Proposal for a Content Management System for Tufts ... · PDF fileProposal for a Content Management System for Tufts University Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences prepared

Proposal for a Content

Management System for Tufts

University Sackler School of

Graduate Biomedical Sciences

prepared by: Dotmarketing, Inc.

Due: March 24th 2008

Proposal prepared for Tufts University

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SECTION 1: About Dotmarketing and dotCMS

Background

Dotmarketing is an interactive agency specializing in web professional services, web

design and content management installations. Dotmarketing has been building and

implementing content management solutions for clients for 7 years. Our staff

understands the importance of cleanly separating content from presentation, creating

reusable content blocks and managing content throughout its lifecycle.

Our professional staff is balanced between talented and inspired consultants, content

experts and web developers who embrace the creative process with profound passion

and strategic thinkers who, with unwavering focus, drive unique solutions catered to

each client's individual needs.

dotCMS

In 2002, Dotmarketing decided to leverage our experience implementing and building

content management systems and web applications and decided to centralize our

development on a single platform, dotCMS. dotCMS is an enterprise J2EE content

management system that was built to specifically meet the needs of higher education.

Open sourced in 2005, dotCMS is built on top of category leading open source java

technologies such as Hibernate, Struts, Spring and Velocity. dotCMS easy to use,

deceptively powerful and is platform and database independent.

As the corporate backers of dotCMS, Dotmarketing offers professional support, training,

consulting and implementation services to compliment the dotCMS product. We are

convinced that vendor backed open source is the software model of the future,

providing an institution with open source flexibility and the peace of mind knowing that

support services are just a phone call away.


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SECTION 2: Answers from Dotmarketing

2.1. Company Information

2.1.1. Provide company name and locations

Dotmarketing Inc.,

3059 Grand Avenue, Suite 440

Miami, FL 33133

Tel: 305 858 1422 :: Fax 786 594 5288

2.1.2. Provide background information about the establishment and incorporation date

of your company, how long you’ve been in business, and your subsequent history

of providing content management solutions.

Background

Since we began in 1996, DM (DM) has become one of the preeminent interactive

agencies in the nation – developing, implementing, integrating and supporting

enterprise level websites. At DM, we build innovative and comprehensive web

solutions for non-profit associations, higher education institutions and businesses.

Based in Miami, Florida, we have completed more than 300 projects for clients

across the country.

Many traditional agencies try to be all things to all people. However, we have

found that successful, innovative web development requires a high degree of

focus, expertise and resources. It is for this reason we have specialized only in web

development since our beginnings in 1996. This focus allows us to stay up-to-date

on best practices in, usability, accessibility, content management and

technology, providing added benefit to our clients and their sites' users. And

unlike some agencies, all of our work is done in-house, from assessment through

implementation.


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Experience and Examples:

DM has worked extensively in higher education for the past 7 years and today we focus

almost exclusively on higher education and non-profit projects. Our team members bring

years of experience working in the trenches at colleges and universities prior to joining

DM. We have an in-depth understanding of and appreciation for the mission, processes

and politics of a university. From the admissions and recruitment process, to student

development and academics, to alumni development and fundraising, we understand

your business and can help achieve your goals through an effective web presence.

What’s more, we appreciate the unique culture of each institution and have worked with

numerous clients at the start of a project to determine the proper governance and

communications protocols to ensure proper campus buy-in and project success.

DM brings rich research-based knowledge to each of our higher education projects. We

have first-hand knowledge of students’ needs on a college website as a result of primary

research conducted on behalf of similar clients. Our clients range in type from top-

ranked liberal arts colleges to 2-year community colleges and public research

universities. We’ve conducted research with prospective students, parents, enrolled

students, faculty and alumni for virtually all of them in the past year. This current body of

knowledge has shown us important similarities and differences in website user

preferences and information needs among various institution types. We bring this

knowledge to bear in our technology solutions for your institution.

In our years of deploying web solutions, we have found it impossible to find an out-of-the-

box product to fit the specific and vast requirements of every organization.

Customization is inevitable; flexibility is a must and customization needs to be reasonable

in terms of both cost and time. As a result, we created a highly adaptable open-source

web development platform called dotCMS .

dotCMS is no small-vendor, homegrown solution. In fact, a lot of real money-- over $3

million-- has been spent on research and development.


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dotCMS was initiated in 1996 and is built using industry leading technology. We have

deployed, customized and integrated dotCMS for nearly two dozen clients-- and

counting. Major insitutions trust dotCMS as their enterprise website platform.

Gain Strategic Advantage with dotCMS

Full featured communications platform:

Most CMS systems, proprietary or open sourced, do very similar things. In fact, the CMS

feature set has become something of a commodity; all your competitors are using CMS

in the same ways. At DM, we think that no company or organization is gaining much of a

strategic advantage from automatic crumbtrails.

That's why we created dotCMS- it's an open-sourced communications platform that can

help you do a lot more than just mange your website. dotCMS combines the best

features of an enterprise CMS with eCommerce and CRM tools that help your

organization communicate with your customers, clients and prospects. Best of all,

dotCMS is completely free for you to download, test, deploy and extend. And if you

need help, support is just an email or phone call away.

Learns as users browse

Customization and personalization are built in:

dotCMS can help track your web users and learn how they use your site. It automatically

captures users click trails as they browse. If they return, it captures that visit as well and

adds it to what it knows. Once a visitor performs a conversion action on your site, they

are tagged. The system starts a user record and associates all online knowledge about

them, recording their visits and learning their preferences. As a site administrator, you

can see a user's visits, the pages and stories they users are reading, how long they

stayed, etc. The CMS system can use this information to personalize and customize a

user's online experience. Your user spent 1 minute on a story about a new product? On

their next page view, show them related products and send the link to purchase the

product online.

Tag Content and Target Communications


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eNewsletter, Communications and CRM

With the dotCMS your marketing department can tag, segment and group site visitors by

any number of criteria; by the pages they've visited, the time of their last visit, their

demographic information and any of their indicated interests. Using the online

communication manager, you can send targeted HTML email campaigns to these

segmented groups. Response rates to on and offline communications can be tracked

with reporting by unique virtual links that you can include in the communication.

