesign based on WA.COMMixture of CSS and tables
Design Approach1 master page4 page layouts
Solution-based deployment with featuresCustom web parts for total flexibility across sites (increased training of content editors)Appropriate use of listsA new site = new CSS, imagery, content
ChangeHow flexible is “flexible”?Content vs template
Master page/page layoutTemplate contentPure content Dynamic content
DemoVisual Studio .sln Structure
FeaturesGradual adoption
Now used to deploy master pages, page layouts, lists, site columns, content types, and field types
Feature ToolsDefining schema files
SharePoint Solution Generator (part of VSeWSS)Visual Studio guidgen.exe
Feature ReceiversUnderutilised!
Used by WA.COM to populate static lookup lists
DemoA list feature
NavigationMOSS MenuCustom web parts
Control adapters to render UL for stylingPortalSiteMapProvider (a hierarchical view of the MOSS site structure with navigation configuration applied)
SearchNo longer using the BDCor MOSS search
Tried Google Mini Search ApplianceVery specific requirements (ATDW, rankings, boosting, etc)Custom crawler and index (SQL 2005)Query built on top of SQL Full-Text Indexing
LocalisationSeven foreign language sitesoff westernaustralia.com
LocalisationSeven foreign language sitesoff westernaustralia.com
ASP.NET 2.0 localisation techniques“Resources” folder in a class library projectSatellite assemblies deployed with web partsExperimented with images too (served via HTTP handler)MOSS resources (.resx)
WorkflowMarketing vs. partner sites:Mature content teamImmature but small content teams
Workflow has been exploredSeems to work wellWe don’t use it
PerformanceDynamic contentInternational audienceNetwork latency
A recipe for disaster!!minimal.masterExclude core.css and init.js for anonymous usersCSS/JS merge and minify at build time
More to do on the admin side (part 2)
SEOIt’s importantThe basics are easy
1:1 HTTP 301 redirects (“moved permanently”)Keywords in prominent locations within the page contentPage/image names and URLs (/pages directory, default.aspx)Page titles and other meta tags (description)External CSS/JSGoogle site mapExternal linksPaid Google AdWords campaigns help too
AccessibilityIt’s hard!
It can be done in MOSS...We’re expected to be compliant as a government agencyRequirements varyAim for the basics
AnalyticsOmnitureGoogle Analytics
Track everything (page views, unique visitors, button click events, technology)Javascript on every pageFed to Digital Marketing for analysisHard data for making informed decisions
ConfigurationTFS for work trackingTFS for source control
Integrated developmentAll development artefacts are source controlledEvolving processes (currently immature)
ConfigurationCodeContent
Content is only promoted from authoring to prod, never from UAT to authoring or UAT to prodMost changes deployed by the solutionTotal configuration management is still difficult
March 2009How we do WCM, Part 2: Env
Site collection structure and variations, hardware/software environment, farm configuration, virtualisation, security, performance, tooling, content delivery (Akamai), content deployment
Online Resourcesblog.mediawhole.commichael@mediawhole.comwww.diversus.com.au
www.bluemana.com.au
www.westernaustralia.comwww.tourism.wa.gov.auwww.australiasnorthwest.com
VSeWSS 1.2 (for VS2008)
Questions?Thanks!