University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa Library

Intranet

Content Management System

Requirements and Evaluation

Draft Submitted by Sunyeen PaiThanks to: Desktop Network Services Staff

December 16, 2005

DRAFT

CONTENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (CMS) EVALUATION

In 2004 the web redesign committee investigated free open source content management systems for the redesigned library website. Budgetary constraints dictated the need for a free system, and quality software alternatives could be found in the open source community.

Members of the committee worked at collecting information on reputable open source content management systems. A survey of information sources resulted in several options, WebGUI and Plone being the two major candidates. The committee learned of a local implementation of Plone at the State of Hawaii, and after a site visit the decision was made to install and test Plone. A major factor in this decision was the availability of very strong technical expertise “down the road”. One of their team members, Todd H. Ogasawara, Hawaii State eGovernment Team Leader, is a nationally recognized software expert (http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/au/1231) interested in open source solutions in government. In the summer/fall 2005, a second scan of software options in the open source environment was made (Appendix 1). Concurrently, while working with the results of the library’s intranet user study, a content management system evaluation tool (Appendix 2) was developed to systematically consider the functional and technical criteria for choosing a system. Based on the second scan, the results of the content management tool analysis, and the time spent testing Plone, Plone again came out as a very strong contender. Recently we have learned about more adopters in Hawaii. Hawaii State offices that are changing over include DHHL, DBEDT, ATG, Ethics, and DHS. State offices that converted recently are DHRD, DLNR (Intranet), Elections, DAGS, SPO, GOV, Lieutenant GOV, and ATG (Intranet). DOH is using Zope, upon which Plone is built.

It is clear that no one CMS can provide all the services we would like to have. Like anything else, different CMSs have different strengths and weaknesses. For example, a CMS that is very easy to manage may not allow you to set permissions on an individual document. Plone “out-of-the-box”, or its default installation, is extremely rich in features (http://www.openadvantage.org/articles/oadocument.2005-04-25.0390317971, http://plone.org/, http://www.sweeting.net/weblog/archive/2003/03/plone-benefits/). Plone’s strengths are scalability, dynamic page generation, web standards compliance (WAI, CSS, XHTML), an outstanding indexing and search capability, a relatively easy-to-use content editing interface, news and events features, and highly configurable workflow and security capabilities. These features are configurable through a graphical user interface system. More detailed configuration will require a knowledge of object-oriented systems and Plone’s programming tools. At this writing, automated in-migration and out-migration of content is not a default feature; we would have to investigate third party tools or write a program to handle these requirements.

APPENDIX 1: CONTENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (CMS) COMPARISON CHART

There are hundreds of content management systems to choose from. If you take away the commercial packages, it seems there are still hundreds left. The ones selected for comparison are free and were recommended by experts, listservs, and discussion groups. Joomla!, currently the free version of Mambo, is a popular CMS. Plone is being successfully used by many organizations, including the State of Hawaii (http://www.hawaii.gov/gov/), State University of New York’s Health Sciences Library (http://plone.hsclib.sunysb.edu/), and Pennsylvania State University. TYPO3 is being used by a commercial developer contracted by the UH School of Law. WebGUI is a recommendation out of library listservs.

This comparison chart was generated from the CMSMatrix site, http://www.cmsmatrix.org/. Because of the immense amount of information involved in evaluating packages, this chart should be viewed as a quick comparison.

* Critical criteriaCMS-Matrix Comparison

Joomla! (formerly Mambo open source)

Plone TYPO3 Drupal WebGUI

System last updated 20-Oct-05 11-May-05 6-Jul-05 10-Sep-05 26-Aug-05System Requirements

         

Application Server Apache recommended, any server that supports PHP and MySQL

Zope PHP 4.1.2+ PHP 4.3.3+ mod_perl or FastCGI

Approximate Cost Free Free Free Free FreeDatabase MySQL Zope. Plone

also interfaces with MySQL and other relational dbs

MySQL MySQL, Postgres

MySQL

License GNU GPL GNU GPL GNU GPL GNU GPL GNU GPLOperating System Any Any Any Any AnyProgramming Language

PHP Python PHP PHP Perl 5.6+

Root Access No No No No YesShell Access No No No No YesWeb Server* Apache Apache, IIS,

ZopeApache, IIS Apache, IIS Apache

Security Joomla! Plone TYPO3 Drupal WebGUIAudit Trail No Yes Yes Yes YesCaptcha Yes No Free Add OnFree Add OnYesContent Approval* Yes Yes Yes Yes LimitedEmail Verification Yes Limited Yes Yes YesGranular Privileges* No Yes Yes Yes YesKerberos No Free Add On No No Free Add On

AuthenticationLDAP Authentication* Free Add On Free Add On Free Add OnFree Add OnYesLogin History Yes Free Add On Yes Yes YesNIS Authentication No Free Add On No No Free Add OnNTLM Authentication No Yes No No Free Add OnPluggable Authentication