Free your content for reuse

Structured content engine

Structured content is the single most important element in an Enterprise Content

Management System. If you are using a content management system that does not use

structured content, you are missing many of the benefits of CMS. Structured content

drives content reuse, helps enforce global styles and can be used to create valuable

content chunks - content related to each other that can be used in creative ways.

With its structured content engine, dotCMS allows you to build and manage the types of

custom content that drive your site on the fly. This is powerful stuff - in essence, you can

build custom, reusable databases of content. Like databases, different types of content

can be related other types through explicit relationships or by taxonomy/categories.

But what does this mean for you? It means that because all content in the dotCMS is

stored in the structured content engine, and not on any particular web page, you can

use and reuse your content throughout your site - even across different sites. dotCMS

can pull and display content based on taxonomy, intended use (pdf, rss, teaser

headlines) or identifiers. To jump start your site, content can be batch

imported/exported into structures to and from XML or Excel spreadsheets.

Entering structured content is easy - content contributors do not need to know HTML,

web design or even anything about where their content will appear on the website. All

they need to concern themselves with is entering their content properly and submitting it

for review or publication.

dotCMS .edu Starter Site


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dotCMS .edu Edition comes with pre-built templates, structures, a virtual tour engine and

pre-built events calendaring. It gives an institution a head start when developing there

site in the dotCMS and provides code samples, widgets and snippets that can be reused

when developing real sites and real content.

Environment Setup and Clustered Installation

dotCMS is designed for high availability and scalability. Our technical support staff will

evaluate your traffic and availability needs and provide you with a recommendation for

the appropriate technical environment on which to host your sites. Once the

environment is in place, they will assist you in the setup of the dotCMS system to run in a

clustered environment.

Onsite Training

We recommend that our professional support and training staff be on site to train your

users and administrators. We find face to face training to be effective and efficient and

can help in a project’s ultimate acceptance and success.

Remote Training

DM offers remote training and support to all levels of users, including Administrators,

developers, Webmasters and Content Contributors.

Background- Partners

We do not partner with other vendors. DM provides all of its services in house. We have

designers, Htmlers, Application Developers and Project Managers.


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2.1.3. Is company privately or publicly held?

The company is privately held.

2.1.4. Is company currently profitable? Provide approximate annual revenues if

possible.

The company is profitable, annual revenues can be disclosed once Dotmarketing

is selected as a finalist.

2.1.5. What is the size of your technical support staff dedicated to content

management? (Full time personnel by category – development,

installation/integration, support, etc.)

Technical support staff:

dotCMS – professional Services

5

dotCMS – product development

10

dotCMS – Implementation

15

dotCMS – Training

3

dotCMS- Client Services

5

2.1.6. Number of web content management customers and implementations

Approximately 200+

2.1.7. Number of web content management customers and implementations in higher

education

Approx 25+ Higher Education clients


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A sample of Recent and Current Clients

Education

Bucknell University

Colorado State University, Division of

Continuing Education

Edinboro University

Gettysburg College

Mannes The New School for Music

Milwaukee School of Engineering

Oberlin College

Palmer Trinity School

Princeton Alumni Weekly

Sunderman Conservatory of Music at

Gettysburg College

Taylor University

The Leonard Bernstein Center for Learning

University of Texas

Westminster Christian School

Buena Vista University

Keystone College

Marywood University

Mount Aloysius College

Northwest College

Oxford College of Emory

University

Pittsburg State University

The Civil War Institute at Gettysburg

College

University of Akron

University of Miami

Non-Profit & Associations

CoreNet Global

Executive Women's Golf Association

Healthcare Financial Management

Association

John S. and James L. Knight Foundation

Sepaq

The Eisenhower Institute

wired4Sport

CoreNet Global Chapters

Herbert W. Hoover Foundation

Majestic Theater

Owners' Counsel of America

Take Stock in Children

Florida Association of Collegiate

Registrars & Admissions Officers

Utah Interactive

Corporate

Brainade

Odyssey Toys

Second Span

Steckley Woodcrafts

Bloom Outdoors

Brigham Moore

Daily Business Review

Research to Practice

Studer Group


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2.1.8. Provide a list of 3 customers we may contact as references (preferably in higher

education)

References

1. Gettysburg

Dr. Rod Tosten

Vice President for Information Technology

300 North Washington Street

Gettysburg, PA 17325

717-337-8525

[email protected]

2. Colorado State University

Jordan Fritts

Director of Information Technology

Colorado State University,

Fort Collins, CO 80523 USA

970-491-5262

[email protected]

3. University of Akron

Eric kreider

Webmaster

The University of Akron

Computer Center 112

330-972-5303

[email protected]


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Various dotCMS Client Sites of interest for you to browse:

Colorado State University, http:// www.learn.colostate.edu Custom dotCMS continuing education piece.

Knight Foundation annual report, http://annual.knightfoundation.org/ Custom dotCMS piece.

Oberlin College academic departments,

http://cms.oberlin.edu/department/neuroscience/

Project Highlights:

� Custom Implementation in dotCMS

� Multimedia player (video, image, and audio)

� SCT Banner integration to pull faculty information

� Digital Acalog integration to pull course descriptions

� Blackboard portal integration for supplemental faculty and course

information

Gettysburg College, http://www.gettysburg.edu/

Project Highlights:

� Designed and implementation in dotCMS

� Multimedia player (video, image, and audio)

� Prospective Student CRM

� Portal integration to pull faculty & course information

� Virtual Tour with R25 integration,

http://www.gettysburg.edu/global/vt/virtualtour.dot

Leonard Bernstein Center for Learning, http://www.artfullearning.com/

Project Highlights:

� Design and implementation in dotCMS

University of Miami Continuing Education,

http://www.educationmiami.com/global/index.vsp

Custom dotcms Implementation for continuing ed piece, with e-commerce capability.


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See Matrix For Answers To Your Questions.

2.2. Content Sources and Migration – See matrix

2.3. Content Authoring – See matrix

2.4. Design – See matrix

2.5. Version Control and Workflow – See matrix

2.6. Content Management – See matrix

2.7. Digital Asset Management – See matrix

2.8. Special Features – See matrix

2.9. Content Delivery – See matrix

2.10. Search, Categorization and Reporting – See matrix

2.11. Multi-Language Support – See matrix

Answers and Written Explanations 2.12 -2.14 listed below:


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2.12. Product Architecture, Standards, Technology and Security

Architecture

2.12.1.1. Describe the proposed hardware architecture.

Included in this project is the cost for support in server sizing and equipment

evaluation. Generally, we propose a modern, redundant hardware architecture

that is built to scale as performance needs increase.

