This paper was cleared by correspondence by a majority of Trustees in July 2010.

Transcription

1 28 July 2010 [Starred] BD.3.10.J MS Society Website Redevelopment* Sonja Pinnell Governance Officer Tony Kennan Chairman This paper was cleared by correspondence by a majority of Trustees in July The Board of Trustees: noted the report 1

2 June 2010 Open MS Society Website Redevelopment Bob Barbour Head of New Media Sue Farrington Director of Information and Education The current website, developed in 2003, is now longer fit for purpose. It has limited and outdated functionality with no scope for development. Site navigation is confusing, information is hard to find and the design does not meet the updated brand identity. This is limiting our ability to fully realise the potential of the site as a key online business and communications tool. The re-development of the website will ensure that it is fit for purpose to support the full delivery of the objectives set out in the Society s strategy Putting the Pieces Together. It will allow the Society to deliver innovative and creative solutions to for example: providing information; increasing membership and enabling new approaches to fundraising. The Board is asked to: note the project proposal for the redevelopment of the website (App 1), agreed by EG on the 31/3/10 note progress to date. 1

3 The project proposal (App 1) sets out in more detail the drivers for the project, identifying the key tasks, outputs and outcomes. It also explores possible risks and ways to mitigate the risk. Two main risks were identified: 1. The allocation of resources involved in both developing the new site and maintaining the current site. This is particularly the case in relation to the Branch websites, of which there are 150, as this currently involves a full time equivalent. The proposal to only provide a skeleton service to branches was not considered acceptable, given the effort and resources it has taken to bring branches on board with the accredited website model, so the option to recruit a temporary post for the period of the redevelopment was agreed. 2. The lack of an organisation-wide strategy for data management has a direct impact of the re-development of website. Without clear direction for the whole organisation, making an informed decision as to the most suitable platform on which to build the website would be difficult. This is a major project and has implications for years to come lack of scoping at this stage is likely to severely restrict not only future online functionality, but also the efficiency of the society s processes and procedures. Investment now will save money tomorrow. An options appraisal is underway to identify a common system for data management across the organisation. EG members agreed to delegate a member of staff to sit on a steering group for the project. Delegates will also include two volunteers closely involved with the Society s online activities. The New Media team is also assembling a wider reference group of volunteers. 2

4 We will complete development in two phases: 1. Information Architecture defined by a series of focus groups including a range of MS Society audience groups and cold audiences (those with no connection to the Society and no prior knowledge of our websites). The aim is to produce and test site architecture and page wireframes (outlines of key pages) focussed on the needs of site users rather than on the structure of the organisation. This will extend to national, regional and branch websites and the online community. We aim to provide a unified user-centred experience across our online offer. 2. Design and build building on the framework from phase one to produce websites that meet the technological and aesthetic requirements of our audiences and of our strategic objectives as an organisation. Progress to date: The New Media team has completed the internal consultation phase of the project. Online surveys for staff and volunteers, forum users, branch web editors and general website visitors are complete. The team is also carrying out a series of focus groups to gather requirements and to work towards a user-centred structure and focus for the new websites. This is UK-wide and will run until mid-august The work of designing and building the new websites will commence once phase one is complete. Involving PwMS: Consultation and user acceptance testing will be ongoing throughout the project. -We are currently conducting focus groups to define the requirements of phase one. The outcomes of this phase will be validated by user-testing involving a range of staff, volunteers, members and other PaMS. Throughout phase two we will consult with staff and volunteers via the project group and volunteer reference group. Once built, the sites themselves will be tested by a cross section of our volunteers, staff, members and service users as well as cold audience groups from the wider community. 3

5 MS Society Project management Project proposal Project name Website Redevelopment Proposed by Bob Barbour Date of proposal 03/03/10 This form should be filled in by anyone hoping to manage a new project at the MS Society. Please complete the form below and submit it to your line manager/project sponsor. In all cases you need to provide enough information to enable a decision to be made whether to take the project forward, without detailed planning at this stage. More work will then be required, especially on the identification of timescales, resources, risks and stakeholders, before the final project definition can be agreed. Rationale Driver The MS Society website is a central communication tool for the whole organisation. The current site is limiting our ability to fully realise the potential of online communications. In line with the MS Society strategy, we need a website that helps us ensure: we are innovative and creative, adapting to the changing environment we act as a focal point of communication for everyone affected by MS, offering different modes of engagement for people of all ages and at all stages of MS; we nurture online communities to encourage younger, more recently diagnosed people to identify as supporters of the MS Society we communicate effectively with health and social care professionals, providing them with tools to better understand MS, and to understand the role they can play in improving the lives of people with MS; Project proposal template v2 1

