iwmw 1998: british council case study
TRANSCRIPT
Ukoln Conference - Ukoln Conference -
September 98September 98
The Operations ofThe British CouncilWeb
Paul SquiresWebmaster
The British Council, Web TeamManchester
Ukoln Conference - September 98
The future of the British Council•Policies of Blair government, channelled through
•Foreign and Commonwealth Office•Department for International Development
•Panel 2000•promoting the UK as a nucleus of modern arts and culture
•Visioning•addressing the shape of the Council
Ukoln Conference - September 98
The Activities of The British Council
Promote the UK to the world
Promote English language and education overseas
Ukoln Conference - September 98
The British Council Home Page
Ukoln Conference - September 98
Ukoln Conference - September 98
Ukoln Conference - September 98
Vital Statistics16,500 HTML files and 6,000 graphics150 pages updated every day140 web co-ordinators and 200 web authors across
109 countriesover 100 countries find the site, across a plethora
of operating systems and browsers50-250 pages uploaded per day15 local languages and 21 local servers3,000,000 hits/month with 10% monthly increaseTCO: approximately £3.5m per year
Ukoln Conference - September 98
Web Authoring Diagram
Ukoln Conference - September 98
Web Authoring ServicesRemote Authoring System, a complete suite
of templates and tools for web productionWeb Discussion Forums serviceRegional Web Training, co-ordinated in
Manchester but delivered globallyComprehensive split statisticsCD Rom of Internet, RAS, IntranetRatings exercises and Quality Assurance to
preserve the corporate web style
Ukoln Conference - September 98
Local Servers and Content Establishing local lingustic
content is also encouraged projects more of a local
presence empowers local offices capture more of a
potential audience make more of a cultural
link in-country provide greater services
MIRRORED
Australiawww.bc.org.auCanada www.britcoun-canada.orgChile www.britcoun.clEstonia www.bctallinn.eeGermanywww.britcoun.deGreece www.britcoun.grHong Kongwww.britcoun.org.hkIsrael www.britcoun.ilItaly www.britcoun.itMalaysia www.britcoun.org.myNew Zealand www.britcoun.org.nzPakistan www.britcoun.org.pkPoland www.britcoun.org.plPortugal www.britcounpt.orgSlovenia www.britishcouncil.siSri Lanka www.britcoun.lkTaiwan www.britcoun.org.twThailand www.britcoun.or.thTurkey www.britcoun.org.trUkraine www.bc.kiev.uaUSA www.britishcouncil-usa.org
COUNTRIES THAT HAVE LOCAL LANGUAGE CONTENT
Argentina BoliviaBrazilChile ColombiaEcuadorEstonia GermanyHong KongMexico Peru TaiwanTurkey VenezuelaWales
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Bad Design ExamplesNon-white or graphic backgroundsIncluding unnecessary, clip-art or hand-
drawn graphicsRealigning and tinkering with templatesAdding unnecessary links when a
concise array of content will doFramesAnimated GIFs
Ukoln Conference - September 98
Compliance•Managers, Executives and Board Members must feel that the Web is a
Principal instrument for branding•Link site auditing with Design and Corporate Affairs
Content owned by board•Evaluation of managerial performance
Direct correlation with country/department web page performance
•Ratings and QA for each officeEvery quarter
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Reshaping content and technology
development principlesuser focused
established ownershipcutting edge technology,
applied in a rational manner
simple yet powerful and navigable design
flexible
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Corporate IT andInformation Services Management
Ukoln Conference - September 98
NT Server in the Web strategyThe primary function of NT in our strategy is to serve
• Robust applications• Applications that can be easily built and developed by Council staff• Functionality not served to such an extent (functionality, TCO etc) by Unix
However, for the Internet at large,our OS of choice will continue to be
Unix
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Forthcoming Web services
Portable streaming media server: likely to be either RealVideo or Microsoft NetShow. Built around portable NT server and telecommunication links, with fixed point server
Document management system, likely to be database driven
Development of content and technology for WebTV
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Technological change versus corporate security concerns
Implications for the Web Team and Corporate IT
• Security• Author Training
• Connectivity• Infrastructure and server
programs• Effect on Corporate
Network
The processing of these implications results in
• Service Level Agreements• Password management services• Overseas staff training funding• Support for office connectivity overseas
Ukoln Conference - September 98
BC Web Team ActivitiesEditorial Assistants
Assistant Web Master
Web MasterWeb Manager
TrainingManager
•co-ordination of incoming material •editing•quality testing•uploading
•maintenance of the site•introducing new technologies•policy and outreach
•co-ordination and delivery of training•development of Remote authoring system•liaison with authors and ratings
IntranetManager
•intranet content development and publishing•works with all BC departments•outside, but with close relations to, web team
Ukoln Conference - September 98
The British Council on the Web
www.britcoun.org