Projects

creating:excellence content management system website

Development and implementation of the SW Regeneration Centre Content Management System using supplied designs; redesign in 2008.

Content management system

Client

South West Regional Development Agency (SWRDA)

URL

http://www.creatingexcellence.org.uk

Technologies

PHP, MySQL, HTML, JavaScript

Go Live date

September 2004. altcom Redesign March 2008.

Project description:

Development of a client maintained Content Management System (CMS) website for use by the regeneration and renewal community in South West England. The CMS supports 3 key areas of service via the submission of material by registered users.

• Information of regeneration and renewal - library and link information
• Communication of events and latest news information
• Networking - by establishing special interest groups and forums

altcom helped the client define system specifications and provided software coding and graphical design services, testing and system implementation, client training and website hosting. altcom has also been responsible for preparation of initial regeneration content via its associate TDiP.

The website was developed using open-source software including PHP, MySQL, HTML and JavaScript to run on an Apache webserver. The website meets the Government e-envoy guidelines and exceeds the W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) Level AA accessibility standards, making it eligible for RNIB See-It-Right accreditation, if required.

The key system functionality includes: Database creation and management, News, Events, Topics, Sections, Links, Downloads, Email-newsletter, Member profiles, WYSIWYG content creation/editing, Bulletin board/Forums, Group and user level Permissioning, Statistics, User feedback and polling through forms and email and an advanced Search engine.

Over the past 4 years altcom have provided us with a consistently high level of service, responding to our requirements and helping us get the maximum bangs for our bucks!

Dominic Murphy, Executive Director, Creating Excellence

A Rapid Prototyping (RP) approach was adopted due to the tight project timescale and modular nature of the development. RP is an iterative development process that cycles quickly and repeatedly through four development phases; Plan, Implement, Measure, Learn. This is a more flexible approach than conventional software development that relies on a fixed system specification before work can start. The application of RP meant that the detailed system specification could be refined throughout the project. End-user interaction and feedback was obtained by posting the website on a temporary web domain at the end of each RP iteration and collating user feedback through an online project management system.

A development arising from this end-user interaction has been the inclusion of a bespoke online database/directory for managing the network of regeneration practitioners and experts in the South West region.

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