6 The MS Society website was developed in The site has grown organically since 2003 and today has over 10,000 individual pages across around 200 microsites under the mssociety.org.uk domain. The current website presents a number of problems and limitations. These include: Limited and outdated functionality with no scope for development Outdated design that fails to meet the updated MSS brand identity Information about local support and services buried within the branch and regional microsite structure Site architecture that reflects the Society s organisational structure rather than the needs of end users site navigation can be confusing and information is hard to find Multiple editors without a consistent or strategic approach to content production and copywriting An accessibility policy based on outdated industry standards Task(s) 1. UK-wide consultation and requirements gathering, including scoping exercise for intranet mk 2 and e-learning function. To include: MSS staff and volunteers Existing online communities both on-site and on external social networks Research Network Professional Network Branch and regional web editors General site users Full audit of current site content 2. Establishment of a UK-wide, pan-mss project group to include staff, volunteers and PwMS to meet at key project milestones and review documentation, designs etc 3. Confirm Stakeholder requirements Project proposal template v2 2

7 4. Information Architecture and SEO phase (with external supplier) 5. Design brief, specification and tender process 6. Site design and build 7. Copywriting and other content production 8. Site population and staff training 9. User acceptance testing 10. Site launch 11. Project plan and costing for phase two development to include: the MS Academy e-learning project; MSS intranet redevelopment and integration with web platform; Pan MSS CRM integration (dependent on CRM scoping and definition see Risks) 12. Development & implementation of Communications plan 13. Development of an organisation-wide New Media Strategy to complement the MS Society Strategy. Associated forward planning activities in-line with the Society s communications plan Purpose Relationships Project manager Project sponsor End user(s) Stakeholder(s) To create a leading edge, scalable, future-proofed platform for the MS Society s New Media activities supported by a robust, integrated delivery strategy. Bob Barbour Sue Farrington Everyone who uses the MS Society website MSS Board of Trustees; EG; Staff Councils; Branches; Members The MS Community Project proposal template v2 3

8 Involving people affected by MS Recognising and incorporating diversity Results Outputs We will involve people with MS at all stages of the project, including: Consultation at the project definition phase. We will produce an online survey specifically tailored to people with MS to run alongside the general site survey. We will promote this via the message boards, Team Spirit, MS Matters, Facebook and Twitter User acceptance testing. This will take place at the Information Architecture and Wireframing phase of the project and prior to the site launch. We will involve a broad, targeted group of PwMS in defining information architecture, developing and testing wireframes and acceptance testing of the development site prior to launch. The project group will include PwMS with a specific interest in the project. We will recruit these through our existing network of branch website editors and those running nonaccredited independent sites. The groups will meet at key project milestones to approve documentation as well as filtering information to their networks and gathering feedback. Consultation will be as wide as possible amongst the MS community including the existing online communities for minority groups. Focus groups with Asian MS, GLAMS and Mutual Support groups are in the diary for late April Full redevelopment of the MS Society website to include: Site redesign Robust and scalable CMS with updated functionality Revised Information Architecture (IA) Migration and development of the online community Review and redevelopment of the branch, regional and national microsite structure CMS training for MSS web editors Web copywriting and SEO guidelines to be written into MCC brand guidelines An MSS-wide New Media Strategy Project proposal template v2 4

