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Customer: University of Texas NISOD
Problem: They needed to complete their ecommerce integration with Authorize.net.
Solution: We took them over the goal line.
URL: http://www.nisod.org

When I got the call from Christy Lewis at UT’s NISOD, it was pretty clear that they had done a pretty good job of setting up their ecommerce site.

All they needed was the last little bit, which was to take the information they were displaying in a form and make it talk to Authorize.net. They were signing academics for a conference, and many of these folks used checks or PO numbers to pay for their spots, but quite a few wanted to use credit cards online.

Our job was to figure out where to add the authorize.net scripts to their form, how to generate the MD5 hash-encrypted keys for each session, how to work around their particular server configurations, and integrating the whole loop with their Filemaker database backend.

To make matters even more interesting, we had to negotiate various obstacles left behind by past developers, but in the end, we were able to prevail and get them a workable solution before their registration deadline.

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1. Deploying a content management system (CMS) is primarily a business problem, not a technology problem. Most CMS tools allow you to create pages, upload digital files, and manage other data. The question is, does the intended CMS fit well with (or improve) existing processes? For example, if the CMS is too hard to learn, or can’t adapt to a well-oiled process for publishing information, then it may not be a suitable solution.
2. Think big, start small. It’s okay to blue-sky at the very beginning of a CMS project–in fact, it’s healthy. It shows that your organization can see around the next curve in the road. Just don’t get carried away when you start implementing. It’s always better to pile up a bunch of small victories then to shoot for the moon and fall on your face.
3. Prototypes are king. Whether you prefer full-blown Flash prototypes, simple paper prototypes, or anything in between, its always best to take some time to get feedback from users before going live with the final product. Even if you have gathered tons of requirements, analyzed them all down to the smallest, most granular components, and hired a project manager to keep everything going, all it takes is one very confused user to torpedo your enthusiasm. Remember: making your users part of the process will increase the success of your project.
4. Be skeptical–force vendors to prove what they say. Get your hands on any products they may have. Talk to their past customers. Ask for demos. A CMS is an investment in time and energy, so please, be proactive.
5. Understand that every system has constraints. A fast, simple CMS might not allow you to store complex data relationships needed by your sales team. A robust, highly-configurable CMS might take weeks (or months) to set up and lots of training to keep it running. Make sure that you calculate constraints as part of your total cost of ownership (see above, “It’s a business problem”).

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