Portfolio
Written January 2006
I consider the Notre Dame Web Group as the most significant and distinctive accomplishment of my career. The timing was right for the University of Notre Dame and for me. Together, we formed a tremendously talented and innovative group of Web professionals serving one of the most relevant, influential, and historic Universities in the world.
Background
May 6, 2002 was my first day as a staff member at the University of Notre Dame. I was hired by the office formerly known as Web Administration in the Office of Information Technologies. Because of five previous years at a full-service regional marketing communications agency, I was given the responsibilities of client and project management.
Web Administration was a support group of about ten people. We assisted the University with its Web needs including design, development, training, and support. Senior leadership worked to set standards, guidelines, and direction for University-wide Web initiatives. Most of our projects were limited in duration and scope. That is, our focus was mainly on support of existing websites and assisting those who needed to maintain them. These services were at no cost or charge-back to the clients. Our group had a very positive reputation, and we served the University very well.
Notre Dame Moves Web from IT to Marketing
In July of 2003, I received news that a colleague and I would leave the OIT and join the Office of Public Affairs and Communication (OPAC). The OPAC division is responsible for “articulating and proclaiming” the message of the University. This includes print, Web, news, media relations, periodicals, community relations, and marketing communications. The University went through some realignment and decided that those involved in communications and marketing should be together. As a result, we were sent to OPAC to form an entirely new Web office.
Birth of the Notre Dame Web Group
Officially, the Notre Dame Web Group was born in October of 2003. It consisted of only two people. We had a very small list of clients and several unfinished projects from the defunct Web Administration. The goal was to grow our office and support the marketing communications needs of the University through Web design and development. Along with this was committed support from OPAC and its senior leadership.
The Notre Dame Web Group started from absolute scratch. That is, when my colleague and I moved into our new building (Grace Hall), our new venture had no identity, signage, desks, forms, files, phones, business cards, website….nothing. It was a clean slate, intentionally.
Leadership Responsibilities
I was named director of the Notre Dame Web Group in December of 2003. My mandate from the University was to architect and build the office. That is, to create a powerful, professional, and industry leading organization that could catapult Notre Dame’s overall Web capabilities forward. I was to build upon the successes and contributions of our predecessor, but with a new focus.
My success would be measured based on several metrics. Of these, the two most important criteria were number of projects/clients and the income (charge-back) generated from them. OPAC decided that we would charge clients (departments and units with budget accounts) for our services. This is a simple logic to allow the University to account for campus demand for our services and to plan for future growth needs. But, they left it to me to create a framework for the operation.
The Agency Model
I immediately formed the office as a traditional marketing communications agency. That is, we handle our customers as clients—sometimes acting on their behalf—and billing them for our services. I created estimate and agreement forms, spreadsheets with billing codes and timelines. Every project required an estimate and a signature. At the end of the project, we would bill for our services.
We did not advertise or promote our services to the University. But, it was tempting. Instead, I decided we would gain recognition and reputation based on our work alone. During the first year of our existence, we had no website, brochure, or any kind of traditional collateral. Word-of-mouth was all we utilized. With each project, I challenged the team to deliver the best possible product with the best possible experience to our clients and with the best possible results. Over time, our projects got larger, the timelines increased, and volume grew. The work spoke for itself. It was working.
As the demand for our services increased, so too did the requirements of this commitment to the University. In our first year-end we met OPAC’s expectations. We had a consistent amount of billable hours and a booming new business demand. The agency model worked. The following year I added more staff and we more than doubled our workload, and in the third year we tripled it. We continue to add staff and resources to meet the challenges of the most dominant technology in the marketing communications industry.
Beyond Tactics: Integration
In three years, I directed the Web Group from a two person experiment to a leader in communications at Notre Dame. We are now at the forefront of large, University-wide initiatives that convey the messages, values, and goals of Notre Dame.
Today, the Notre Dame Web Group is not simply in the business of building websites. From our foundation, I have positioned my team as the key ingredient in integrated marketing communications. We work closely with other traditional methods of marketing. I do not think merely on the tactical level or get distracted by buzz words or flash-in-the-pan technologies. My team is strategic, calculated, and makes decisions based on traditional research and planning. We can do anything, but we only do what needs to be done.
Process: From Imagination to Implementation
Our process is simple and in this order: imagination, insight, intelligence, innovation, implementation. It is governed by a method I created called BLUEPRINT: a detailed plan or program of action.
This is how we do business at the Notre Dame Web Group. It includes our external and internal processes, documents, reports, and all methods of operations. It is:
- Organic: a systematic coordination of parts
- Granular: one of numerous particles forming a larger
- Dynamic: marked by usually continuous and productive activity or change
BLUEPRINT consists of guidelines for project planning, creative, development, content, publishing, and retention. It is handled by an on-line project management system I commissioned in June of 2004 called TINYe.
Web Group Results and Recognition
The results speak for themselves. One client told me, “…you are not changing the face of (our organization), you are transforming (our organization) to its core! I never expected the Web Page Initiative to have such a revolutionary impact on the way we present and actually see ourselves… “
When I first built the Notre Dame Web Group the focus was on infrastructure. We needed a framework for success. I was given a tremendous opportunity personally and professional by Notre Dame to commit the University to the Web and its standards. In April 2006, this was recognized by the Web Standards Project during an interview with a staff member from the Web Group. View blog entry.
Notre Dame is emerging as an authority in Web research, design, and development. The support it has given me and my staff has provided the opportunity to grow and gain experience. Amazingly, we are just getting started. With the Web Group at its side, the University is now prepared to make strategic Web communications improvements and realignments on a global scale. These will impact the way the community of Notre Dame and the outside world experiences its brand. The Web Group now makes this possible.