9 Outcomes The new site will act as a portal to the MS Society facilitating two-way interaction between the Society and its many audiences. Alongside the New Media Strategy, this project will move the Society towards becoming a web-based organisation and will further the society s core objectives to: 1. Fund and promote research into finding the cause of and cure for MS, and improving care and services for people affected by MS: Enhance our ability to communicate research objectives and findings and promote funding opportunities. 2. Ensure that the MS Society produces up-to-date, accurate and accessible information on MS issues, tailored to meet the needs of people affected by MS: Enable a transformational approach to the delivery of person centred information on-line Accommodate the diverse accessibility needs of the MS community by complying with the highest industry accessibility standards 3. Provide support to all people affected by MS Increase levels of peer support through on-line communities Increase access to support and information for volunteers to strengthen capacity at a local level 4. To raise standards of care for all people living with MS Allow development of e-learning tools for healthcare professionals under the working title of the online MS Academy. 5. The MS Society will work to increase awareness of the devastating impact of MS on people s Project proposal template v2 5

10 lives, influence decision-makers, and inform about the help, support and services the MS Society can provide Increase levels of awareness of the MS Society across on-line communities Increase membership of younger, more recently diagnosed people with MS Enable key organisational messages to be communicated across all online channels in a coordinated and strategic manner 6. Funding the Strategy Support marketing, fundraising and campaigning through powerful, engaging new media content Develop the technological infrastructure to increase online donations and improve efficiency Resources Estimated time 8 months at phase one. Development ongoing. Estimated cost Phase one - 80,000 Phase two costs in preparation for 2011 budgets Other resources Full-time engagement of the New Media team from quarter two 2010 to launch in November 2010 budgeted Temp staff to cover on-going support for branch websites not budgeted Staff resources across the MSS to assist with content audit & production and with project board. EG review and signoff at key milestones. Project proposal template v2 6

11 Initial risks identified 1. On-going support for branch websites, which currently involves a FT member of the team, will be difficult to maintain during the re-development. 2. A full scoping of current database solutions and future requirements across the Society will be integral to the technical direction of this project. It will not be possible to make a decision about the technical platform on which to build the new website without a broader consensus on strategic direction in this area. Failure to maximise potential for dynamic integration between CRM activities and the online user interface would be detrimental to many of the Society s core functions and objectives. 3. Audit of current site content and content production and population for the new site will require buy-in and resources from colleagues across the MSS 4. Some commitment of time and resources will be required from EG and from the project board 5. Some overlap of current services and functionality with our existing supplier (Torchbox/Rational Media) and therefore some potential duplication of hosting and support costs. 6. Lack of an ongoing support agreement with Torchbox has the potential to put the existing site and related services as risk Initial mitigation proposals 7. Monitoring of on-site peer support community and external social networks is essential and must continue throughout the project. The resources required to moderate these media are unpredictable and can increase suddenly. A situation such as the recent CCSVI campaign has the potential to tie up resources and delay the redevelopment project. 1. We had originally planned a two-month lead in time and gradual wind-down of services leading up to the site development phase commencing in June followed by a skeleton maintenance service from quarter 2 until the launch of the new site. Following discussions with the Head of Operational delivery, there are serious concerns about Project proposal template v2 7

12 the impact of this on our relationship with branches, particularly in light of the scheduled round of open meetings. Bearing in mind the effort and resources it has taken to bring branches on board with the accredited website model we feel that the potential damage this would cause would be too great and therefore require additional resources during the development period to maintain branch and regional sites. For the UK website and national sites we propose a moratorium on additional development work (excluding new templates for the Scottish site) and will allow publishing rights to selected members of MSS staff ( super users ), allowing maintenance and updates to essential content throughout the redevelopment project. The New Media team will be on hand to offer training and technical support where required. 2. A discreet scoping project should be carried out as soon as possible. We need to ensure full integration with the new website to fully realise the aims of this project and to streamline processes and costs across the organisation. This process should be led by a dedicated database professional. 3. Full details to be included in detailed project proposal with signoff from EG 4. Long lead in time. New Media team to specify commitment and proposed dates at proposal phase. Dates to be kept under review and any changes communicated promptly 5. Project budget to account for specifics. Alternative solutions to be implemented at earliest opportunity. Streamlining of services and efficiency savings to be key project driver 6. Meeting held with Torchbox to agree ongoing support arrangements 7. Difficult to mitigate due to unpredictability. Following recent issues around CCSVI, recommendations and guidelines submitted to EG re use of social media in the context of wider communications activity. CG has also published staff guidelines on the Intranet. Project proposal template v2 8

13 Project agreed to go to next stage Signature of sponsor Signature of project manager Date Project proposal template v2 9