Technical Specifications: Redundant Load Balancers

Fault Tolerant Load Balancers with Automatic Failover 3 x Production Web Servers

Single Modern Dual/Quad Core CPU,

8GB RAM, 64bit OS,

Fast SATA Raid 10 drives for storage

1 x Database server

Dual Modern Dual/Quad Core CPU

8GB RAM, 64bit OS

Fast Raid 10 drives for storage 1 x Shared storage

NAS device or shared drive array that can be mounted by both webservers to

serve digital assets, images, documents, etc.

1 x dev server

The dev server is identical to prod1 and 2. It is required when developing and

testing new functionality within the dotCMS system.


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2.12.2. Describe the communications and network protocols.

dotCMS uses standard Internet protocols to communicate with various other systems.

This includes HTTP, HTTPS, JDBC, SMTP, LDAP, JMS and Multicast. To ensure security, we

use SSL to encrypt content that is transported over non-trusted networks. The site can be


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configured to be accessed remotely through a secure SSL connection.

We also lock the db down so that only the required permissions are being used. We also

can lock the filesystem and underneath OS down to further prevent attacks therefore

making secure remote access available for users outside the College’s internal network.

2.12.3. Describe the procedures used to detect and identify communications failures.

dotCMS uses independent, external network monitoring systems such as Nagios to

maintain and report on the uptime of all dependent systems. Internally, the dotCMS

maintains a standard log file which reports on communication failures and issues.

2.12.4. CMS is able to operate in a heterogeneous environment, leveraging existing:

• databases. YES

• application servers. YES

• dynamic delivery systems. YES

2.12.5. CMS integrates with existing email systems. YES

2.12.6. Describe the database architecture.

dotCMS uses a combination of tree/node and normalization to facilitate data storage.

Additionally, Hibernate is used to insure database independence and abstract all data

dependent logic out of the database and into the application.

2.12.7. Describe the underlying databases that can be used for the CMS repository.

Because dotCMS uses Hibernate to abstract all data access, the resulting code is

extremely portable across databases. Databases that are known to work with

dotCMS include: MSSQL, Oracle, MySQL, and PostgreSQL. The platform can also

be made to work with just about any relational database, including:

Most commonly supported

• MSSQL 2000 or higher

• Oracle 9i or higher

• MySQL 5.x

• PostgreSQL 8.0 or higher


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Others that could be easily supported:

• DB2

• SAP DB

• Sybase

• Sybase Anywhere

• Progress

• Mckoi SQL

• Interbase

• Pointbase

• HypersonicSQL

• Ingres

• Informix

• FrontBase

2.12.8. CMS repository stores both content and metadata. – See matrix

2.12.9. Where (in relation to the web server) will the CMS be installed? – See matrix

2.12.10. CMS leverages all standard database systems used within the organization (e.g.

SQL). Please describe.

Because dotCMS uses Hibernate to abstract all data access, the resulting code is

extremely portable across databases. Databases that are known to work with

dotCMS include: MSSQL, Oracle, MySQL, and PostgreSQL. The platform can also

be made to work with just about any relational database, including:

Most commonly supported

• MSSQL 2000 or higher

• Oracle 9i or higher

• MySQL 5.x

• PostgreSQL 8.0 or higher

Others that could be easily supported:

• DB2

• SAP DB


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• Sybase

• Sybase Anywhere

• Progress

• Mckoi SQL

• Interbase

• Pointbase

• HypersonicSQL

• Ingres

• Informix

• FrontBase

2.12.11. CMS provides the capability to pull content from external databases via

standard JDBC/ODBC drivers. – See matrix

2.12.12. Describe the database connectivity method. JDBC

2.12.13. CMS does not dictate the use of proprietary adaptations of standard

technologies for delivery or templating structures. Apache Velocity

2.12.14. CMS is built on an application server platform. – See matrix

2.12.15. The .NET platform is supported. – See matrix

2.12.16. UNICODE is supported. – See matrix

2.12.17. Describe how it is possible to integrate custom-built applications with the

CMS.

Because dotCMS has been built using the category-leading technologies that

guide J2EE development today, it is easy to extend and develop on the platform.

All technologies used in the dotCMS are all widely adopted, actively developed

open-source projects, standards and patterns. Here are a number of the projects

and frameworks being used:

• 100% J2EE Java - Vendor neutral means you can run it equally well on

Windows or UNIX servers

• Apache Tomcat - Industry Standard JSP/Servlet Container

• Liferay Enterprise Portal - Open-source portal, which has since introduced

its own CMS system.

• Apache Struts - Web Application Framework


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• DWR - Java AJAX framework

• Spring - the Spring Application Framework

• Hibernate ORM - Object Relation Mapping Engine

• Velocity Templating Language - Lightweight templating engine

• Velocity Tools Project - Expose tools and widgets to velocity templates

• Lucene Search Engine - Mature and robust java search engine.

The Velocity + Struts front end makes dotCMS easy to extend and build upon.

As an example, Colorado State uses the dotCMS platform as their web platform,

shopping cart and back end SIS for their Continuing Education department. See:

http://www.learn.colostate.edu

2.12.18. Do you provide code support with access to the source code for the CMS.

The dotCMS is completely open sourced and all code is publically

available and accessable.

2.12.19. APIs / Web services are provided for specific applications.

dotCMS is a Java based application and it can easily be customized to

integrate with any Web service or to deliver content as a webservice.

2.12.20. Other applications can be launched from within the CMS. Please list.

Any JSR-168 compliant Portlet

2.12.21. CMS has import/export capability from external sources/applications for

both content and metadata. – See matrix

2.12.22. CMS can integrate with third-party tools (e.g., shopping cart).

Yes, although this would require some customization work.

2.12.23. List the portal products with which the CMS can integrate (e.g., SAP).

The CMS has been integrated with SCT Banner, Jenzabar, IMIS, TIMMS,

2.12.24. CMS supports the IIS Web server. – See matrix

2.12.25. Content caching is supported. – See matrix Please describe.

Content is stored in the database and also stored in the Lucene repository for

faster access.


