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Project Initation Document Type 1
Project Name: MBC Website Redesign Project
Project Reference
Project Category Technology
SRO Mark Wheelton
Project Manager (or Cath White (until 27/03/07)
name of author of this Philippa Dennett (post 27/03/07)
document if different)
Version: 0.03
Date: 06/03/07
Distribution: Website Steering Group
Resources Policy Development Committee
Purpose of this To document the justification for the undertaking of the
document: project, based on the estimated cost of development and
implementation against the risks and anticipated business
benefits and savings to be gained. To define the project, to
form the basis for its management and the assessment of
overall success.
Where appropriate links should be given to any
associated documents and other supporting information
Senior Responsible Owner
Mark Wheelton, Corporate Manager Community and Wellbeing
Project Manager
Cath White (until 27/03/07)
Philippa Dennett (post 27/03/07)
Background to Project
The current website look and feel is old. Technical personnel with minimal web
designer input constructed the site over 7 years ago. In addition there is old and out
of date content that needs removing and the site could benefit from reviewed and
improved navigation. The current front page does not provide much opportunity to
add new links to new features and effectively promote council priorities and services.
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The site has also developed with limited feedback from citizens who actually use the
website.
According to the Better Connected 2006 review of the MBC website, use of search
and navigation dropped from 2, satisfactory in 2005 to 0, no information in 2006 and
the site lacks a clearly identified A-Z. Whilst some of the issues are to do with the
Open Objects Cheshire-wide website search functionality, which are now fixed, the
website has grown over the past few years and a review of the navigation structure is
well overdue.
There are pages on the Council‟s website that are not recognisable as belonging to
the Council in that they do not share the look and feel of the rest of the Council‟s
website e.g. cinema booking facility. This can be confusing for the end user and
detracts from the Council‟s brand and makes the website look unprofessional. In
October 2006 Test Partners conducted an extensive study of the website to form an
assessment of the Council‟s website‟s compliance with the W3C‟s Web Content
Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). It found that the two third party functionalities, the
Local Plan and the Benefits Calculator do not meet the basic Priority One level of the
guidelines and thus do not comply with the Disability Discrimination Act.
Inconsistent content, look and feel and navigation provides a poor user experience
and presents an unprofessional image of MBC. The results of the Test Partners
assessment on accessibility showed that much of the site met the Web Content
Accessibility Guidelines to Priority One level but there was scope for improvement in
some areas and the website falls a long way short of the Priority Two requirements.
Results from recent Better Connected surveys of Local Authority websites also
indicate much room for improvement.
Project Objectives - these should be SMART and include an outline of how they
will be met
1. To undertake a major redevelopment of the Council‟s web site to deliver a platform for
future development and so that it more closely matches the Council‟s website strategy.
This will involve specifically delivering a new version of the MBC website that:
- contains streamlined, up-to-date content
- has a new look and feel that is consistent across the site
- has improved navigation
2. To bring the site up to date in terms of the latest government standards (including
accessibility standards) for web sites and act on the findings in the report by Test
Partners “Website Accessibility Test for the Macclesfield Borough Council Website”.
3. To improve standards and processes for maintenance of the web site. This will involve
specifically:
3.1 Provision of a template that 3rd party suppliers of online functionalities can use
that is easy to update by MBC and keeps the corporate look and feel of the
website.
3.2 Provision of a corporate style guide for website content.
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3.3 Provision of a corporate library of approved and web-optimised images for
staff to use on the website.
Project Scope
The project scope will be confined to the following:-
- To review then migrate all the relevant existing web site content to the new site via
the Content Management System (CMS).
- To ensure that all relevant existing functionality is transferred to the new site.
- To ensure that adequate training and support is provided for Service Editors.
- To design and implement a new corporate website look and feel to be applied to
all of the Council website, and to incorporate into this design any exceptions to
cope with online functionalities supplied by third party suppliers e.g. online
payments, online planning, Knutsford Studio Cinema, Benefits Calculator, Local
Plan etc.
- To deliver „metadata‟ to meet the latest e-government standards and to be
compatible with the requirements of e-government partners.
- To deliver a more user-friendly navigation mechanism to allow users more readily
to find information.
- To ensure that the site meets the latest accessibility guidelines.
Exclusions - what is not included in project mandate
The project will not be looking for 3rd party functionalities to be fundamentally changed
beyond the look and feel except where the pages do not meet the requirements of the
Priority One Web Content Accessibility Guidelines.
Project Approach
Pre-production stage
This will focus on clarifying user requirements via obtaining feedback from current
website users which will also establish a benchmark for later testing.