No Yes Free Add OnYes Yes

Problem Notification No No No No YesSandbox No Yes Yes No YesSession Management Yes Free Add On Yes Yes YesSMB Authentication No Free Add On Free Add OnNo Free Add OnSSL Compatible* No Yes Yes Yes YesSSL Logins* No No: Note:

implemented by DNS

Yes No Yes

SSL Pages No No Free Add OnNo YesVersioning* No Yes Yes Limited YesSupport Joomla! Plone TYPO3 Drupal WebGUICertification Program No No No No NoCommercial Manuals* No Yes Yes No YesCommercial Support* Yes Yes Yes Yes YesCommercial Training* No Yes Yes Yes YesDeveloper Community Yes Yes Yes Yes YesOnline Help Yes No Yes Yes YesPluggable API Yes Yes Yes Yes YesProfessional Hosting Yes Yes Yes Yes YesProfessional Services Yes Yes Yes Yes YesPublic Forum Yes Yes Yes Yes YesPublic Mailing List No Yes Yes Yes YesThird-Party Developers Yes Yes Yes Yes YesUsers Conference No Yes Yes Yes YesEase of Use Joomla! Plone TYPO3 Drupal WebGUIDrag-N-Drop Content No Free Add On Free Add OnNo YesEmail To Discussion No Free Add On Free Add OnFree Add OnNoFriendly URLs Yes Yes Yes Yes YesImage Resizing Yes Free Add On Yes Free Add OnYesMacro Language Yes Yes Yes Free Add OnYesMass Upload* No Yes No Free Add OnYesPrototyping Yes No No No YesServer Page Language Yes Yes Yes Yes Free Add OnSpell Checker No Free Add On Free Add OnFree Add OnLimitedSubscriptions No No Free Add OnFree Add OnYesTemplate Language Yes Yes Yes Limited YesUI Levels No Yes Yes No YesUndo* No Yes Yes Limited YesWYSIWYG Editor* Yes Yes Yes Free Add OnYesPerformance Joomla! Plone TYPO3 Drupal WebGUIAdvanced Caching* Yes Yes Yes Yes YesDatabase Replication No Costs Extra No No YesLoad Balancing* No Yes No No Yes

Page Caching Yes Yes Yes Yes YesStatic Content Export* No Free Add On Limited No YesManagement Joomla! Plone TYPO3 Drupal WebGUIAdvertising Management

Yes Free Add On Free Add OnFree Add OnNo

Asset Management Yes Yes Yes Yes YesClipboard No Yes Yes No YesContent Scheduling* Yes Yes Yes Free Add OnYesContent Staging No Free Add On No No NoInline Administration Yes Yes Yes Yes YesOnline Administration Yes Yes Yes Yes YesPackage Deployment No Yes Yes No YesSub-sites / Roots Yes Yes Yes Yes YesThemes / Skins Yes Yes Yes Yes YesTrash Yes Free Add On Limited No YesWeb Statistics Yes Free Add On Free Add OnYes YesWeb-based Style/Template Management*

Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Web-based Translation Management

Free Add On Free Add On Yes Yes Free Add On

Workflow Engine* No Yes Limited Limited NoInteroperability Joomla! Plone TYPO3 Drupal WebGUIContent Syndication (RSS)

Yes Yes Yes Yes Limited

FTP Support* No Yes Yes Limited NoUTF-8 Support No Yes Yes Yes YesWAI Compliant* No Yes Free Add OnLimited YesWebDAV Support* No Yes No No NoXHTML Compliant* No Yes Yes Yes YesFlexibility Joomla! Plone TYPO3 Drupal WebGUICGI-mode Support No Free Add On Yes Yes YesContent Reuse Yes Yes Yes Limited YesExtensible User Profiles

Yes Yes Free Add OnYes Yes

Interface Localization Yes Yes Yes Yes Free Add OnMetadata* Yes Yes Yes Yes YesMulti-lingual Content* Free Add On Free Add On Yes Yes YesMulti-lingual Content Integration

Free Add On Free Add On Yes Free Add OnNo

Multi-Site Deployment No Yes Yes Yes YesURL Rewriting Yes Yes Yes Yes YesWiki Aware No Free Add On Free Add OnFree Add OnLimitedBuilt-in Applications Joomla! Plone TYPO3 Drupal WebGUIBlog Yes Yes Free Add OnYes YesChat Free Add On Free Add On Free Add OnFree Add OnFree Add OnClassifieds Free Add On No Free Add OnNo YesContact Management Yes Free Add On Free Add OnFree Add OnFree Add OnData Entry Free Add On Free Add On Limited Free Add OnYesDatabase Reports Free Add On Limited Free Add OnNo YesDiscussion / Forum No Yes Free Add OnYes Yes

Document Management

Free Add On Yes No Limited No

Events Calendar* Free Add On Yes Free Add OnFree Add OnYesExpense Reports No No No No NoFAQ Management Yes Free Add On Free Add OnYes YesFile Distribution Free Add On Yes Free Add OnFree Add OnYesGraphs and Charts Free Add On No Free Add OnNo Free Add OnGroupware No Free Add On No Free Add OnNoGuest Book Free Add On Free Add On Free Add OnNo YesHelp Desk / Bug Reporting

Free Add On Free Add On Free Add OnFree Add OnNo

HTTP Proxy No No No No YesIn/Out Board No No No No Free Add OnJob Postings Free Add On No Free Add OnNo YesLink Management Yes Free Add On Free Add OnFree Add OnYesMail Form Yes Free Add On Yes Free Add OnYesMy Page / Dashboard No Limited Free Add OnFree Add OnNoNewsletter Free Add On Free Add On Yes No YesPhoto Gallery No Free Add On Yes Free Add OnYesPolls Yes Free Add On Free Add OnYes YesProduct Management Yes Yes Free Add OnFree Add OnYesProject Tracking No Free Add On Free Add OnFree Add OnFree Add OnSearch Engine* Yes Yes Free Add OnYes YesSite Map Free Add On Free Add On Yes Free Add OnYesSurveys Free Add On Costs Extra Free Add OnFree Add OnYesSyndicated Content (RSS)

