Dear Bill: I agree with Barbara's comments below with a caveat. Museum leadership should be called upon to make the decision on who manages web site but they should make the call from a position of educated strength. My recommendation is, unless you are simply rolling in money, that the responsible path for any cultural heritage organization to take in 2008 is to send out an a Request for Information (RFI) as opposed to an Request for Proposal (RFP) to several developers asking them to comment, in a brief document, on what they do for your institution, how they would propose to do it, how you would manage it, and what, in general, it might cost--you should also include your current favored vendor in the process. When all the responses come back in you then weight the pros and cons, sometimes a favored vendor will come in higher than others, but a good working relationship might compensate for the additional cost. This information is then presented to the museum leadership, or reviewed in conjunction with museum leadership, depending on the size of your institution, and a decision is made.
If it comes down to a choice between one or two, then you might want to go with a full blown RFP, but I've always found RFIs are just as useful and not as time consuming for all parties. Then...once you've chosen your vendor the most important thing is to MANAGE EVERYONE'S EXPECTATIONS. This means creating a specifications document for the final project that sets out what you are going to do, what they are going to do and assure that everyone one understands the parameters of the project. Hope this helps, Holly Witchey Cleveland Museum of Art 11150 East Blvd. Cleveland, OH 44106 216-707-2653 hwitchey at clevelandart.org -----Original Message----- From: mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu [mailto:mcn-l-boun...@mcn.edu] On Behalf Of Barbara Stokes Sent: Monday, June 30, 2008 10:59 PM To: 'Museum Computer Network Listserv' Subject: Re: [MCN-L] Organizational Question Your museum leadership should make the decision on who manages the website. In our museum, website management is part of marketing and development. As for your proposal to submit specs to several website vendors rather than stay with the current vendor in revamping the site, it depends on how reliable and service-oriented your current vendor is and what their capabilities are. Not a definitive answer, I know, but there are a lot of factors to be considered. Barbara Stokes, Senior Curator Archives, Collections, and Programs Museum of South Texas History 200 N. Closner Boulevard Edinburg, TX 78541 bstokes at mosthistory.org 956/383-6911 -----Original Message----- From: mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu [mailto:mcn-l-boun...@mcn.edu] On Behalf Of william jahsman Sent: Tuesday, July 01, 2008 9:47 AM To: mcn-l at mcn.edu Subject: [MCN-L] Organizational Question Hi, list members. I'm a recent subscriber. I work at a museum-in-progress, The Leonardo, in Salt Lake City. As with all startups, there are a million things to do. My short list is programming for Body Worlds and beyond, procurement of a membership system, new website development, and infrastructure. The exhibits director is proposing we sole source our website development to our current vendor. Our current website (www.theleonardo.org) is beautiful but not very functional. I'm proposing we submit our requirements to several vendors and choose the best one. Is it customary for an exhibits manager to specify website development? How is it handled in your organization? TIA, Bill Jahsman The Leonardo 801-531-9800 _______________________________________________ You are currently subscribed to mcn-l, the listserv of the Museum Computer Network (http://www.mcn.edu) To post to this list, send messages to: mcn-l at mcn.edu To unsubscribe or change mcn-l delivery options visit: http://toronto.mediatrope.com/mailman/listinfo/mcn-l _______________________________________________ You are currently subscribed to mcn-l, the listserv of the Museum Computer Network (http://www.mcn.edu) To post to this list, send messages to: mcn-l at mcn.edu To unsubscribe or change mcn-l delivery options visit: http://toronto.mediatrope.com/mailman/listinfo/mcn-l