A customer user group will be established to refer back to during the implementation
stage
Production stage
Based on the above, work can begin on the following:
Design of the new look and feel
Design of new navigation
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Templates for content in CMS
Infrastructure deployment
Content review
Content migration to the new look and feel
Training and support
Functionality review
Functionality migration to the new look and feel
Testing
Go live of the new site
The project will make use of existing staff resources except in the case of third party
online functionalities in which case the project team will liaise with the supplier.
Project planning and management, including an appropriate project organisation, will be
according to the Congleton and Macclesfield Borough Councils‟ Project Management
Methodology.
Interfaces - with other projects and the outside world
Business Transformation Programme
Customer First Programme
Swift/Inovem Project
Assumptions - which have or may be made
In drawing up the draft project plan it is assumed that adequate staff and time will be
made available to resource the project team.
Constraints
No specific constraints in respect of the project timetable or budget have been provided
to the Project Manager. However, it is expected that the Project Board will manage these
aspects of the project.
It is to be confirmed if Member approval will be required for the revised look and feel.
Project Deliverables / products / outputs
Introduction
The products to be produced during the re-development of the website are summarised
below.
Infrastructure
• Infrastructure specification
• Installed infrastructure
• Implemented security arrangements
• Monitored usage reports
Content Management System
• Specification of requirements for implementation of new look and feel and migration of
content
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Look and Feel
• Overall graphic design
• Layout templates
• Navigation design and templates
Menu hierarchy
Category lists (different ways of naming and grouping services to help local
authorities share resources).
A–Z
Breadcrumb trail (a navigation tool that allows a user to see where the current
page is in relation to the Website‟s hierarchy)
• Defined and implemented accessibility features
Semantic structure
Automated accessibility check
Test Partners check?
E-Gif compliance (sets out the policy standards for e-delivery)
Information/Content
• Meta tag scheme (meta data is information about a document rather than the document
content and helps with searching)
• Meta tag mechanisms
• Category lists
• Defined workflow roles and responsibilities
• Identified Service Drafters and Editors
• Information content structure
• Migrated existing website content
• New website content
• Search facilities – see under functionality
Functionality
• Identified existing functions (online booking, payments etc.)
• Transferred existing functions
• Identified new functionality requirements:-
Forms
Image management
FAQs
Search facilities
Links to back office systems
Other interactivity
• For each item of functionality identified: -
Specification of function
Developed function mechanisms
Implemented/Integrated function
Support
• Requirements
• Implemented support arrangements
• User documentation
• Technical documentation
• Training materials
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• Trained users
• Trained support staff
Management Products
• Project Initiation Document
• Project Plans
• Progress reports
• Exception reports
• Testing plans
• Training plans
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Benefits Expected - - Benefit Analysis Matrix
Benefits Observable Measurable (What) Quantifiable (How) Financial (Result)
1 Customers will be able to - Lower number of - Staff time answering Cost of staffing
find information more easily complaints about complaints Postage cost saving
website - Staff time answering
- Lower number of phone calls
telephone calls following - Increase in customer
use of website satisfaction with website
- Better feedback in - Compare pre and post
customer satisfaction redesign take up
surveys
- More usage of website
2 Content will be relevant, - Number of pages of old, - Compare pre and post More focussed use of
accurate and up-to-date expired content redesign pages of budgets
- Increase in customer expired content
satisfaction with website - Better feedback in
customer satisfaction
surveys
3 Customers will have more - Increase in customer - Better feedback in More focussed use of
confidence in the website satisfaction with website customer satisfaction budgets
- Increase in website surveys
usage - Compare pre and post
redesign website usage
4 The Council will be able to - New initiatives and - No of initiatives and Possible income generation
promote initiatives and services on the front services promoted on
services on the front page page the front page pre and
- Take up of new post redesign
initiatives - Compare pre and post
redesign take up
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Benefits Observable Measurable (What) Quantifiable (How) Financial (Result)
5 More customers will choose - The number of emails - Compare pre and post Cost of staffing
to use the MBC website to sent to the Council via redesign volume of Postage cost saving
answer their enquiries the website emails
- Website usage statistics - Compare pre and post
redesign website usage
statistics
6 The Council‟s out-of-hours - Fewer out-of-hours calls - The number of enquiries Cost of not hiring new staff
call centre will be able to will get referred to the passed from the out-of- in the Customer Centre
use the MBC website to Customer Centre hours call centre to the
answer customer enquiries - Increase in customer Customer Centre pre Cost of not having to call
satisfaction with out-of- and post redesign customers back
hours service - The cost of returning
calls
- Availability of Customer
Centre staff for other
work
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Benefits Observable Measurable (What) Quantifiable (How) Financial (Result)
