RE: What/why is the CMS failure rate? (WAS: RE: ask forhe lp)

Interesting topic.

Hope this message goes through as I've had problems posting in the past few
months.

Anyway, I agree with many of the points presented to date, although I have
some additional
observations to bring to the table as a developer/project manager of CMS
products:

1) While some have alluded to communication gaps between vendors and
clients/customers in terms of
realistic expectations of CMS products, I've observed the communication gap
first-hand as a
sub-contractor of a firm that provides CMS-based technology solutions, not
specifically
between the firm and its clients, but between the firm and myself, as a
contractor.  While
I enjoy working with the firm, their practice of including
contractors/developers after the
exploratory phase of projects has been challenging to say the least.
Developers/Contractors
who develop the CMS projects need to be involved in all phases of projects,
not from the
project design through implementation, but also at the on-set, to help to
identify how
existing CMS products can be used or adapted to the needs of the client.
Bringing in
Developers/Contractors into the process after the initial exploration stage
only leads to
frustrations on the part of the Contractor/Developer and client
representatives. Say hello
to the "creeping requirements monster"...haha!

2) In essense of time and budget, some steps of software life cycle in terms
of intensive
prototpying and testing are either ignored or brushed off. I am a firm
believer in customization
since I don't believe that any "off-the-shelf" CMS product satisifies
customers' needs 100%.
But without adqequate prototyping and testing, CMS products will surely fail
for both the
Developer/Contractor, vendor, and client/customer.

3) Similar to #2 is the fact that there are NO "cookie cutter" products out
there. I mean, yea,
if you want to have a simple blog website, you could get by with a simple
CMS product. But
for more complex operations, there will always be a level of customization.
As mentioned
before, the unmatched expectations between vendors and clients/customers is
atttributed at
least on level with showcasing a generic or slightly look and feel
customized demonstration
of CMS products.

Anyway, sorry for probably just re-iterating points already presented. But
as a developer of
CMS products, I felt compelled to share my two cents.

Happy 2004!

Regards,
Eliot Lee, CEO and Principal
Anthro TECH,LLC
Golden, Colorado
"Fusion of Anthropology and Information Technology"
http://www.anthrotech.com/
eliot-aEueVoVHQkAqDJ6do+/[email protected]

-----Original Message-----
From: cms-list-admin-/[email protected] [mailto:[email protected]]On
Behalf Of Rob Page
Sent: Friday, January 02, 2004 2:47 PM
To: CMS List
Subject: Re: What/why is the CMS failure rate? (WAS: RE: [cms-list] ask
forhe lp)


On Fri, 2004-01-02 at 01:52, Michelle Heizer wrote:
> I think the major problem with CMSes is not so much the
> software but the attitude people have about the
> software. A CMS will not solve all your Web problems. It
> is merely a platform for producing a Web site. For the
> site to be high quality and truly dynamic, a company or
> organization needs to embrace the product and learn to use
> it. I think companies and organizations want a system that
> is so easy that they can just drop it in and think it
> should produce this great Web site.

Requiring organizations to, by virtue of deploying a CMS,
find the discipline to use it is a recipe for
underutilization/failure.

In most organizations _direct_ responsibility for a website
is limited to small number of people.  A CMS will, almost
always, improve the life of this small group.  As a result,
you'll get good buy-in and utilization in this group.

The real roi doesn't come from this group.  The returns come
when line-of-business employees can use a CMS to improve
their *own* work practices.  Human nature suggests that
people will always help themselves before they "buckle down"
to help others or their organizations as a whole.

There are a LOT of capabilities in contemporary CMSes that
benefit the website AND line-of-business activities.  Why
not use a CMS to provide internal/intranet document
management, workflow, archival services that benefit nearly
everyone at a company?

Maybe it happens that Press Releases end up being published
on the web.  If the departmental budget spreadsheet doesn't,
so what!?  At least you have it under version control with
workflow audit trails, etc..

In my opinion, the line that divides internal content
management from external content management (i.e., the
intranet from the internet) is gets fuzzier every day.

<snip>


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Rob Page                V: 540.361.1710
Zope Corporation        F: 703.995.0412

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