Yes Free Add On Free Add OnYes Yes

Tests / Quizzes Free Add On Free Add On Free Add OnNo YesTime Tracking No No Free Add OnNo Free Add OnUser Contributions Yes Yes Yes Yes YesWeb Services Front End

No No Free Add OnNo Yes

Commerce Joomla! Plone TYPO3 Drupal WebGUIAffiliate Tracking Free Add On No Free Add OnFree Add OnNoInventory ManagementFree Add On No Free Add OnFree Add OnNoPluggable Payments Free Add On No No Free Add OnYesPluggable Shipping Free Add On No No Free Add OnYesPluggable Tax Free Add On No No No NoPoint of Sale Free Add On No No No NoShopping Cart Free Add On Free Add On Free Add OnFree Add OnYesSubscriptions Free Add On No No Free Add OnYesWish Lists Free Add On No No No No

APPENDIX 2: CONTENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (CMS) REQUIREMENTS EVALUATION TOOL AND PLONE EVALUATION NOTES

In an effort to have a comprehensive approach to evaluating our future CMS, I searched for ways to evaluate our CMS choice. This tool is adapted from a more extensive tool developed by the Australian government of Victoria. I found it at: http://www.egov.vic.gov.au/Victoria/StrategiesPoliciesandReports/Reports/Content-Management/content-management

The criteria in this tool were reviewed by members of DNS and edited for our environment. The tool was checked to ensure our library’s user requirements listed in the executive summary of the Intranet User UH Library were addressed.

The general concerns addressed by the tool areContent Creation and PublishingPresentation and DiscoveryTechnicalInterdependenciesSupport and TrainingBudgetary.

Creation and Publishing includes issues such as the ease with which content may be created. Presentation and Discovery includes issues such as indexing and searchability. Technical includes issues such as web standards compliance. Interdependencies include compatibility with existing computer systems. Support and Training include product documentation and online resources. Finally, budgetary includes fiscal resource parameters.

Plone recently upgraded to 2.1.1. Wing installed the upgrade in November, 2005, and its updates and added features are still being tested. Notes regarding Plone’s capabilities are based on information as of November 2005, and it is possible comments made with 2.05 may not apply to 2.1.1. The goal is to update as we continue working with Plone. The numbering of items is inconsistent because this is still in draft.

Explanation of requirement levels shown in the table below: Core: CMS must provide this Optional-high: CMS should provide this, and if not, it should be implemented with an

add-on or another application Optional-low: A nice-to-have

Many of the features described below have Notes that address our library’s characteristics and what we CURRENTLY know what Plone can or cannot do. This may change as we work with Plone. The notes occasionally refer to “kupu”, the most popular and current WYSIWYG (what-you-see-is-what-you-get) content editor used with Plone.

A Creation & Publishing  

A1 Content Creation Core Requirement Optional Requirement

Driver: To enable Library staff to effectively develop and maintain content for web services.    

A1.1

Ability to create and edit text using a simple browser template option which must support the Library standard operating environment browser version (currently PC/Internet Explorer 6, PC/Netscape 7, MAC/Safari). Note: Library is about 75% IE (70% IE6), 15% Netscape, 10% Firefox. 91% PC (62% XP), 9%MAC.Have tested IE6, Netscape 7, Firefox 1.06 on PC.Stonybrook University New York’s Andrew White mentions problems with IE and MACs.

Core

A1.2

Ability to import content items from the Library standard operating environment .Note: tested on PC: Uploaded: MS Visio, Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Adobe PDF. It is possible to import UH and library-developed personnel and non-personnel forms PDF forms to be filled out and printed for distribution. Limited backup of items can be performed.

Core  

A1.3

Ability to import and manage images using a simple browser template option which must support the Library standard operating environment browser version (currently PC/IE6, PC/Netscape 7, MAC/Safari). Note: tested on PC: Uploading images from PC is no problem. Linking is a little tricky without a WYSIWYG editor. WYSIWYG editor kupu works easily.

Core  

A1.4

Ability to create and edit links using a simple browser template option which must support the Library standard operating environment browser version (currently PC/IE6, PC/Netscape 7, MAC/Safari). Note: tested on PC with WYSIWYG editor kupu: Links to internal pages allow browsing. Links to external pages require copy/paste or typing, and allows preview. Links could be created by users to Voyager OPAC, its reports, and the e-resources database.

Core  

A1.7

Ability to automatically replace a published version of content with a revised version of content following completion of the approval process.Note: this feature is easy enough for the average user and would be used for posting content items such as organizational minutes and group schedules.

Core  

A1.8

Ability to view content items in-context via a browser, to see how the content item will appear in the website - WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) preview. The browser option must ensure the preview pages are not exposed to external search engines.Note: during creation/editing of document, if security is set to private, it cannot be located with external or even internal search engines.

Core  

A1.9Provide an authoring system that requires minimal training and can be used by non-technical users. Note: kupu provides fair wysiwyg functionality. Unsure of html tidy capability.

Core  

A1.10Support distributed content creation and contribution from Sinclair and Hamilton and configurable for access from off campus. Note: Plone can support this.

 Core

A1.11Support content contribution from external parties.Note: tested, unnecessary for intranet, possible need for internet/extranet.

