Improving a website: the SciDev'Net experience

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Improving a website the SciDev.Net experience
Barbara Keating,Science and Development Network
(SciDev.Net)
ICTP, Trieste, 23 October 2003
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• 2. Description of SciDev.Net
• What we are
• What we do
• How we do it

www.scidev.net
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a. What SciDev.Net is The Science and Development
Network (SciDev.Net) is a leading source of
online news and analysis about the role of
science and technology in meeting the needs of
the developing world.
www.scidev.net
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• b. What SciDev.Net does
• The website contains
• News
• Feature articles
• Opinion articles
• Weekly editorial
• Dossiers (including commissioned policy
  briefs)
• Notices (including lists of meetings, grants
  and jobs)
• Links (e.g. to scientific organisations and
  journals)
• Feedback from users

www.scidev.net
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• Target audience
• Individuals with a professional or personal
  interest in the interaction between science,
  technology and development.
• These include those working in
• universities and other training institutions,
• research laboratories,
• government and aid agencies,
• the private sector,
• civil society and policy research organisations,
  and
• the media.

www.scidev.net
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sponsored by
Sida/SAREC
ROCKEFELLER FOUNDATION
www.scidev.net
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• CMS Problems
• It was restrictive and inflexible.
• The sequence of inputting data was
  counter-intuitive
• No flexibility for adding new sections or
  highlight particular areas.
• new areas could not be linked to the CMS

www.scidev.net
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• Who our story is relevant for
• SciDev.Net is a small tightly run organisations,
  similar to many NGOs . A small central team of 6
  and a network of journalists (15) and
  consultants(10).
• Needed to ensure we did not over spend
• Required a finite time to complete the work
• Had limited resources in-house

www.scidev.net
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• Preparing the ground
• The first stage is to decide the parameters of
  the project.
• Vision
• Audience
• Budget
• Length of time for the project
• Schedule
• Use outside contractors
• Staff
• Technical

www.scidev.net
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• Two prong approach
• Design what it looks like
• Content management system how it will be
  developed

www.scidev.net
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• Design Process
• Identify the areas of the current website the
  team dislikes and why
• Identify areas of frustration in working with the
  current website
• Discuss teams favourite websites to identify
  common ideas on design.
• Define what image you want the website to give of
  your organisation.
• Write Design Brief

www.scidev.net
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• CMS development
• Discuss with your organisation what the CMS will
  be used for.
• What content will be updated, how regularly and
  by whom.
• What areas of the website need to be changed or
  rearranged on a regular basis. Discuss whether it
  should incorprate any internal editorial
  processes.
• Develop a brief for your contractors based on
  these discussions
• Include flow diagrams if necessary of how
  information flows in your organisation.
• Discuss this in detail with your contractors to
  clarify any issues.

www.scidev.net
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• Putting plans into practice
• Ensure the contractors have understood your
  requirements and are in tune with your thinking.
  Supplementary documents may be required
• Keep in constant contact and ask for regular
  progress reports. Document all conversations,
  emails and other material passed between you. 
• Stage 1
• Contractors should respond to your briefs with a
  detailed specification for the CMS,
• They should present some first ideas on the
  websites design. Agree on a mechanism for
  feedback.  
•  

www.scidev.net
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•  Stage 2
• Ask for a first prototype.
• Agree on the designs of the main areas of the
  site.  
• A second prototype should be developed following
  your feedback, for further testing. It should be
  an almost finished version.
• Receive  final designs of the site.
•  Stage 3
• The websites new designs should be integrated
  with the site database and the CMS.
• Use new system as a working website to test under
  normal working conditions.

www.scidev.net
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• What else can we do
• Microsites
• Containers
• Form Builder/Discussion grps.

www.scidev.net
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• Keeping in touch with users
• General Feedback
• Letters to editor
• Post a notice
• Email Alert

www.scidev.net
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• How we connect with our registered users
• Profile them
• Newsletter function Special Highlights/Events
• Site statistics

www.scidev.net
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The number of registrants has risen steadily
since the website was launched in December 2001
and now stands at more than 7000
www.scidev.net
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The distribution of registrants in developing
countries is as follows
www.scidev.net
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At present we receive 18,000 unique visits a
week, each such visit referring to a series of
requests from a uniquely identified client.
www.scidev.net
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IN a relatively short period of time we already
have a high number of other websites which link
directly to ours
www.scidev.net
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• Future developments
• ERAs
• Partnerships
• Contacts database
• Email alert more stremalined
• Newsfeeds

www.scidev.net
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The University of Valparaiso in Chile
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For more information, visit us at
www.scidev.net
or email us at
info_at_scidev.net
www.scidev.net