Roles & Responsibilities

Note: This is considered a living document and is subject to change based on the needs on the UBC Okanagan campus.

IT Web and Application Services

Roles & Responsibilities

  • Development and configuration for Faculty/Department Theme, OK Main Theme, CLF Basic Theme and overall WordPress platform
    • Components
    • Page Templates
    • Plugins
    • Main styles and Custom CSS
    • Advanced Custom Fields (ACF) editor/page builder
  • Provide direction and leadership of overall web presence of UBC Okanagan in partnership with University Relations
    • Communication and support
      • UBCO CMS Enhancements update emails
        • News and updates relevant to UBCO CMS WebCore users
        • Reminders
        • Status reporting for recently completed and active website builds
      • Technical consultation/advice
        • Site structure and layouts with UR
        • UBCO WordPress CMS user guides and component documentation
        • CMS Demo Site
    • WordPress training and support
      • 1-on-1 on request
      • Group training on request
      • Wednesday weekly drop-in sessions
      • Best effort training and support for UBC Okanagan research websites in UBC Vancouver sites.olt.ubc.ca CMS
      • Best effort training and support for UBC Okanagan researcher websites in UBC Vancouver blogs.ubc.ca CMS
    • IT helpdesk CMS support tickets
  • WordPress System Administration
    • Cloning pages and sites
    • Testing, enabling/disabling Plugins
    • Evaluating new Plugins, techniques, tools, etc
    • Updating WordPress Plugins
    • WordPress core updates
    • Hosting, domain, DNS administration
    • Security and privacy advice, consultation, and escalation if needed
    • Incident response and troubleshooting for major outages
  • WordPress CMS Network Access Management
    • Central Directory
    • Adding new Directory Authenticated Users to main network and assignment to unit website(s)
  • New Website Builds
    • Sitemap and UX planning (w/ Communicator and UR)
    • Determining with UR if an inbound project is Light, Medium, or Heavy touch build
    • Project tracking and timing via Workzone
    • Content Starter Pack
      • Initial website build and configuration(s)
      • Sample builds 3-5 pages
    • Schedule training and handover new website shell to the communicator
    • Technical liason for communicator(s) throughout their website build
    • Launch
      • Pre-launch tests
      • Redirection lists as required
      • Domain mapping/DNS
  • Components and Functional Elements (medium and heavy-touch WebCore builds)
    • New components/enhancements/plugins
      • Time estimates, status reporting, and expectation setting
      • Development and design
      • Testing
      • Configuration
      • Documentation
      • Deployment
    • Browser testing
      • Desktop, tablet, mobile, screen reader content/code accessibility
    • Bug fixes
    • Page/site level style overrides as needed

University Relations

Roles & Responsibilities

  • Provide direction and leadership of overall web presence of UBC Okanagan in partnership with IT Web Team
    • Overall UI/UX design guidance
    • Site structure and layouts with IT
  • Providing project management tools and templates
  • Ensuring UBC Brand adherance
    • Writing (brand tone, style, etc)
    • Photography, graphics, custom icons
    • Social media
    • Audio/video for the web
  • New website builds
    • Sitemap and UX planning (w/ Communicator and IT)
    • Determining with IT web team if an inbound project is Light, Medium, or Heavy touch build
    • Sitemap approval
    • Content starter pack review and approval
    • Project tracking and timing via Workzone
    • Guidance and advice during content entry phase
    • Brand check
      • Pre- or post-launch content, layout, design review
  • Website analytics services
    • Google Analytics
    • Google Tag Manager
    • Hot Jar

Communicators and Strategists

Roles & Responsibilities

  • Website Ownership and Administration
  • Communication with your unit stakeholders about your website build
  • New website builds
    • Planning and project management of build(s)
      • Early and consistent engagement with UR and IT Web Team
      • Identifying and requesting advanced components as required
      • Project tracking and timing via Workzone website build template
      • Planning reasonable project schedules, deadlines, and milestones from start to finish
    • Content audit of current website if available
    • Sitemap, content, and UX planning (w/UR and IT)
    • Preparing all website text and photography for Content Starter Pack to hand over to IT Web Team
    • Content entry stage
      • After initial CSP build and training from IT, all website content entry is the responsibility of the communicator
      • Assembling page layouts using components
      • Editing and writing content to fit for component
      • Creating custom forms and custom post type items as needed
      • Engaging with UR and/or IT for content advice
      • Preparing a list of redirections for IT as required
    • Task management, onboarding, and setting clear expectations for any employees, contractors, or students you have hired to help on your website
  • Ongoing website management, maintenance, and upkeep
    • Writing and publishing fresh content (eg: news posts, pages, program page edits, etc)
    • Adding and updating pages, posts, images, etc.
    • Managing site’s Media Library
    • Managing website user profiles
    • Reviewing and redirecting 404 broken links on website
    • Content accessibility
      • Alt text in images
      • Writing for screen readers
      • Proper use of heading levels
  • Reporting bugs to IT Web Services
  • Requesting website analytics with University Relations
  • Being proactive, resourceful, courteous, asking for help and advice
  • Providing input to UR, IT, and fellow WebCore members at meetings

WebCore

Purpose & Goals

  • Monthly forum for noteworthy system-wide discussions and decisions for the UBCO web user community
    • University Relations (co-chair)
    • IT Web Team (co-chair)
    • Campus communicators
  • Regularly review status of major website projects at UBCO
  • Determining potential priorities for web development projects
  • Identifying common challenges, emerging issues, and opportunities for efficiency
  • Sharing and disseminating good web practices
  • Shared common design foundation for websites on the UBC Okanagan campus
    • Common design language and consistent user experience
      • Easier to communicate, organize, and enhance customer journey
      • More efficient website builds using common page templates, layouts, and components (design patterns)
    • Common web development platform for UBC Okanagan
      • WordPress as CMS platform
        • Free, open-source, and minimal cost of upgrades and enhancements
        • Easy-to-use, intuitive, well-documented, popular
        • Communicators with minimal technical ability can quickly assemble high-quality web pages with pre-designed, brand-compliant components without having to use any HTML or CSS code
        • Efficient and modular web design
          • Updateable and maintainable code for fixes and enhancements
          • Reusable, scalable code – components can be used on 1 site or 1000.
          • Components well-tested on desktop, tablet, mobile, screen readers
            • Accessibility built-in
              • Skip links built into every page
              • Keyboard tabbable components
              • Content properly detected by screen readers
        • UBC CLF7 as underlying parent theme
  • Build a strong community of practice among communicators, University Relations, and IT Web Team