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SCD's Web Engineering Group was instrumental in deployment
of new UCAR/NCAR/UOP Web site
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A n SCD proposal
to revamp NCAR's cyberpresence bore fruit on 26 May 2004 with the launch
of a brand new Web site for NCAR,
UCAR, and UOP. The result of 18 months of work by the 25-member Web
Outreach, Redesign, and Development (WORD) team, the new site presents
institutional news and research highlights, serves both lay and scientific
audiences, and makes it easy to access content with only a few clicks.
The vision for the new site emerged several years ago, when, at the
behest of NCAR Director Tim Killeen and with the support of SCD Director
Al Kellie, Don Middleton (manager of SCD's Visualization and Enabling
Technologies Section) put together a "Cyberinfrastructure Strategic
Initiative" — one goal of which was to develop a world-class
organizational Web presence.
As principal investigator for the initiative, Don recruited a Web
developer with expertise in managing large scientific sites: Markus
Stobbs, who joined SCD in April 2002. Markus teamed up with Catherine
Shea of the NCAR Director's Office to co-chair the WORD group, which
formed that November with representatives from across the organization.
SCD IT expertise crucial
SCD played a key role in designing and deploying the new site, and
is responsible for hosting it as well. "It was planned from the
beginning that the site would be hosted on the SCD infrastructure,"
says Markus, "and Don and Al were there supporting the effort
all along."
Markus, who was technical lead on the project, worked closely with
software engineer Leonard Sitongia and system administator Andrei Rodionov
(both of SCD's Web Engineering Group, which Markus heads) to develop
the site's hardware configuration and database-driven software architecture.
"Andrei did a lot of server configuration and testing to get
us ready for launch," Markus says. The site runs on a cluster
of front- and back-end servers that utilize Apache and Tomcat technologies
— the front end handling basic Web traffic, the back end more
complicated services.
Markus set the direction for a database-driven site, while Leonard
Sitongia developed the software, creating a set of custom Java Server
Page tags to automatically pull in dynamic content from a relational
database. This produces a steady refresh rate of information —
recent feature stories, profiled scientists, press releases, random
fast facts, and site spotlights. Leonard also developed a Web application
called VAVOOM that will let anyone at UCAR to contribute content to
the database and allow UCAR Communications to administer the data.
Design and development
Don notes that Markus was central not only to technical aspects of
the project, but to design elements and user testing.
"We used a real development process," Markus explains.
"We did audience analysis, set goals and missions, created a site
strategy, worked out a content plan, and created subgroups so we could
work in parallel on special tasks."
Also participating from SCD were writer/editor Lynda Lester of the
Digital Information Group, who served on the committee to develop content
and information architecture, and Digital Information Group head Greg
McArthur, who was on the advisory panel.
Markus worked on all the subcommittees (content and information architecture,
design, user testing, production, and advisory panel), coordinating
many complex efforts to create a unified Web presence for UCAR, NCAR,
and UOP.
The leadership Markus and Catherine provided over the redesign process
resulted in a harmonious and successful collaboration among many individuals
representing UCAR, NCAR, and UOP.
"The WORD project was an impressive effort in teamwork and complementary
talent," says Don. "It was one of those unique moments when
the right people came together to pull off a great effort in a short
time, crossing just about every border in our organization."
WORD launch party, 26 May 2004
An invaluable communications tool
Response to the new site has been enthusiastic. Information is now
more accessible to the general public, educators, news media, and policy
makers, who can visit the site for an introductory education to atmospheric
research. UCAR divisions and programs, receiving more requests for
press releases, have been newly motivated to highlight what's going
on in their organizations. Researchers can go to a single Web page
for links to a wide array of datasets, models, and computing applications,
while staff have quicker access to tools that help them in their work.
"The site will increase our presence on the Web as well as
provide important information for researchers and members of the public
alike," says UCAR president Rick Anthes. "This is an invaluable
communications tool worthy of a world-class research institution."
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