  Optional-high

A1.12

Ability to create customisable input forms (eg feedback, notification, membership registration). Note: Plone appears to have forms creation with input validation capabilities, but aside from an untested plug-in such as PloneFormMail this may require template creation work (Cooper, Building Websites with Plone, p. 194).

  Optional-high

A1.13 Support collaborative work practices where feedback or group editing of content can be done.Note: Feedback is accomplished through comments function and group editing can be done through sharing function.

Core

Ability to create news/announcement items that are published to the community and have automatic publishing and expiration dates.Note: Default Plone comes with this feature.

Optional-high

A2 Workflow Processes Core Requirement Optional Requirement

Driver: To ensure all web content has appropriate Library approval. This is critical when managing the creation of content by multiple parties.

   

A2.1 Workflow Approval    

A2.1.1

Ability to establish a variety of roles within a workflow process.Note: Plone has several ready-made roles and facility to make additional ones. Plone allows for co-authoring of documents and commenting.

Core  

A2.1.2

Ability to assign workflow to roles and individuals.Note: Individuals can inherit and be assigned local roles. Roles have workflow privileges assigned to them. Therefore it seems workflow privileges can be assigned to different roles, and these roles can be assigned to individuals. It does not appear that workflows can be assigned to classes of content items (taken here to mean, for example, news items).

Core  

A2.1.2Ability to assign workflow to classes of content items.Note: Currently it does not appear that workflows can be assigned to classes of content items (taken here to mean, for example, news items).

 Optional-low

A2.1.3Ability to grant or withhold specific permissions based on role.Note: Plone can specify permissions based on role and type of content.

Core  

A2.1.3 Ability to grant or withhold specific permissions based on type of content item.

  Optional-low

Note: Currently it does not appear Plone can specify permissions based on type of content.

A2.1.4Provide a workflow approval process that supports sequential approval steps.Note: Plone has a built-in one step approval process.

Core  

A2.1.5

Provide a workflow approval process that supports parallel approval steps.Note: Plone allows for the owner to set more than one reviewer, but it seems any one of the reviewers can authorize publishing, as opposed to requiring all to approve. Same with group reviewers; one member alone can publish the item.

Optional-low

A2.1.6

Provide a workflow approval process that is configurable to support varying content item status during the authoring process (eg draft, awaiting approval, approved, published, archived etc)Note: Plone supports draft (private or visible), awaiting approval (pending), published (published) modes. Workflow out of these states is configurable (e.g. ability to move from published to private).

Core  

A2.1.8

Provide a workflow that is configurable to allow different approval processes based on where the content item is being published (eg Intranet, Extranet and Internet). Note: On a granular per-content-item basis default Plone 2.1.1 allows owner to assign another member ownership rights. It seems possible that a local role such as a department reviewer or a group with department reviewer rights could be created for department content.

  Optional-high

A2.2 Workflow Management    

A2.2.1

Ability for authorised non-technical users to create and manage workflow processes. No scripting or programming should be required.Note: Plone allows owner to set content object to either private or visible. Owner can also set sharing to more than one user or group.

Core

 

A2.2.2

Ability to view the status of a content item through the workflow process. Note: Plone allows this in the content listing view and in the single object view. Kupu allows view of history of workflow per content item.

Core  

A2.2.3 Ability to escalate workflow items.Note: I don’t think out-of-the-box Plone does this. Optional-low

A2.2.4Ability to reassign workflow items.Plone allows owner to reset review rights to one person or group.

  Optional-high

A2.2.6Ability to alter or override workflow dependencies to meet real-time needs (eg re-route workflow tasks).Note: Plone allows owner to reset review rights to one person or group.

  Optional-high

A2.2.7 Ability to include authenticated external users in a workflow.Note: Probably possible, but requires creating a new role? Optional-low

A2.2.8Ability to manage user feedback generated through the submission of forms. Note: Plone allows for forms creation. It also allows for commenting on content.

  Optional-low

A2.3 Notification    

A2.3.1

Provide a workflow approval process that notifies the appropriate persons when they need to perform a task in relation to an item (eg approval required). Note: In Plone, when an object’s creator assigns a reviewer and sets the object to pending, the reviewer gets a notice in her “review list” portlet. The reviewer then can link to that object (as long as the folder is not set to private) to review the object. Reviewer can reject, publish, or select advanced features for publishing. Creator will not get a notice, but will see that object is set back to “visible”.

Core  

A2.3.2Provide notification mechanisms that include email.Note: Plone allows a user to send an email to another person with the url of the content item.

Core  

A3 Content Publishing & Quality Control Core Requirement Optional Requirement

Driver: To ensure a streamlined publishing process, eliminating, where possible, manual handling of production drafts and facilitating online review and approval.

   

A3.1Ability to publish/unpublish content items to one or many locations within a single site.Note: Plone allows this.

Core  

A3.2Ability to automatically publish/unpublish content items to one or many locations within a single site on a scheduled date and time.Note: Plone allows this through object properties.

Core  

A3.3Support delivery of content items based on completion of review/approval workflow processes.Note: Plone allows this.

Core  

A3.4Ability to set and change publishing, review and expiry dates of content items.Note: Plone allows this.

Core  

A3.5Ability to manually override automatically generated review and expiry dates for content items based on role. Note: Plone allows this. If the role is owner or reviewer, this is possible.