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2.12.26. CMS integrates with LDAP (JNDI) connections.

dotCMS supports authentication via LDAP.

On login dotCMS will first attempt to login the user against the LDAP

authentication system configured, if not found, it will search for a local

user. Local users can be created by CMS Administrators. Once

authenticated, Users have single sign-on access to all of the system’s

components and all the website hosts that they have permission to edit.

2.12.27. CMS integrates with standard Windows authentication mechanisms. – See

matrix

2.12.28. CMS provides mechanisms to integrate with any backend database user

authentication mechanism. – See matrix

2.12.29. CMS supports connection over HTTPS. – See matrix

2.12.30. CMS allows the reading of LDAP attributes such as email address. – See

matrix

2.12.31. Describe patch management and release schedule.

dotCMS releases major versions every 6-9 months. Minor versions are

released monthly. Versions and patches are supplied our svn stable

branch.


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2.13. Deployment of the CMS

See Product Support and Installation

2.13.1. Indicate the location of your service offices.

Our offices are located in Miami Florida, 3059 Grand Avenue, Suite 440, coconut

Grove, FL 33133

2.13.2. Describe hardware and software support options.

We offer Annual customer support SLA, Application Support SLA and a Pay-as-

Needed support option.

2.13.3. Describe your problem escalation policies.

Clients with Application Support SLA can contact 1st level support any time day or

night when reporting an application outage. If 1st level support is unable to solve

the issue, they will immediately escalate the issue to a second level support

personnel for resolution.

2.13.4. Can develop its own separate systems that could access, but not modify, data

contained in your system (i.e., extracts for interface engine).

Yes, dotCMS is open source and can me accessed or modified as the client sees

fit.

2.13.5. Describe how application documentation will be updated (i.e., memo, revised

manuals).

Application documentation is provided via the dotcms.org website. Users and

Clients can find the latest material there, in the form of memos, manuals and

tutorials

2.13.6. Describe the last three software releases/upgrades. Include date of release and a

summary of its major features.

dotCMS 1.2 – Oct. 3rd, 2006

This release includes new features like multi-site virtual hosting, a structured

content engine that can be used/reused throughout sites/eCommunications, an

AJAX file tree/folder browser/lucene based content search, XML content

import/export, clustering capabilities, easy to use front end widgets, dynamic

content lists based on Lucene queries, photo galleries, a streaming MP3 jukebox,

event listings, dynamic navigation, menus, file repository, image

resizing/thumbnails, and title image builders. It runs MySQL, PostgreSQL, Oracle, or


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MS SQL.

dotCMS 1.5 Sept. 5th, 2997

Content "Triggers" with JBoss Rules. Integrated Jasper Reports and iReports for

customized reporting on site usage, transactions, and content activity.

Improvements to User Search, Segmentation, Permissions, and Management. A

revamped Campaign/Communication Manager. An updated backend UI.

Customized/personalized content: users and content are "tagged", and content

can be pulled to match users with content. Content can have comments,

ratings, and tags. A Quartz job scheduler. Numerous improvements to core CMS

functions. AJAX support.

dotCMS 1.5.1 Nov. 12th, 2007

This release has 150+ fixes and improvements, including user home directories and

content ownership. Content, templates, and pages use ownership permissions.

This release automatically builds a folder from a skeleton on user logins. It creates

a "home" directory for the user that they control. There are new macros, a

GoogleAPI that integrate with Google search appliances via XML feeds, a Photo

Carrousel, and a Novell eDirectory LDAP authenticator. Editor sessions no longer

time out.

2.13.7. What is your pricing structure?

dotCMS is an open source product and can be downloaded and freely used.

Dotmarketing, Inc. provides consulting, services and support for the dotCMS

system

2.13.8. Are there consulting fees?

Yes

2.13.9. Are upgrades automatic with product support/maintenance?

Yes

2.13.10. Are major releases covered or just maintenance upgrades?

Both

2.13.11. In which timeframe should we expect to recoup our investment into your

system?

Because dotCMS can be deployed for free, the answer to this depends on the

institutions investment and commitment in the platform.

2.13.12. What is your current installation load?

We currently have ~10 installs currently.


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2.13.13. Are your resources able to handle an implementation in the next 3 months?

Yes

2.13.14. Have any customers canceled a contract before, during, or after an

installation? If yes, why?

No.

2.13.15. Provide a preliminary implementation work plan and proposed phasing.

Include your approach to data migration.

See Implementation Worksheet

dotCMS can import both structured and unstructured content. For structured

content, from a database or spreadsheet, for example, dotCMS provides the

ability to import content using a XML or CSV file. In addition, structured content

may be imported on a scheduled basis, e.g. import course listings nightly.

dotCMS provides a Scheduler Engine that allows you to schedule any

administrative job such as content imports.

Unstructured content, such as documents, images, existing html files, pdfs, etc,

can be imported via webDAV using Windows standard drag and drop

functionality.

While unstructured HTML pages and content can be imported into the CMS

using webDAV, we recommend against doing a "bulk" web import. In doing so,

you lose many of the valuable features of that web content management

system offers such as content reuse, templating, separation of content from

layout, fine grained permissions and automatic navigation /crumbtrail

generation.

It is our experience that the "conversion" of a static website to any CMS

platform should never be an automatic process. To take advantage of all the

features that a web CMS offers and institution takes both time and effort, and

only by undertaking such a conversion can you guarantee a strategic and

useful end state for your CMS deployment. That said, the conversion process


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can be done in phases that allow for both achievable victories and the proper

vetting and conversion of content.

2.13.16. Specify the client and vendor resources needed during system implementation.

Dotmarketing will provide a client team to assist with the implementation. This

team is made up of a Project Manager, a Lead Developer/Business Analyst, an

Application Developer and one to two HTML engineers. From the clients side,

we look for an implementation Project Manager, a Technical Lead, a Systems

Administrator, HTML support and Content Managers.

2.13.17. Describe the proposed approach to acceptance testing.

Our Proposal includes hours for acceptance testing, including regression testing,

application benchmarking, and the creation of a final acceptance document.

Also included are hours of site testing and QA, where we can tweak and

modify the implantation as needed for acceptance.

