The web project progresses
NHH's web project is well under way. Here's an update on the background and the progress.
24.06.2015 - Hallvard Lyssand
NHH is - literally - building a new version of the web site nhh.no from the bottom.
This is highly necessary as the existing site is out of date both technically and structurally.
In addition, the NHH-organisation's web related work has been lacking in coordination and cooperation across both department and office lines.
Both the texts and the structure of the site have suffered from this. The consequence is that users of the site struggle to find the information they need or do what they came to the site to do.
Content is king
Building the new site includes investing in a new content management system (CMS) for web publishing. But the most important job is being done on the content side.
NHH has hired web content experts Netlife Research and their technical partner Epinova as consultants and designers, but the actual production of content is being done by NHH's own employees.
With contributions from faculty, staff and students and assistance from Netlife, a project group has drawn up specific aims and main target groups for the web site.
Based on this combination of NHH's aims and the needs of the users, a concept and a content strategy has been drawn up. These document serve as a guides for everyone involved in building and later running the new site.
Better cooperation
Both the concept and the content strategy has been approved by the steering committee for the web project, chaired by Vice Rector and PhD Dean, Professor Helge Thorbjørnsen.
The steering committee also passed the project group's proposal for a new organisational model for the web work.
The departments and offices will still be responsible for their parts of the site, but the idea is to have clearer roles and a clearer chain of command, clearer joint procedures and more cooperation and coordination between those involved in the web work.
An important part of the model is four coordinating roles defined by NHH's four main strategic aims and objectives: education, research, knowledge dissemination and public relations and organisation and resources.
Together with staff from the Office of Communications, these four coordinators will constitute a central editorial web group. The aim is to secure a better flow of information and support among everyone involved in the web work under guidance of the joint aims and the content strategy and lead by the editorial group.
This model does, however, not imply involving a greater number of people. On the contrary, the aim is to reduce the number of people involved, but ensuring that those who work with the site have enough training and time to do the job well, and thus keep nhh.no updated and evolving.
Prototype and typing pools
According to the plan, the new external pages will be online in late 2015, while a new intranet for NHH employees will be ready in early 2016.
Production of new content is already well under way. Staff assigned to web work, gather regularly in typing pools lead by Netlife Research or the Office of communications. Here, they write new texts in keeping with the content strategy, present them in plenary sessions and re-write based on the feedback they receive.
Netlife has also built a simple but functional prototype of the web page. The prototype serves as documentation of design and interaction design, and was approved by the steering committee on June 19th. The prototype is used to conduct user tests involving both navigation and design,thus getting first hand answers from the users if ideas for the new site works or not.
The basic technical framework for the new site is also being set up, and in the early autumn all the work will be done in the new content management system, Episerver.
Questions?
You kan find some answers on the project pages at Innsiden
You can also contact the project group through:
Project manager Marita Kristiansen, tlf.59965
Web editor Hallvard Lyssand tlf. 59732
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