Core  

A3.6Ability to view a list of content items based on status of review and expiry dates. Note: Don’t know if Plone supports this. Optional-high 

A3.7 Ability to maintain integrity of internal links within the CMS.Note: Plone allows this. Core  

A3.8Ability to check internal links in published content items and refresh across the website.Note: Plone allows this. If an item is moved from one folder to another, internal links still work.

Core  

A3.9Ability to detect, notify, manage and allow maintainance of broken links. Note: Don’t know if Plone supports this.

 Optional-high 

A3.10 Ability to view history of content changes. Note: Plone allows view through undo function. Wiki-like change tracking showing edits requires installation of wiki

Core  

software.

A3.11Ability to view all changes of content in previous version. Note: Don’t know if Plone supports this, unless through installed wiki software.

Optional-low

A3.12

Ability to publish/unpublish content items to more than one website generated by the Web CMS.Note: Don’t know if Plone supports this if we assume this means publishing from one Plone site to another, eg. intranet to public site?

   Optional-low

A3.13

Ability to publish/unpublish content items to more than one website generated by the Web CMS on a scheduled date and time.Note: Don’t know if Plone supports this if we assume this means publishing from one Plone site to another, eg. intranet to public site?

  Optional-low

A3.14 Ability to publish/unpublish content items in bulk.Note: Possible with Plone if items are in the same folder.   Optional-high

A3.16Ability to search, preview and replace a content item across the site or sites managed by the Web CMS.Note: Plone can easily search across a single website. Replacing might need to be done manually.

   Optional-low

A3.17

Ability to publish a single item of content in multiple delivery environments with the option of different delivery requirements/templates (eg displayed on Intranet, Extranet and Internet sites).Note: As Plone separates content from design, the delivery environment would dictate the appearance of the content.

  Optional-low

A3.19

Support delivery of content items to a range of delivery channels and technologies, covering both on-line and off-line and including SMS/Mobile Phones, WAP, Palmtops, Interactive Digital TV, Interactive Voice Recognition, fax and print.Note: Plone displays can be controlled through CSS and supports print and mobile phone displays.

  Optional-high

A3.20Ability to provide notification of details of links that will be affected by removal of an expired content item.Note: Don’t know if Plone out-of-the-box supports this.

   Optional-high

A3.21

Ability to apply mandatory validation processes (eg for accessibility compliance, page size (and speed) and broken links).Note: The Plone site itself is W3C compliant. Currently cannot test the site with the W3C validator until security is adjusted to allow access.

   Optional-high

B Presentation & Discovery    

B1 Content Presentation Core Requirement Optional Requirement

Driver: To ensure that information and services are presented in standard Library styles.    

B1.1 Templates    

B1.1.2Ability to select from a number of predefined and/or customisable templates to control the visual presentation of content items.Note: Plone’s templates and CSS style sheets does this.

Core  

B1.1.3Ability to generate delivery templates using Cascading Style Sheets (CSS).Note: Plone uses CSS and has a table-less template.

Core  

B1.1.4

Ability to create a number of predefined and/or customisable templates using a combination of elements such as: navigational elements driven out of metadata repository and defined taxonomy, static links to other internal/external sites, pages or applications, plain/formatted text elements, images and aggregated content items. Note: Plone can support many of these functions. Templating requires some training.

  Optional-high

B1.2 Accessibility    

B1.2.1Ability of the Web CMS to support content development that is compliant with the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI).Note: Plone is documented as WAI compliant.

Core  

B1.2.2Provide prompts and tools for the creation and delivery of websites to comply with the Web Accessibility Initiative. Note: Do not know if Plone can be configured to do this.

  Optional-high

B1.3 Customisation and Personalisation    

B1.3.1

Provide logging/tracking tools to support customisation, ie the delivery of tailored or specific information and services to an anonymous site visitor. Note: Content and services can be customized for anonymous users.

  Optional-high

B1.3.2

Support explicit customisation of information, ie the delivery of tailored and specific information and services to a site visitor, based on an established user profile (eg specific content items presented to an Intranet user once they log in).Note: Plone out-of-the-box can recognize administrators, members, and anonymous visitors. This could be configured to finer detail.

  Optional-low

B1.3.3Ability for users to personalise the look of the entry page (eg My Page concept) and choose to add a number of links/services to their customised page.Note: Plone can support this.

Optional-high 

B1.4 Multilingual Support    

B1.4.1Ability to deliver information and services in languages other than English.Note: Plone 2.1.1 can support more than 50 language translations.

Core  

B1.4.2Ability to display content items and search for content in languages other than English.Note: Tested Hawaiian and Chinese in Plone.

Core  

B1.4.3Ability to build navigation structures in languages other than English.Note: Plone 2.1.1 can support more than 50 language translations.

Core  

B2 Content Discovery Core Requirement Optional Requirement

Driver: To ensure users are able to successfully find relevant information via searching or browsing, with a minimum of effort.    

B2.1 Metadata Generation    

B2.1.1

Ability to assign or generate content item keywords at the same time as content is created. Note: Plone allows this. For each content item generated Plone automatically assigns a set of Dublic Core metadata (e.g. author, creation date, etc.) to each content item.

Core  

B2.1.2Ability to review/approve assign metadata at the same time as the content item, as part of the one process/workflow.Note: Plone allows the assignment of keywords to content items.

Core  

B2.1.3

Support tools to facilitate metadata generation during content item creation, including keyword "pick lists" to allow metadata to be chosen from pre-established schema.Note: Plone allows this.