2.13.18. Describe the extent of services provided during the implementation process.


2.13.19. What personnel are typically required to implement the product?

If you are looking to implement the product yourselves, the baseline

requirements for the product to be implemented include a systems

administrator and an HTMLer that is familiar with scripting languages such as

PHP or ASP.

2.13.20. What technical skills are required?

See above.

2.13.21. How many people are typically required to support the CMS once in place?

In terms of end user support or system support? End user support requirements

vary by client. To support the dotCMS as a system, I would say 1 to 2 individuals

part time.

2.13.22. Who provides these resources - vendor, customer, consultant, SI?

We can provide these resources, if needed.

2.13.23. What is the average time for implementation?

8-12 weeks

2.13.24. Describe the on-site, dedicated personnel that you would provide during the

initial implementation of your system.

Dotmarketing will provide a single dedicated support personnel during the initial

implementation of the system.


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2.13.25. What are the associated costs of implementation?


2.13.26. Can the product be deployed using a modular approach?

Yes. In fact, we often recommend a phased approach to implementation to

insure that the sites implemented take full advantage of the features and tools

in the CMS.

2.13.27. What levels of training are required?


2.13.28. How is this provided (e.g., CBT, classroom, on-site, Web-based)?

On site and web based, depending on the sessions.

2.13.29. How is ongoing support provided?

Through an SLA with Dotmarketing’s Services and Support Division.

2.13.30. Is the product dependent on other products from the company's portfolio or on

any third-party products?

No

2.13.31. Please list any required products and relevant vendors. On which (operating

system) platforms does the product run?

The Product will run on Windows, Linux or Solaris Servers.

2.13.32. Will business procedures need to change to support this product, if so why, and

to what benefit?

Perhaps, though this obviously depends on the client. In order to take full

advantage of the CMS for things like content approval, publishing of

institutional data, etc, business processes do and often times should change.

System Performance

2.13.33. Describe the anticipated downtime for monthly, weekly and daily processing.

We do not anticipate any downtime for data processing.

2.13.34. Discuss data storage and data access issues and state the recommended disk

space for data storage.

This varies by client, but we would recommend at least 1TB if the system will be

used for digital asset management and to store media of any quantity.

2.13.35. Describe any performance monitoring inherent in the system.

We monitor dotCMS performance and responsiveness through a remote host

which alerts us to any issues.


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2.13.36. Describe in detail how the recovery procedure works.

To recover a failed dotCMS instance, you would need to restore your

database, your specific configuration files, your search index directory and your

asset files. Once those are restored, dotCMS can be restarted and run

normally.

2.13.37. Describe data file backup procedures and provisions, including features of the

system that minimizes the impact of scheduled and unscheduled downtime.

We recommend backing up the entire dotCMS directory nightly, as well as

doing a nightly backup of the dotCMS database. If you are running on a cluster

and your assets and are stored outside of your root directory you need to

include those folders as well. We recommend storing nightly incremental

backups for a week with complete snapshots occurring weekly and storing

those complete snapshots for up to a year.


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2.14. Training & Support

There are 4 standard courses offered on the dotCMS.

2.14.1. Discuss training requirements to utilize the product for:

• Non-technical (content editors & approvers)

o dotCMS Content Manager Level I

This course includes all the required information for end-users to become content

contributors/publishers and basic webpage creators/publishers. This is an

introductory dotCMS course intended for ALL USERS of the dotCMS. This training

teaches all the basic dotCMS operations such as creating and managing

content, permissions, versions, creating menu links and virtual links, the user

workflow, content contribution, and using containers and templates for webpage

creation. View the course agenda link below for a complete list of topics

covered.

o dotCMS Content Manager Level II

This course is intended for dotCMS users who have complete knowledge of all

dotCMS basic functions provided by the Operator Level training. This course

teaches the creation of containers, structures, relationships, templates, velocity

code macros, dynamic pages, groups and roles, as well as the use of other

advanced features such as the event calendar and form handler. View the

course agenda link below for a complete list of topics covered.

• Semi-technical to technical (developers & administrators)

o dotCMS Programmer/Developer Level III


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This course is intended for dotCMS users who have complete knowledge of all

dotCMS basic and advanced functions provided by the first two dotCMS

courses. This course provides a complete description of the dotCMS

developmental architecture for current and future development, SVN merge and

revision handling, setting up an Eclipse environment, dotCMS infrastructure,

portlet development, as well as Velocity and AJAX programming.

o dotCMS Server Administration

This course is intended for those who will be assigned to the server administration

of the dotCMS installation. Server administrators will learn how to configure and

implement LDAP user authentication as well as auto-synchronization of LDAP

groups with the dotCMS user groups and roles. The course will teach

administrators how to implement the dotCMS in a clustered environment, dotCMS

maintenance tasks, and how to fine tune dotCMS performance on a server. View

the course agenda link below for a complete list of topics covered.

2.14.2 Discuss training requirements to utilize the product for:

• Non-technical (content editors & approvers)

• Semi-technical to technical (developers & administrators)

See above

2.14.2. Describe how training courses are conducted (e.g., a series of presentations by

vendor to end users or a “train the trainers” approach, etc.).

We usually begin training with your content team during implementation to

prepare you to enter new and existing content in the CMS. Training is a vital

aspect of our services. We conduct training sessions onsite at your institution or on

location at our Miami office to various groups be it the end-user responsible for

maintaining content, htmlers, or developers/administrators. We can even train

over the phone and via webex. We often recommend taking the train the

trainers approach, which we can supplement with customized follow up training

sessions if necessary.

2.14.3. Provide detailed syllabus for training courses

For detailed syllabus for each level course please go to


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http://ww.dotcms.org/support_services/training/

2.14.4. Is there any continuing education or training provided to support new releases

and/or upgrades?

Through the purchase of blocks of support hours, Dotmarketing is avail to provide

training and support for all new releases and upgrades. We also offer an annual

users conference that is recommended for all primary dotCMS users and

administrators. We are also happy to offer custom training of this nature.

2.14.5. Discuss if the following items are included in the annual support maintenance fee.

• All hot fixes and service packs

Yes

• All version upgrades

Yes

• Administrative technical support hotline

Yes

• E-mail/online support

Yes

• Installation support

Yes

• Online access to documentation

Yes

• Online access to software

Open Source

2.14.6. Provide average support response time (please detail by category – email,

phone)

Dotmarketing provides support through its Client Services department. The level

of support is based on the Service Level Agreement selected. Our Application

Suppport Agreement includes a 100% uptime guarantee.

