Project plan and goals 2024

Since 2016, SLU has had a unified web platform used by virtually all departments within the university. SLU's official websites are slu.se, the staff web, the student web, and uds.se. Among these, slu.se is the largest, with approximately 30,000 pages and around 12.6 million page views annually (2023).

The foundation of the technical web platform is the Episerver content management system. We continuously upgrade the system to ensure website performance, stability, and security. A few years ago, the supplier indicated they would be making significant changes to their product and licensing model, replacing Episerver with a new product, Optimizely. Consequently, we no longer have the option to remain unchanged in Episerver.

In conjunction with this necessary platform change, we also need to review how we use our websites and how our organization is structured. Therefore, we had the opportunity in 2023 to conduct a preliminary study aimed at providing us with answers on how to achieve a sustainable technical platform, what we should do editorially to meet our users' needs, and how we should structure an organization to function optimally for SLU in a management phase.

The preliminary study was conducted during the first three quarters and has resulted in a much better understanding of how and on what we need to focus on during an implementation project. We have worked with extensive engagement both internally and externally, through surveys, in-depth interviews, and workshops with various stakeholders. The results of the preliminary study have led to the project goals presented in this project plan.

The overall purpose of the change is for SLU to offer a stable web platform where visitors can find relevant and up-to-date information about the university and its activities.

The prerequisites for achieving this are defined in several project goals distributed over the years 2024 and 2025. From 2026, the project will transition to regular management.

In an initial version of the project plan, the project goals for 2024 are described. Deliveries will occur in stages according to an agile approach and may be adjusted.

In conjunction with the budget request for 2025, the project goals will be supplemented with additional objectives related to the other websites that need to be revamped.

Technical Platform

After evaluating several options, the project has decided to continue with Episerver, called Optimizely in its latest version.

The goals include:

1. Securing licenses for Optimizely.
2. Creating a SAD (system architecture design).
3. Setting up hardware and systems according to the SAD.
4. Ensuring the necessary skills are in place for long-term maintenance of all parts of the SAD.
5. Establishing an SLA (service level agreement) that covers all areas of technical management.

Essential Components

The essential components of the external website (structure, navigation, tags, search, design system, integrations, page types, and blocks) should be developed, tested, and implemented.

The goals include:

1. Setting up and customising the template package in Optimizely 12 that we purchase.
2. Adjusting the template package and adding our page types and blocks.
3. Implementing necessary integrations and third-party products.
4. Deciding on and developing navigation and tagging systems.
5. Investigating, potentially procuring, and implementing a new search function.

Websites within the Governance Object

It has been decided which websites, sub-websites, campaign websites, etc., will be included within the governance object, and how these websites will relate to each other.

The goals include:

1. Develop proposals for principles that should apply to different websites.
2. The proposal should align with brand hierarchy guidelines and offer a sustainable management approach.
3. Aligning the proposal with the new SAD and new SLA (operations, licenses, third-party products, integrations).
4. Developing criteria and rules for the different types of web solutions offered.

Governance Organisation

The governance organisation should be ready to receive the handover from the project.

The goals include:

1. Establishing a new governance organisation where the need for skills in all areas is secured.
2. Establishing and documenting routines for lifecycle management of the governance object's platform, and setting a plan for how the routines will be followed.
3. Deciding on and establishing the editorial web organisation with designated responsibilities for the editorial parts of the external website.

A new Editorial Organisation Established

A new editorial organisation should be set up, with permissions and training, for managing the content on slu.se.

The goals include:

Proposing a new editorial organisation with clearly defined roles and responsibilities.

1. Gradually implementing the organisation throughout the project's duration.
2. Revising the administrative role in line with the approved proposal.
3. Implementing the new organisation.
4. Assigning permissions and providing training/induction in the publishing tool and principles of the new website for the web editors responsible for the content on slu.se.

Common Content Ready

The goals include:

1. Investigating what constitutes university common content and what is most prioritised.
2. Developing an implementation plan for the work.
3. Creating a plan for long-term content management and editorial follow-up.

Decommissioning Plan

The goals include:

1. Deciding what needs to be in place for the new slu.se to be launched.
2. Setting a launch date.
3. Develop a plan for managing the old website from the launch date to the actual shutdown of the entire site.

1. A set of page types and features for displaying environmental data should be in place.
2. A new search interface should be in place.
3. Functionally, the new environmental data should be essentially equivalent to the existing functionality.
4. The management organization and budget for the new environmental data should be decided.

1. A new integration with the source systems for course data should be in place and connected to the new slu.se.
2. A new search interface should be in place.
3. Functionally, the new course search should be essentially equivalent to the existing functionality.
4. The management organization and budget for the new course search should be decided.
    

1. A decision on a new concept for how we communicate SLU's research on the web.
2. A research catalogue where visitors can find all research projects or research groups within a chosen subject area.
3. A project plan for further development of the concept during 2025 should be in place.

To allocate resources to the project, regular work in web management needs to be limited. Management activities include necessary bug fixing, operations, and support, with a focus on maintaining a legal, stable, and secure web environment.

Content on the new external website will be rebuilt starting at the earliest in Q4 2024. The web editors who will work on the content will have plenty of time to build up the new content with support from the project's editorial working group. However, there will be a significant workload on the web editors for an extended period, as the content of the old website also needs to be kept updated.

The web project is dependent on other projects and system management at SLU, both during the project phase and in the transition to management. Particularly notable is the dependency on a stable and updated operational environment, which aligns with the activities planned in the ongoing IT infrastructure project.

The web project has not budgeted for the purchase of new licenses for a CMS. Instead, the idea is to use SLU's existing licenses and build new websites on them. Therefore, during the project, entities' websites will need to be moved to either the external website or the staff website. However, it should be emphasized that this will not have a significant impact. The difference is that, for example, the URL for the Species Data Bank will become slu.se/speciesdatabank, but the design, structure, and functionality will be retained.

The project includes elements that are difficult to accurately estimate costs for in advance. In parts of the deliveries, we may need to procure or call off state framework agreements, and the pricing may change depending on the bids we receive. Another aspect of project costs is how successful we are in developing functionalities, especially integrations with other systems within SLU.

The budget request for 2024 assumes that we have an absolute majority of the necessary competencies within SLU. If we need to hire external expertise, it will likely entail higher costs, and we will need to adjust the ambition and deliveries accordingly.

Organizationally, we need to ensure during the project that we have the support of the operations for the changes leading up to the relaunch of slu.se. A key principle is that all content needs to be republished, ensuring quality and necessary legal compliance. However, this will entail a burden on all operations that use the external website as a communication channel.

The initial implementation phase involves procurement and setup of a new infrastructure for web management. This platform serves as the foundation for both the development and editorial work carried out during the year. The infrastructure includes a new publishing system as well as systems for search, design, and editorial monitoring.

The development in 2024 includes a basic package of page types and blocks primarily for the external website, as well as the integrations deemed necessary for the website to be ready for launch. Preliminary development of the editorial page types will take place during the first half of 2024.

During the second half of 2024, a new organisation for web work will be launched, and the editorial structure will begin. Simultaneously, the development of functionality and integrations with underlying systems continues.

Since the project continues into 2025, there is no final handover to management. However, the project will be evaluated, and provide input on how to proceed with the completion of slu.se and the initiation of other websites.