BEYOND THE BOTTOM LINE: Contract Web Development in Higher
Education Educause 2003, November 4-7 Mary Pickering, 2003. This
work is the intellectual property of the author. Permission is
granted for this material to be shared for non-commercial,
educational purposes, provided that this copyright statement
appears on the reproduced materials and notice is given that the
copying is by permission of the author. To disseminate otherwise or
to republish requires written permission from the author. Mary
Pickering Manager, Internet Development Group University
Information Services Georgetown University [email protected]
Slide 2
At Georgetown University, most web development is done by
departmental web developers. While the vast majority of sites are
hosted on servers managed by central IT (University Information
Services), there is no central control over visual or application
standards beyond basic security and server-specific considerations.
There is however, a collective webmaster committee that
successfully fosters collaboration and some voluntary standards.
Departments with the luxury of hiring dedicated web developers
often hire generalists to provide technical services ranging from
graphic design to application development instead of communications
experts to focus on content and marketing. Due to the decentralized
nature of web development, departments often contract with external
companies to provide technical or graphic design services,
resulting in large amounts of funds leaving the university. In
January 2001, in response to these issues, Georgetown Universitys
University Information Services formed a small unit to offer
contract web development services to campus departments. KeyBridge
was given the task of operating as a commercial startup within the
higher education environment.
Slide 3
KeyBridge has three primary goals Provide fiscally sustainable
services on a fee-for-service model. Improve the performance and
effectiveness of client web sites and/or client business processes.
Provide excellent service. Achievement of these goals is measured
in the following ways: Percentage of costs covered. Comparison of
original vs. new web sites or applications using criteria such as
adherence to select university style manual standards and
utilization of resources such as university authentication and
authorization. Customer service surveys, returning customers.
Slide 4
In FY03, KeyBridge achieved 107% cost recovery after only two
full years of operation. Due to the roll-over nature of the units
budget, KeyBridge is able to take payment from departments seeking
to spend excess budget in order to prevent losing it at the
conclusion of the fiscal year. Therefore, yearly revenue does not
match precisely with the project list. A unit like KeyBridge is
particularly vulnerable to budgetary fluctuations. Due to the
general economic difficulties that have hit university funding,
FY04 may not be as successful as FY03.
Slide 5
KeyBridge has been involved in project ranging from simple
content updating to highly complex applications that interface with
university enterprise systems such as Student Information Services
or e-commerce back ends. KeyBridge has a client base of over 60
clients, ranging from year-long interdepartmental collaborations,
to small research centers. KeyBridge has redesigned four out of
seven of the universitys schools and is currently working on a
second redesign for one school. KeyBridge represents a fiscally
sensible solution for departments unable to afford a fulltime web
developer and yet who could benefit from professional graphic or
application design.
Slide 6
KeyBridge employs four fulltime staff and one student for 20
hours per week. KeyBridges manager is shared with the web hosting
unit within UIS. Product manager: This position deals with all
clients, develops estimates and manages the time of the staff and
if charged with furthering the range of product offerings and
overseeing tool development. Graphic designer: It has been critical
to KeyBridges success to have a designer with professional training
and experience beyond web design. Application developer: KeyBridge
primarily works with ColdFusion, Access and SQL. Having a fulltime
developer on staff allows KeyBridge to reuse code and develop tools
that can be resold and adapted as needed. Production assistant: It
is important that this employee is able to operate comfortably
within both graphic design and application development
environments. It is important for client development that they know
that the time of the product managerwith whom they have most
contactis not charged by the hour. Graphic design, application
development and production are charged for. The hourly rate for
KeyBridges services is calculated as follows: Total Costs
[including all salaries, benefits and overhead] / Billable Time [3
staff X 52 weeks X 20 billable hrs/wk] = $100 per hour.
Slide 7
Web branding goes beyond graphic design. It can include
everything from navigation items to photography to font choices and
overall look and feel. Use of the watermark seal conveys a sense of
history and prestige without overwhelming the page. Building a
photograph library of Georgetown students lends authenticity to
KeyBridge designs and pleases clients. Similar navigation items
across the whole Georgetown site aids in usability. Juxtaposing
photography of DC with campus images reinforces Georgetowns
location and national stature.
Slide 8
KeyBridge is able to bring a consistent look and feel to
Georgetowns web site without sacrificing individual identity. This
consistency extends from the top tier through cross- departmental
themed sites and down to research centers and administrative
departments.
