It's been a while since we've updated you on the progress of the website redesign. I promise we haven't forgotten about it, and that it is moving ahead full throttle.
Redesigning a large website like that of the Law School is one of those tasks that doesn't seem all that complicated -- until you actually start doing it. So in case you're wondering just what goes into an undertaking like this (or are just wondering what the heck is taking us so long) here's a recap of the process so far.
Step 1 was the process of figuring out who was going to do the design. This process began back in December 2007, with the sending out of requests for proposals. Each of the eight firms we sent RFPs to had several weeks to prepare their proposals, then we chose four to meet with. We decided in early February 2008 to go with Rogue Element.
Step 2 was the information-gathering and information architecture stage. While Rogue Element learned more about the Law School -- talking with students, faculty, and staff about what the Law School means to them, discovering the rich traditions that make this Law School such a unique place, and figuring out what the message is that the Law School is trying to communicate -- the Communications office was hard at work figuring out what about the current site worked, what needed to be rearranged, and what needed to be axed. This step took some serious time, but it is really the most important part of the process, for without a good foundation of knowledge about the institution, any design would be only decoration.
Step 3 involved Rogue Element's creation of three different potential design directions. After consulting with members of the Law School community, in late July we chose the one we felt best summed up the Law School's core mission and message, and would be the most effective at communicating to all the many audiences that visit the Law School website.
Step 4 was expanding and refining that design, identifying how the basic design we had selected would be applied to the various levels of the Law School site and the many different types of content contained therein, and having Rogue Element produce templates for each of those items. This step was completed in September.
Once the templates were finished, we began working directly with Palantir.net, our programmers for this project. Since this redesign is not merely a cosmetic procedure, but a complete overhaul of our Content Management System -- we are replacing the engine of the car, as well as the paint job -- Step 5 consisted of more information-gathering. For example, we had to figure out the workflow for how course data would be imported onto the site, as well as how faculty publication data would be imported.
Once all of that had been completed, Palantir began building the first interactive prototype which they delivered last month. This gave us the chance to see some of the site built out, interact with it on a small scale, and make sure that everything was being translated properly from template to actual website.
So what's next, you may ask? Another, more fully fleshed-out prototype is due this week, and after we have a chance to play around with that and provide feedback to Palantir about bugs and so forth, they will start building the beta version of the site. Once the beta version is ready, we'll begin migrating content on to the new site and teaching Law School staff how to use the new content management system. Finally, after all that is done, we will be able to unveil the new Law School website. The wait will, we hope, have been worth it.