Core  

B2.1.4Ability to interface with thesauri.Note: Do not know if Plone can do this. Eileen Herring thinks the National Agriculture Library Plone site may have implemented this.

Optional-low

B2.2Search - The search function may be part of the Web CMS or it may be a third party search engine. The following requirements will be provided or supported by the Web CMS.

   

B2.2.1

Provide comprehensive search facilities across the entire website, multiple sites or sub sites to support content publishing.Note: Plone has powerful capabilities across a single site. Do not know if Plone can do this across sites or subsites.

 Optional-high

B2.2.2Support automatic indexing, keyword generation, and full-text indexing.Note: Plone does this.

Core  

B2.2.3Support indexing of text and common attachments (eg Microsoft Office, Adobe PDF etc) within the Web CMS. Note: Plone 2.1.1 with plug-in indexes MSWord, PDFs, Excel spreadsheets

Optional-high 

B2.2.4Support separate indexing of content items for each supported website.Note: Plone does this.

Core  

B2.2.5

Ability for the Web CMS to control access to items of content from search and/or site map indexing based on Library business rules (eg permissions).Note: Plone does this. Private items do not show in search; user can request item not show in navigation chart.

Core  

B2.2.6

Support comprehensive external search facilities across the entire website, multiple sites or sub sites for end users.Note: Not needed for intranet. The goal for the internet is that the library’s Google search engine and Plone will work together.

Core  

B2.2.7Ability for the Web CMS to integrate simple and advanced search screens and result screens into the user interface. Note: Plone allows for single entry and advanced entry searches.

Core  

B2.2.8

Support the use of Boolean operators (and; or; not) and proximity operators (near; with) to refine searches and accept phrases for full-text searches.Note: Plone supports and/or searches. Not proximity operators. Plone has many additional advanced search features.

Core  

B2.2.9Ability for the Web CMS to control the discoverability of content items by external search engines.Note: Plone does this.

Core  

B2.2.11

Support the measurement of the use/effectiveness of each keyword search query entered by a user in searching the website. This capability may be provided by a third party web metrics facility.Note: Do not know if Plone does this.

  Optional-low

B2.2.12

Support the automatic modification of search results based on site usage and search patterns (eg weighting the most popular sites/search results selected by the user to appear high in the search results list).Note: Do not know if Plone does this.

  Optional-low

B2.2.13Ability for the Web CMS to generate a plain english URL for key web pages for easy referencing by non-technical end users and search engines.Note: Plone does this.

  Optional-low

B2.2.14Ability for the Web CMS to interface with thesauri or allow import of thesauri data into search engine thesaurus for browsing, selection and searching.Note: Do not know if Plone does this.

  Optional-low

B2.2.16Support “pre-processing” of all search terms against the thesauri and automatically include related terms in the search.Note: Do not know if Plone does this.

  Optional-low

B2.2.17Provide a soundex (sounds like) capability in the thesaurus function so that misspelled terms can be related to their correct spelling.Note: Do not know if Plone does this.

  Optional-low

B2.3 Navigation Structure    

B2.3.1Ability to create new navigation structures with a minimum of effort.Note: Plone supports this.

Core  

B2.3.2Support automatic updating of navigation structures as the site structure and content items are updated.Note: Plone supports this.

Core  

B2.3.3Ability to automatically generate and update a site map for each website.Note: Plone 2.1.1 supports this.

Optional-high

B2.3.4 Ability to modify a navigation menu look and feel. Note: Plone supports this. Core  

B2.3.5Provide navigation menus that support a minimum of four levels of navigation.Note: Plone supports this.

Core  

B2.3.6Ability to modify the navigation structure while automatically maintaining links to published content items. Note: Plone supports this.

Core  

B2.3.7 Ability to create automated breadcrumbs trail. Note: Plone supports this. Optional-high

C Technical    

C1 Compliance Core Requirement Optional Requirement

Driver: To ensure that the Web CMS complies with industry standards so that the system is robust and integrates with existing platforms and applications.

   

C1.1Provide or support standards-based development tools (eg XML, CSS, DHTML, XSLT and other open standards). Note: Plone currently supports XML, XHTML, CSS, its own DHMTL, but not XSLT.

Core  

C1.2 Support Library application servers and platforms. Note: Plone works with Linux, Apache, LDAP, SSL. Core  

C1.3

Support operating systems, browser and productivity applications included in Library’s environment. Note: There may be a question with Plone and Mac with an IE browser. Other issues are really standard browser problems beyond the scope of Plone.

Core  

C1.5 Support standard messaging protocols (eg SMTP, MIME). Note: Plone sends through smtp Core  

C2 Product Core Requirement Optional Requirement

Driver: To ensure the product meets the Library requirements.    

C2.1 Testing, Staging & Deployment    

C2.1.1

Support development, testing / staging and production environments, and control of movement between each.Note: Multiple zope instances as well as multiple plone sites can be setup to test and transfer safely as needed as long as zope/plone versions are the same.

Core  

C2.1.2

Ability to view history of all template changes.Note: Not observed to be inherent with the system although ability to undo is robust. Will need to manually track, but with limited numbers changing templates and all changes restricted to the custom folder, the process should not be too difficult.

Core  

C2.1.6Support central or decentralised content publishing.Note: Complete browser based publishing is one of the options.

Core  

C2.1.7Support the Library disaster recovery plan (eg storage and backup of content on multiple servers).Note: Plone sites could be backed up in other areas.

