You’ll soon notice a few changes to APSA Central. The site is undergoing an upgrade to its member-facing side and to the back end of the site.
Why the upgrade?
APSA Central was built on the sixth edition of Drupal, a popular web platform. This edition will be phased out by the end of 2016. Drupal will no longer provide security updates or fixes to the platform after that time, putting APSA Central at a security risk.
APSA Central serves as an information hub for members and a comprehensive repository for committees and staff. Confidential advocacy case summaries, Board resolutions and pension reports and minutes are some of the few elements hosted on the site.
To keep this knowledge accessible, confidential and secure, an upgrade to Drupal’s newest edition of Drupal is needed.
Process
A subcommittee of Board members, with expertise in web development, created a request for proposals and posted it on BC Bids. Eleven submissions were received.
The subcommittee rated the submissions according to delivery time, cost, references, background experience and maintenance options.
BAJ Media scored the highest out of these criteria and was awarded the contract.
Member input
As work began on the back end of the site, we took the opportunity to ask members if the website was meeting their needs and to determine if any front-end revisions should be taken.
A 40-question survey was sent out in September, with 63% of members providing feedback on areas that need revising. We worked with BAJ Media’s user experience consultants to integrate those changes into the upgrade.
Budget
The upgrade will cost approximately $50,000. Over the last three years, the Board set aside small increments under the Computer Equipment and Software Development line item in the annual budget, in preparation for the cost.
The remaining will be paid out of the reserves account, as this item is not an ongoing operating expense. In the 2017 – 2018 Budget, due out in September, the cost will be reflected under the “reserves” line item.
To avoid major one-time expenses, we will be upgrading the system as new editions come out, instead of waiting until the edition expires. The Board will put aside $12,000 annually to cover this.
Where we’re at now
The projected completion date is end of summer. The upgrade is on phase four of seven phases.
Content is currently being moved from the existing site to a development site. Once that is complete, key APSA staff will review the development site before it goes live in phase six. The last phase includes creating a manual for the site and training for staff and committees.