Selecting a CMS
What made this project unique was the combination of the number of authors, the number
of content types, and the rules for how content was to be displayed. Individually, these
requirements weren't difficult, but combined, they became far more complex.
We had previously evaluated CMS solutions and found that eZ publish could
immediately satisfy the majority of the requirements at face value. The only requirement
not covered was searching Word and PDF documents, but this was on the roadmap for
implementation within the next 12 months. Our experience with eZ publish gave us
confidence that it was the right solution for this project.
Once the requirements had been established and eZ publish had been selected as the CMS
solution, we had to work out the requirements to be implemented as a part of Stage 1.
The aim was to have the site live by the end of May 2002. Given this timeframe and the
budget, we knew that it would not be possible to deliver all the requirements. We
discussed priorities with the client to establish what had to be in Stage 1 and what could
wait until later stages.
The priority was to get the site up, as the Centre was not keeping up with best practices in
their field; this was having an impact on their reputation both nationally and
internationally. Another priority was making sure the content was properly structured and
presented. It was agreed that the implementation of workflow with multiple levels of
permissions could wait until Stage 2.