7. The website will enable the - Shared services pilots - Number of pilots with Cost of not hiring new staff
planned shared services with Cheshire County Cheshire County to answer telephone and
pilots with Cheshire County Council Council face-to-face enquiries
Council - Number of CCC
enquiries answered by
Customer Centre
- Number of MBC
enquiries answered by
CCC
8. The website will improve its - Better Connected rating - Compare pre and post
score in the Better for MBC website relaunch rating
Connected rankings
9. The website will have a - Implementation of - Number of pages Cost of maintaining
consistent look and feel corporate look and feel without the new look and individual functionalities
which contributes to a more for website feel
professional appearance - Customer satisfaction - Better feedback in More focussed use of
with look and feel customer satisfaction budgets
surveys
10 The look and feel of third - Number of third party - Pre and post redesign Cost of maintaining
party online functionalities functionalities that cost of maintaining individual functionalities
will be easier to maintain require maintaining individual functionalities
individually - Better feedback in
- Customer satisfaction customer satisfaction
with look and feel surveys
11 The website will comply - The requirements met - Compare pre and post Fines avoided through non-
with Priority Two of the following the redesign redesign compliance compliance
requirements of the Web - Visually impaired with WCAG
Content Accessibility customer satisfaction - Better feedback in
Guidelines and thus will with accessibility customer satisfaction
comply with the Disability surveys and/or
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Benefits Observable Measurable (What) Quantifiable (How) Financial (Result)
Discrimination Act accessibility testing
12 The website will contain - The number of - Compare pre and post
images of acceptable compliant images on the redesign images
content and quality. website
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Quality Expectations / Acceptance Criteria by which products will be considered to
be completed
Each product will have its own quality criteria.
Only the Project Board has authority to sign off products.
Project Tolerances - Cost Time Quality Risk Benefits Scope
The Project Board will define the Project Tolerances to be applied to each stage of the
project. Tolerances will be review at the monthly meeting of the Project Board.
Project Controls – indicate how the project will be controlled
Project planning and management, including an appropriate project organisation, will be
according to the Congleton and Macclesfield Borough Councils‟ Project Management
Methodology.
Frequency of Review
The Project Board will define the frequency at which the progress of the project will be
reviewed. Currently this has been defined as monthly for meetings of the Project Board
and fortnightly for meetings of the Project Team.
Management Reviews
Management Reviews or End Stage Assessments will be related to significant events
during the life of the project to commit resources and to authorise progress. It is expected
that the Project Board meetings will perform this function.
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Risks - what major Risks exist which may prevent the project meeting it objective–
include existing risk log if available
The project will require resources from members of the project team but, it may be
difficult to obtain the level of resource input required.
Provision of all potential requirements not possible within available budget.
Significant slippage resulting from poor project definition / planning / management and
the absence of the E-Government Programme Manager from 27/03/07.
Existing web site gets out of date as staff efforts directed at new site
Lack of availability of the MBC website when the new site goes live.
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Plan - outline project plan giving key milestones and activities, and details of the
commitment of resources required. If applicable give an indication of stage
breakdowns
Preproduction 74.5 days Mon 26/02/07 Fri 08/06/07
Project Clarification 7.5 days Mon 26/02/07 Wed 07/03/07
Solution Definition 25 days Wed 07/03/07 Wed 11/04/07
Project Specification 42 days Wed 11/04/07 Fri 08/06/07
Production 79 days Mon 14/05/07 Fri 31/08/07
Content 40 days Mon 14/05/07 Mon 09/07/07
Design & Construction 60 days Fri 08/06/07 Fri 31/08/07
"
Testing, Launch & Handover" 14.5 days Fri 10/08/07 Thu 30/08/07 113
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Stakeholder Analysis
Stakeholder Anti None Let Help Make
Group
Website customers R
Customer Centre staff R
All staff R
Members R
ICT staff R
Out-of-hours call centre R
staff
CWHIC partners R
Service Drafters and R
Editors
Service Managers R
Key
C = Current commitment R = Required commitment
Anti = Stakeholder is against the change.
Let = Stakeholder is neutral, they will allow the change to happen, but have no strong feeling for or against.
None = Stakeholder is passively negative about the change.
Help = Stakeholder understands the benefits and will help facilitate the change.
Make = Stakeholder is actively promoting the change
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Project Costs and Budget
At this time it is envisaged that the main cost will be staff time. Specifically:
- Internet and GIS Manager
- Web Developer
- Systems Manager/ Systems Team
- Graphic Design Supervisor/Graphics Team
- Editors and Drafters in service areas
- PR Officer
- Assistant Corporate Programme and Project Manager
- E-Government Programme Manager
Costs may be incurred from 3 rd party suppliers of online functionalities for making
changes to the look and feel of the pages they serve on behalf of MBC. These are not
known at this stage.
Costs will be incurred if we choose to use Test Partners to conduct accessibility testing
on the new design (recommended).
Date of Project Approved
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