YaleSites upgrade update

    March 10, 2022

    Summary

    Yale ITS and the Office of Public Affairs & Communications (OPAC) are progressing with the transition of YaleSites, Yale’s web-publishing service, to an upgraded version that reflects Yale’s usability, accessibility, and visual identity standards. It will improve the authoring experience and provide the tools necessary to create engaging web content.

    • The project is benefitting from university-wide collaboration.
    • Yale ITS, the project Advisory Committee, Communication Sub-committee, and Organizational Change Management are collaborating with an external partner for optimal community engagement.
    • In April, ITS will begin to expand community involvement, providing timelines and a roadmap for completion of the capital project, as well as ongoing support for an improved YaleSites experience.

    Details

    An Advisory Committee has been formed with leaders from across the University to guide the team through critical decisions related to user research, community engagement, design, governance, and priorities. The Advisory Committee includes representatives from:

    • Yale College
    • Faculty of Arts & Sciences
    • Yale Law
    • Internal Communications
    • School of Environment
    • Office of Public Affairs & Communications
    • Yale College Dean’s Ofice
    • Office of the Provost
    • Yale Printing & Publishing Service
    • ITS Web Technologies

    One of the pillars that the committee is focused on is community engagement and communication. To that end, the team has entered into an agreement with OHO Interactive, a communications agency, for the development of a comprehensive strategy. In addition to the ITS project team and Organizational Change Management, representatives from OPAC, Internal Communications, FAS, and the School of Chemistry are guiding this process.

    Currently in the discovery phase, interviews have taken place with project sponsors, community communication partners, lead administrators, and site owners/authors. This will inform messaging and the strategy, which will result in:

    • A regular cadence of communications to keep the community informed, engaged, and excited.
    • More insight into the benefits of the new platform, and clarity on the value it will bring to Yale University.
    • Identification of important community resources to produce, such as guides, videos, and training.  

    For more information, please visit our project update page.

    Questions?

    If you have a question regarding this project, please contact the YaleSites Team at YaleSitesUpgradeProgram@yale.edu.

    Service Quality