eduWeb 2008 in 140 words – Your CMS Implementation Can Be a Success by Tonya Price, Director of Marketing and Web Operations at Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Note from Karine: This year, I’ve asked all the eduWeb speakers working in universities/colleges to share in 140 words or less the biggest take-away from their presentation or table talk. If you’ve attended this session, feel free to weigh in by posting a comment, a question or a suggestion.

Setting expectations are crucial for a successful CMS implementation.

If you have never gone through a CMS implementation, find someone who has and talk to them about how to set expectations correctly among your community. Then, set up a communication plan so everyone knows what the status of the project is at all times. Make sure there are periodic opportunities to tell everyone where the implementation and subsequent conversion stands. Finally, have a well thought out training plan designed to provide content providers with the information they need to update their content.

Don’t try to be fancy, just give them the tools they need so the system is a productivity tool, not an impediment to them getting their work completed.