Slide 9
KeyBridge has developed strong collaborative relationships with
other brand stewards. KeyBridge partners very closely with the
University Webmaster, a position also residing within University
Information Services. The University Webmaster is charged with
institutional management of the Georgetown top tier, development of
policy and projects that influence university- wide web
communications and chairing the collective webmaster committee
(GUide). Working with the GUide committee allows KeyBridge to act
in an unofficial advisory capacity to other web developers.
KeyBridges professionalism has resulted in the approval and
enthusiastic support of influential university administrators and
web developers.
Slide 10
Positioning KeyBridge within University Information Services
enables the unit to take advantage of the myriad technologies
provided by the department. These technologies help KeyBridge
retain a competitive edge over external development companies that
must host applications offsite and build basic tools from scratch.
All KeyBridge applications use the university LDAP directory for
authentication, are housed on centrally located and supported
servers and often share code, allowing for easy updating and
modification to accommodate changing university security
requirements.
Slide 11
KeyBridge has access to a vast skill set and knowledge base
within the organization that enables the unit to operate with the
minimum staff necessary without having to employ additional server
and network administrators. A close working relationship with IT
colleagues allows KeyBridge to take advantage of resources not
generally available to the rest of the university community, such
as dedicated servers. KeyBridge also is able to work with the
university security officer directly as an application is being
built. Emerging security issues are often explored in collaboration
with UIS staff and KeyBridge is the first to test out solutions, to
the benefit of other departments.
Slide 12
With the addition of KeyBridge as a resource for Georgetown
departments, there have been several projects previously outsourced
that have returned to the fold. The result is a more secure
environment for departments as well as a better service to the end
user. Critical monies are also returned to the university.
KeyBridges position within UIS gives departments more faith in its
abilities to provide ongoing support as well as the necessary
resources to provide the promised service. UIS staff have a high
level of contact with potential clients and it is important that
KeyBridge keep them apprised of new products and services.
Slide 13
KeyBridge provides a rapid development environment that
complements well the enterprise development of other UIS units.
Where enterprise development necessitates an oversight committee to
prioritize competing demands, KeyBridge responds directly to
individual needs in a reasonable timeframe and affordable manner.
Dealing with multiple clients within a shared educational and
administrative environment allows KeyBridge to take individual
needs and leverage them into enterprise-lite tools that are then
available for the rest of the campus community at a lower price
than if each client paid for development separately.
Slide 14
KeySite [web-based content management] is used by over 55
clients, allowing staff to focus on developing content rather than
worrying about HTML coding. KeyConnect [moderated discussions] is
used to great effect for connecting prospective students with
admissions officers and faculty as well as disseminating important
information to students in a safe and anonymous environment.
KeyForm [forms management] is available for free to develop simple
online forms and basic data analysis. A subscription version
provides additional administrative and analysis functionality.
Slide 15
KeyBridge also develops custom applications, including a
contact management system for Georgetowns Federal Relations Office,
a slide library that allows faculty to create slide sets for
display in class and exam review, and a matching service for
community service organizations and researchers.
Slide 16
KeyBridge acts as a very customer service oriented face for
UIS. The institutional and higher education knowledge of KeyBridges
staff cannot be underestimated as a selling point to clients. It is
comforting to potential clients that they dont have to explain the
admissions cycle or role of faculty. KeyBridge has served to help
educate clients on issues such as usability and graphic design. The
process to achieve the end product has helped raise the profile of
web development as a profession. The end product demonstrates daily
to the university the worth of spending money on what is the most
visible communications tool for the institution.
Slide 17
KeyBridges role as project manager in large cross-departmental
theme projects helps to keep them on track, as well as providing
valuable perspective on issues such as marketing, content
development, usability and design. A good example of this is the
role that KeyBridge played in the development of be.georgetown.edu,
a health and safety site for students. A long and careful needs
assessment conducted by KeyBridge identified and prioritized
audiences for the site, thus determining the style and focus of the
content.
Slide 18
In order to achieve a fresh, hip and strong graphic to support
the message of health and well-being, and that also combats the
potentially dry nature of the subject matter, KeyBridge conducted a
photo shoot of dozens of Georgetown students. These photos have
served as the most visible and identifying aspect of the site.