  Optional-high

C2.1.8Ability to access all parts of the Web CMS via the web browser. Note: Plone supports this.

  Optional-high

C2.2 Reliability and Performance    

C2.2.1Provide a reliable and stable Web CMS with a proven capability and continuous high levels of up-time.Note: To be determined as system grows.

Core  

C2.2.2Response time will meet Library requirements for both Web CMS users and end users. Note: To be determined as system grows.

Core  

C2.2.3Provide scalability as Library sites, systems and site usage increases or decreases.Note: To be determined as system grows.

Core  

C2.3 Audit Trail    

C2.3.1 Non-Permanent Records    

C2.3.1.1

Ability to support audit logging of the history of content items after approval for publishing up until the content items, under control, are removed from the Web CMS. Note: Undo function tracks all transactions so it’s possible theoretically since the data is there is a raw form

Core

C2.3.2Permanent Records - The following are mandatory requirements where the Web CMS contains permanent records.

   

C2.3.2.1Ability to support a sufficiently detailed audit trail for permanent records. Note: Do not know if Plone does this.

 Optional-low

C2.3.2.3

Ability to support audit logging of the history of content items (that are permanent records) after approval for publishing up until the content items, under control, are removed from the Web CMS. Note: Do not know if Plone does this.

Optional-low

C2.4 Version Control - Temporal    

C2.4.1Ability to manage versions of individual content items and pages (eg including details of records such as publishing and revision dates, activities, content creator). Note: Plone has features that can do some of this.

Optional-high 

C2.4.2 Provide tools to roll-back site to the chosen version.Note: Plone has this feature. Core  

C2.4.3

Provide version control management for content and templates in development, test/stage and production environments.Note: Do not know if Plone can support this. Not observed to be inherent with the system although ability to undo is robust. Will need to manually track, but with limited numbers changing templates and all changes restricted to the custom folder, the process should not be too difficult.

Optional-high 

C2.6 Content Aggregation and Syndication    

C2.6.2Ability for both inbound and outbound content syndication (eg news, weather, police alerting services).Note: Plone supports outbound rss feeds. Do not know if Plone supports inbound feeds.

  Optional-high

C2.6.3Ability to aggregate and/or present information from external sources.Note: Do not know if Plone supports this.

  Optional-high

C2.7 Content Migration    

C2.7.1

Ability to migrate existing web content and structure into the Web CMS from legacy sites, systems and data repositories with a minimum of effort and re-working.Note: We will migrate existing web content into the Web CMS, but will leave some material in legacy web format. The transition may have to be manual. The use of a google search appliance will hopefully help merge the two.

Optional-high 

C2.7.1

Ability to migrate existing web content and structure into the Web CMS from legacy sites, systems and data repositories with a minimum of effort and re-working.Note: We don’t want to throw everything away already created, but allow the two to mingle. The use of a google search appliance will hopefully help merge the two.

Core  

C2.7.2 Ability to migrate content links to a new Web CMS.Note: Do not know if Plone supports this. Optional-high

C2.7.3

Ability to import/export content items into an agreed markup language (eg to make a copy of the website on CD-ROM). Note: Online user documentation indicates it is possible to write a Plone site to a CD. Documentation also indicates it is possible to use an offline browser such as Teleport Pro to copy a site to static htmls for local site use.

  Optional-low

C2.7.4Ability to import/export associated content records (eg metadata).Note: Currently do not think Plone supports this.

  Optional-low

Ability to export content to static format, e.g. pdf, xml, htmlNote: Plone currently does not support this.

Optional-low

C3 Security Core Requirement Optional Requirement

Driver: To ensure the product supports Library security requirements.    

C3.2

Ability to provide role based security (based on roles as defined in the Web CMS) across all templates, content, processes and repositories (eg for individuals, groups of users, individual files, directories or sites).Note: Plone supports this. For example, a website can be closed off to anonymous users.

Core  

C3.4Ability to interface with external directory services for security and authentication, using industry standard protocols (eg Lightweight Directory Access Protocol - LDAP). Note: Plone supports this.

  Optional-high

C3.5Ability to restrict access by end users to designated areas of a website using authentication mechanisms such as user name and password. Note: Plone supports this.

  Optional-high

C4 Content Repository Core Requirement Optional Requirement

Driver: To ensure the effective and controlled management of content.    

C4.1

Provide a repository and/or repositories that may be accessed as and when required, by authorised users. The respositories will be used as the central and definitive content source (eg a central image repository, metadata repository and other digital assets that can be reused for content creation and display).Note: Plone plugins allow for content repositories, e.g. image repositories. Plone default had a simple metadata repository. Do not know if the metadata can be exported for use in another instance.

Core

C4.2

Support a wide range of common content types: structured content (eg database data, Microsoft Excel spreadsheets, forms and transactions); documents (eg Microsoft Word, Acrobat PDF, RTF, straight text, XML and HTML pages); presentations (eg Microsoft PowerPoint presentations, drawings, plans and maps, images, audio, video and other “rich” media. Note: Plone supports a variety of common office applications and rich media.

Core  

C4.3Provide check-in/check-out control for each content item stored in the content repository.Note: Content objects have check-in/check-out control.

Core

C4.4Support storage and retrieval of content in Library standard software products (eg DBMS, EDMS and text files).Note: Plone supports Access, MSWord, Powerpoint, Visio, Excel, PDF files.

Optional-low

C5Reporting and Monitoring -The reporting function may be part of the Web CMS or it may be a third party product.

