From time to time I find that I need to take a few steps back and look at the big picture. It's very easy to focus on a few large projects and lose sight of some very important and strategic details. I noticed that while we were very busy taking care of www.missouri.edu, the Chancellor's site, Admissions, Development, Undergraduate Research, etc., that our own Web Communications site hadn't even appeared on the project radar. How could we take care of everyone else and allow our own Web site to lag behind? Yikes!
This is, unfortunately, a very common problem for Web staff who serve many people and departments. It's also why project management is a very important element in what we do. While it's good for us to focus on our current projects, we also need to have a strategic plan for the continuing maintenance and evolution of our other sites. The management part becomes even more important when we have content that needs to be reviewed and freshened on a regular basis. I find we do a pretty good job of taking care of those things that need attention daily or even weekly. However, we aren't so great about remembering all of the details that need minding monthly or less frequently.
Content management will become a more and more important resource for this and many other reasons. Instead of tying a string around my finger or cluttering my Outlook calendar or task list with lists that are too long, I will be able to set reminders that will prompt me to tend to my content responsibilities.
As for the Web Communications site getting a redesign and migrating into the CMS? Well, maybe next year...