See SLAs on our website at:

http://www.dotcms.org/support_services/service_level_agreement.dot


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We typically encourage our clients to submit issues via JIRA our issue tracking

system. All Jira requests get viewed by our development team and get

responded to with 1 business day.

Email requests also get responded to and resolved within 1 business day.

Minor bug fixes get done within 48 hours, anything more involved gets put into a

work order and is treated as a specific job request.

Phone support can be set up as a premium service. Customized packages can

be created upon request.

2.14.7. What standard options are there for support (e.g., is there a call center or email,

etc.)

Dotmarketing provides support through its Client Services department. The level

of support is based on the Service Level Agreement selected. This is set up as a

block of hours that can be used for implementation, trouble shooting, or any

other kind of support needed.

See SLAs on our website at:

http://www.dotcms.org/support_services/service_level_agreement.dot

Dotmarketing uses the following tools for support extensively through out the

project:

• Project Website – https://confluence.dotmarketing.net/clientname

(Confluence)

• Project Mailing List – [email protected]

• Issue Tracking System – https://jira.dotmarkting.net/clientname (JIRA)

• Version Control

2.14.8. Discuss any online training and documentation materials


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Administrative and User Manuals are included for free. Custom Documentation

will be billed at $150/hour

2.14.9. Provide details on any online user groups, forums, or conventions

There is a very active dotCMS user community. aAny questions you have can be

posted to the following listserv. Information can be found at:

http://www.dotcms.org/documentation/mailing_list.dot

Also, there's a newly formed College and University Web Developers community

on Ning, and within that is a dotCMS group where one can post questions (most

of those users are also on the dotCMS listserv):

http://cuwebd.ning.com/group/dotcms


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SECTION 3: Special Cases

CASE 1: Master Calendar

Challenge: To gather calendar data from a large number of users and sources, and to

display that data in a customizable, attractive format that supports web standards.

dotCMS 1.6 provides a campus web calendar solution that includes a number of social

networking tools. The calendar ties into a campus LDAP directory for provisioning and

supports multiple, permission based access to calendars. Users have the ability to bulk

import and export events, including meta-data into the calendar through a web based

interface. In dotCMS, all rules for content apply for calendar events – a single event can

be displayed across a site in various locations. Events can be filtered by keyword, tag,

metadata, date, properties, sorted and forced through a workflow approval process if

needed. In this proposal for Tufts Medical Schools, Dotmarketing has included a block of

hours for Tufts to use customizing the web calendar to fit your specific needs.

CASE 2: News Center

Challenge: Create automated news feeds from three main sources and allow editors to

filter, select and display select news effectively throughout the Sackler and TUSM

websites. Also, build and publish RSS feeds (and other standard web syndication

formats) containing TUSM and Sackler news.

dotCMS provides the ability to aggregate and publish news from a variety of formats.

Our philosophy with dotCMS is for it to act as the institutional repository for all news, which

is then tagged and categorized properly for automated display throughout your site.

dotCMS allows you to permission the tagging and categorization of news so it is easy to

control (and to delegate control of) where news from various news sources gets

displayed. The “type A” requirement is a special case and would require additional

hours of customization (see: requirement 2.2.3).

CASE 3: Faculty Research Pages


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Challenge: Support updated faculty and research pages that rely heavily on internal

and external search functionality.

Using an internal org chart to present users with navigational choices is almost always a

bad idea. dotCMS allows you to create pages that filter by category, taxonomy or

relationships and allow you to create landing pages that cross-cut departments to

present a wider array of information (which might include links to the relevant

department sites).

Additionally, dotCMS provides you with the ability to create custom content libraries or

databases for faculty, staff, students and post doctorate fellows that can be queried

and displayed together with relevant news, articles or publications.

The dotCMS can act as the central repository for all scholarly articles, publications and

biographies, though automating pulls from PubMed and Crisp would take additional

discovery before we could scope out these functions.

CASE 4: Advanced Search & Taxonomy

Challenge: Build an integrated search engine or search functionality that supports

internal taxonomy to maximize results and makes it easier for internal and external

website users to find what they’re looking for.

dotCMS provides these capabilities out of the box. All content contributed to dotCMS

can be tagged, categorized, queried and displayed based on user imput or needs.

Additionally, the dotCMS offers a robust Personalization Engine that allows the CMS to

learn about users and present them with relevant information based upon that users visit

(think amazaon.com). Obviously, the engine needs to be tailored to each customers

processes to meet their online objectives.

CASE 5: Social Networking

Challenge: Offer original tools or easily integrate external tools for social collaboration,

including blogs, wikis, forums and online chat.

The dotCMS provides a platform for to deliver any type of content rich application such


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as blogs, wikis, news centers, rss feeds and event calendars. Additionally, any type of

content in the CMS, be it a news article, a blog entry or just a web page, can have web

2.0 tools enabled on a content by content basis. These tools include commenting,

ratings, tags, xml feeds, embedded video players, Flash slideshows, etc,.

These tools are available by default in dotCMS. The price of implementation support

includes work hours for enabling and using these social tools throughout the Tufts Medical

School site.

CASE 6: Passworded or Semi-Private Areas

Challenge: Build a semi-private area within the public website for specific audiences,

such as members of the media, accepted students, alumni and others.

Building a password protected site in dotCMS is easy. All content, files, folders and pages

can be permissioned by user, group and/or role. Users login through form based

authentication that can be integrated with an LDAP or Active Directory. Additionally, we

can create custom authentication mechanisms to auth against third party tools or

databases.

Once logged in, site visitors have access to content, information and pages based upon

their user roles.