Core Requirement Optional Requirement

Driver: To ensure comprehensive web metrics reporting on site usage and management.    

C5.1Support Library reporting tools to provide information and statistics on website usage by clients.Note: Do not know if Plone supports this.

Optional-High

C5.2Ability to monitor workflow approval and notification processes for all content items. Note: Do not know if Plone supports this.

Optional-high

D Interdependencies    

 

D1 Interfacing with External Systems Core Requirement Optional Requirement

Driver: To exchange information with other organisations, and to enable being part of a portal environment with other online service providers.

   

D1.1Provide an Application Programming Interface (API) and architecture to connect and interact with external systems.Note: Do not know if Plone supports this.

Optional-low

D1.2Ability to integrate with site analytics and reporting tools and services.Note: Do not know if Plone supports this.

Optional- low

D1.3 Ability to integrate with link checking utility tools.Note: Do not know if Plone supports this. Optional- low 

D1.4 Ability to interface with external search engines.Note: Do not know if Plone supports this.  Optional- low

D1.6Ability to integrate with personalisation engines (eg filter content, change presentation based user preferences).Note: Do not know if Plone supports this.

  Optional- low

 

D2 Interfacing with Internal Systems Core Requirement Optional Requirement

Driver: To provide seamless information exchange across internal systems and integrate with existing business processes and infrastructure.

   

D2.1

Ability to integrate with Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) directories, in particular information from underlying directories that may be used for workflow routing and notifications. Note: DNS’s system administrator has successfully integrated Plone with the library’s LDAP.

Optional-high

D2.2Ability to integrate with products included in Library standard operating environment (eg MS Office, reporting tools, search tools). Note: Plone works with a number of library tools.

Core  

D2.3Ability to interface with Library websites and portals through the exchange of metadata or equivalent process, in order to ensure that all published content is immediately discoverable.Note: Do not know if Plone supports this.

Optional-low

D2.4Ability to run on the platform chosen by the Library.Note: Plone runs well on Library platform linux/apache with SSL.

Core  

D2.5Provide open Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) for creation of custom connectors to other systems. Note: Do not know if Plone supports this.

Optional-low

D2.6

Ability to interface with the Library messaging systems for workflow tasking, scheduling and collaboration (eg UH email).Note: Plone provides link to emailing out. Instant messaging functionality could be supported by an external free package.

 Optional-high

D2.8 Ability to use XML to interface with other products.Note: Do not know if Plone supports this.   Optional-high

D2.9

Ability to operate with the Library's chosen database products (eg MySQL).Note: Plone is documented to work with MySQL, MSAccess, and other relational database products. Plone has its own proprietary relational database, ZODB. We can also configure Plone to link to external databases.

  Optional-high

E Support & Training    

E1 Product Technical Support and Documentation Core Requirement Optional Requirement

Driver - To ensure that the Web CMS continually performs at its optimal level, it has to be comprehensively supported.    

E1.1

The Web CMS will be well established in the United States with good local technical capability to support implementation and future upgrade path.Note: Plone has one of the largest user/developer communities among open source products. It has also been successfully implemented by the Hawaii State Governor’s office, and DNS is in contact with their technical staff.

Core

 

E1.2

Provide system support options that meet Library business needs. Support options may include a comprehensive phone and online help desk service 12x5, emergency support available 24x7 and service level agreements.Note: Plone does not offer paid support as of November 2005. A technical question submitted to a major and free Plone listserv resulted in a response from a key developer within two days. It is possible to purchase commercial development services. Due to budget constraints at this time, purchased support is not an option.

 Optional-Low

E1.3

Provide online contextual help available within the Web CMS at the time of content entry by users.Note: Plone does not provide user online contextual help at the time of content entry. This will have to be handled through workflow procedures and training.

Optional-High

E1.4

Provide soft and/or hard copy user and technical documentation with the Web CMS.Note: There are at least four commercially available publications, several forums, and many other online sources of information for Plone technical documentation.

 Optional-High

E1.5

Provide documentation within the Web CMS of all customisation, version control changes or additional development of the Web CMS.Note: Plone documentation is provided on the web through a large number of very active resources.

  Optional-High

E1.6

The Web CMS will be supported by user groups and other non-official channels that the Library can access to provide additional support for the Web CMS.Note: Plone has one of the largest user/developer communities among open source products.

Optional-High

E1.7

Provide wizards or walk-throughs to guide users through complex tasks or when first using the Web CMS. This is optional for the user.Note: Plone does not provide user online contextual help at the time of content entry. This will have to be handled through workflow procedures and training.

Optional-Low

E2 Training Core Requirement Optional Requirement

Driver: To ensure staff are proficient in contributing content and managing the site.    

2.1

Provide training options for staff in technical and specialist areas such as site management, creating templates and workflows.Note: The Plone community offers numerous training opportunities throughout the U.S. and Europe.

Core  

E2.2

Provide training options for staff to become proficient in the content creation, content maintenance, review and approval processes. Note: The library’s technical staff will probably be responsible for staff training. Commercial training is also available.

Core  

E2.3Provide train-the-trainer options.Note: As of this writing it is not known whether the Plone community offers this.

Optional-low

E2.4Provide online training with the Web CMS.Note: The Plone community offers online training opportunities.

  Optional-high

F Budgetary Core Requirement Optional Requirement

Driver: To balance minimizing system implementation costs and maximizing product functionality    

Select a free open source content management systemNote: Plone is a free CMS. Core