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SECTION 4: Cost Analysis

Pricing Breakdown

Summary:

1. Software License: $0

2. Initial Installation: $8400

3. Customization

� Matrix: $162,360

� Special Cases: approx $84,000 (this does not include social

networking which needs discovery and definition)

4. Training: $16,000

5. maintenance/Support Costs (annual): $28,800

6. All other Associated costs:

� Edu Edition: $4,500

� Assessment and Discovery: $15,300

� Template Build out and Implementation support: $74,400

� Soft Launch and QA: $18,000

� Project Management: $12,130

Please refer to detailed pricing sheets below:


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dotCMS Implementation

150 per hour hours Participants Cost

dotCMS - Open Source Content Management System $ -

dotCMS 1.5.1 Open Source Codebase

Enterprise J2EE Content Management System

Database and Platform Independent

Easy to use Templating and Authoring System

dotCMS .edu Edition $ 4,500

Flash Based Virtual Tour

508 Compliant Virtual Tour

Campus Calendar

Course Catalog

Prebuilt Templates, CSS and Presentation Code

Assessment and Discovery $ 15,300

Kickoff Meeting 2 3 $ 900

Assessment 8 1 $ 1,200

Development of Custom Content Types 40 1 $ 6,000

Development of Custom Taxonomy 40 1 $ 6,000

Recommendations document 8 1 $ 1,200

Training (remote or on-site) $ 16,000

Content Manager Level 1 16 2 $ 4,800

Content Manager Level 2 8 2 $ 2,800

Server Administrator 8 2 $ 2,800

Programmer / Developer Level II 16 2 $ 5,600


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Installation and Environment Setup $ 8,400

Staging Site Setup and Support 8 1 $ 1,200

Staging / Development Site Hosting $400/month for 3m $ 1,200

Production Cluster Setup and Support 40 1 $ 6,000

LDAP Integration

Clustered Configuration

Template Build out and Implementation Support $ 74,400

Primary Template Creation 128 1 $ 19,200

Homepage, 3 column, 2 column and 2 column

template

Also Includes Sackler Template Creation

WSSS Template Creation

Cancer Systems Template Creation

Implementation of client design on the dotCMS product 168 1 $ 25,200

Recommended Additional Support and Implementation 200 1 $ 30,000

*Does not include content population

Soft Launch, Quality Assurance Testing $ 18,000

Load Testing and Environment Performance Tuning 40 1 $ 6,000

Q/A and Acceptance Testing 80 1 $ 12,000

Note: content creation and population is the

responsibility of client.

Subtotal: $ 121,300

Project Management Time - 15% of project $ 12,130

Total: $ 133,430


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Annual Support and Maintenance Agreement $ 28,800

24/7 Emergency Support $ 18,000

2 dotCMS version upgrades per annum (included above)

6 Hours Month Support and Assistance 6 12 $ 10,800

Explanation of deliverables for Template Build out section in pricing sheet above:

Primary Template Creation: Total time required 32 hours

Base Templates

Home Page Template

3 Column Body Template

2 Column Body Template

1 Column Template

It takes 32 hours to build out these Primary templates per site.

Your RFP lists 4 distinct sites that would require these templates, totaling 128 hours.

Implementation of client design on the dotCMS product: Total time required 42 hours

News Listing (w/ Categories)

News Detail

Events calendar

Department listing

Department detail page

Faculty Listing

Faculty Detail

Photo Gallery

Site Search

A-Z Listing/Site Map

Inquiry Form (Form Handler)

Virtual Tour / Interactive Campus Map

It takes 42 hours to build out the remaining templates on each unique site, totaling 168

hours for 4 sites.


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dotCMS Customizations per Requirements Matrix

requirement customization: $ 162,360

2.6.17. Report to view content currently checked out to a

user.

$ 880

2.3.20. Save Content without exiting editor $ 1,320

2.4.19. Color code CSS tags in edit mode $ 2,640

2.6.41. Broken Link report $ 1,320

2.6.59. Case-insenstivity $ 1,320 2.6.75 Publish pages at a specified future date. $ 1,320 2.6.75 Move content to an off-site archive. $ 3,960

2.9.8. CMS provides ability to specify a "copyright date" for

pages.

$ 1,320

2.11.3. Workflow triggers are available to synchronize

content translation efforts.

$ 2,640

2.6.60. CMS automatically redirects moved URLs to the new

location.

$ 2,640

2.6.86. CMS provides the ability to clone entire content

items, including all metadata elements, not just

textual content.

$ 2,640

2.2.6 CMS provides the ability to import content from Six

Apart Moveable Type Blogs.

$ 3,300

2.5.10. CMS supports the notion of a cloned version of

content that can be changed and then promoted

to take the place of the previous version at a certain

point in the workflow).

$ 6,600

2.5.37. User groups and roles can be automatically

assigned based on a web service.

$ 3,960

2.6.79. Subject-identifying metadata elements can be

applied automatically for specified content

$ 3,960

2.10.14. Search engine accounts for misspellings in queries. $ 3,960

2.6.43. CMS provides ability to find and replace within a

specified section of the site.

$ 4,620

2.3.10. Links created to other CMS content are stored as

dependencies in the CMS.

$ 4,400

2.10.20. Content can be categorized automatically. $ 4,400

2.5.23. Content viewing can be restricted on a field-by-field

basis by workflow state.

$ 4,620

2.5.24. Content usage/reuse can be restricted by workflow

state.

$ 4,620

2.6.31. CMS enforces no redundant copies of content. $ 4,840

2.7.19. Crop Images online $ 5,280

2.5.18. Workflow can require >1 approvers. $ 5,720


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2.2.3 Automate importcontent from RSS, ATOM and SOAP

feeds.

$ 6,600

2.3.6. Permission WYSIWYG features by users $ 6,600

2.3.22. Auto-save Content while editing $ 6,600

2.6.40. CMS enforces no broken links. $ 9,240

2.5.14. Create multiple workflow processes with unlimited

states

$ 7,480

2.3.32. CMS has a wizard for creating email forms. $ 9,240

2.8.7. Create surveys and quizzes, with reporting $ 7,920

2.2.5 Import content from Atlassian Confluence Wiki. $ 6,600

2.9.14. CMS allows snapshots (monthly edition) for

publishing/Archival

$ 19,800

Pricing for Special Cases:

Case 1 Master Calendar

Hours for Customizing dotCMS Web 2.0 Calendar 80 1 $ 12,000

Case 2 News Center

Majority Included in dotCMS implementation -

Automated Import from Google 80 1 $ 12,000

Case 3 Faculty Research Pages / Cross Departmental Subject

Pages 200 1 $ 30,000

Automating CRISP and Pubmed pulls require

additional discovery and is not included

Case 4 Advanced/ Taxonomy Driven Search 120 1 $ 18,000

Taxonomy Driven Search

Search by metadata

Integrated with Googles Search Result/Google API

Allow for customized results based on user actions

Case 5 Social Networking TBD

Social Tools included in the dotCMS

Hours for Implementation of Social Networking Tools

Case 6 Password / Semi-private Area

A password protected site for accepted students

Hours for Accepted Students Site w/Authorization 80 1 $ 12,000


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SECTION 5: Deliverables and Pricing Explanation

Phases of the development lifecycle for this project

While the activities in each phase can vary from client to client (we can do more or less

in each area as you choose), the actual process is based on our extensive experience in

assessing, planning and implementing complete websites. In fact, our entire operation is

organized around this process, which we have outlined in the following phases:

Phase 1. Discovery and Requirements Gathering

Phase 2. Solution and database design

Phase 3. Development

Phase 4. Internal QA and Testing

Phase 5. Soft Launch, Acceptance Testing & Training

Phase 6. Formal Launch

Tasks and Milestones within each phase of this project

The Discovery and Requirements Gathering phase allows us to understand your strategic

objectives, your internal resources and the systems and sites currently in place. For the

purposes of your project, we would assign a dedicated DM development team to your

project. These individuals would be responsible for meeting with stakeholders and staff in

person. The goals of these meetings are to define functional requirements, to undertake

fact finding, to define a realistic project timeline, and to best understand your

overarching project objectives. Because of our experience and past assessment

activities with other clients we bring knowledge of best practices and the latest trends in

web development to bear in your project. The results of our Discovery and Requirements

Gathering phase are captured in two documents: a Project Plan and a Functional

Requirements documents. The Project Plan includes:

- Project as a Narrative – short “executive summary” type description of the

project.

- Project Process Outline – Step by step process that will be undertaken in this

project.

- Project Team – defines project team and roles assigned.


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- Change Management Process – defines how changes to project, project scope,

and timeline will be handled.

- Systems and Tools – defines systems and tools in place to aid in the success of the

project.

- Milestones and Timeline– defines what will be delivered when.

The Functional Requirements document acts as a project “bible” for the later phases and

will be updated and appended to as new functional requirements are discovered or the

project scope is modified.

In solution and database design, we work with your staff to produce all of the planning

documentation that results in a highly usable web site and application platform based

on the requirements gathered in phase I. In addition, we begin to sort and prioritize the

requirements into logical units that can be tackled in development. This phase’s

deliverables can include use case documentation, uml diagrams, database schema

designs and application storyboards. From this documentation we then create

wireframes, which are line art drawings depicting the applications and functions of

various applications and pages throughout your site.

During Development phase we begin developing the specific functions and modules

defined in requirements and based on the solution design documents. The deliverables

from this phase are code, java classes, java docs and databases.

QA and Testing begins as soon as the functional modules are completed and continues

throughout and beyond the development cycle. Deliverables from this phase include

testing scripts and automated unit tests for any custom functionality.

At this point, the web application is soft launched and acceptance testing & training

begins. Generally, this is where content population/migration starts to happen. The soft

launch phase is also when we work together to test all of the site's functionality to ensure

it is working properly and make any necessary revisions prior to the formal public launch.

End user training generally begins here and DM staff is available to train your users at all

levels of experience, from content contributors and web developers to System

administrators and system developers.


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Upon formal launch, your sites are live and viewable to the public. At this point, we

introduce you to our Client Services team, which will work with you on any future support

needs should they arise and assist you in the development of new strategies and

functionality.

A very important part of any project, our project management and administration are

available to you when needed and dedicated to your project's success. To account for

this time, which would include status meetings and reports, we calculate a project

management cost based on 15% of the total project cost. If you increase or decrease

the project scope prior to contract, we can adjust this figure accordingly.

Project management procedures, methodology and processes

The Dotmarketing’s Project Manager (PM) is responsible for managing the entire project

lifecycle, from discovery to formal launch, as well as identifying scope and requirement

changes. The PM will track scope/time/cost and assuring 100% accuracy of

corresponding invoices. During the project, each Friday, the PM will deliver an updated

project plan that details the week’s activity, milestones achieved and next steps and

deliverables for the project. The project manager will be responsible for updating this

project plan as needed, keeping the client up to date with and managing the project

scope to ensure the project is completed on time and on budget.

Change Management

If a new requirement or change in scope to the project is required the project manager

will submit a change order to the client for their approval before adjusting the project

plan. A Change Order articulates the change(s) requested on a particular date. The

Change Order must be signed by the client and faxed back to Dotmarketing as soon as

possible, before the work is assigned to a Dotmarketing employee. It is the Project

Manager’s responsibility to assure that the invoices are correct and that the new

requirement is completed to satisfaction. The PM will keep a copy of the change orders

and update the requirements document to reflect the change.


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Description of key resources (both vendor and the University) that will be

involved in each phase

Phase 1. Discovery and Requirements Gathering

DM: Project Manager, CTO, Lead Developer, Developer.

University: IT and Web Dev Staff, Internal Project Manager, Director or C-level

stakeholders

Phase 2. Solution and database design

DM: Project Manager, CTO, Lead Developer, Developer

University: IT and Web Dev Staff, Internal Project Manager

Phase 3. Development

DM: Project Manager, Lead Developer, Developer, HTML Developer

University: IT and Web Dev Staff, Internal Project Manager

Phase 4. Internal QA and Testing

DM: Project Manager, Lead Developer, Developer, QA Manager

Phase 5. Soft Launch, Acceptance Testing & Training

DM: Project Manager, Lead Developer, Client Services Project Manager, Training

Staff, Content Migration Staff

University: IT and Web Dev Staff, Internal Project Manager, Content Contributors,

Content Owners

Phase 6. Formal Launch

DM: Project Manager, Lead Developer, Client Services Project Manager

University: IT and Web Dev Staff, Internal Project Manager, Content Contributors,

Content Owners


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Proposal Contact Information

Tiffen Baker

Director of Business Development

Dotmarketing Inc,

3059 Grand Avenue, Suite 440

Miami, FL 33133

Tel: 305.858.1422 x 276

Fax: 786.594.5288

[email protected]

Documents

Proposal for a Content Management System for Tufts ... · PDF fileProposal for a Content Management System for Tufts University Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences prepared