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CRD panel approves spending $287,023 for website overhaul


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#1 sebberry

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Posted 31 October 2012 - 11:54 AM

A bit old now but I had to comment on it.

I bet if you stopped and asked people on the street what they wanted the CRD to spend $287,000 on, a website wouldn't be the first thing that comes to mind.


CRD panel approves spending $287,023 for website overhaul

The Capital Regional District will spend almost $300,000 to redesign and rebuild its website.

Members of the CRD's finance and corporate services committee endorsed a staff recommendation to award the $287,023 bid from FCV of Vancouver for the redesign contract. FCV was the lowest of three bidders.

[...]


CRD panel approves spending $287,023 for website overhaul

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#2 pherthyl

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Posted 31 October 2012 - 12:01 PM

A bit old now but I had to comment on it.

I bet if you stopped and asked people on the street what they wanted the CRD to spend $287,000 on, a website wouldn't be the first thing that comes to mind.


People on the street are by and large not qualified to judge a project they know nothing about except from the loaded question they were just asked by a reporter.
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#3 VicHockeyFan

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Posted 31 October 2012 - 12:04 PM

If the website frees up the time of just one or two full-time equivalents, not having to answer phones, explain programs, take manual applications etc., then its worth it.
<p><span style="font-size:12px;"><em><span style="color:rgb(40,40,40);font-family:helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">"I don’t need a middle person in my pizza slice transaction" <strong>- zoomer, April 17, 2018</strong></span></em></span>

#4 Adrian

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Posted 31 October 2012 - 01:09 PM

I!m afraid Sedbury is right on this one. It always amazes me that no one ever seems to look at the millions the CRD spends. One of the major benefits of amalgamation would be getting rid of much of the CRD's ridiculously huge payroll and uncontrolled spending on office infrastructure and amenities.

VV should establish a whole separate investigation of the CRD budget.

Adrian

#5 Hotel Mike

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Posted 31 October 2012 - 01:11 PM

Big black hole is a good way to describe it Adrian. And let's not forget about already wasting $25 million towards a land-based sewage treatment rush that we can only hope will not be built.
Don't be so sure.:cool:

#6 dasmo

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Posted 31 October 2012 - 01:57 PM

I only wish I could have the opportunity to bid on such contracts....At $100/hour 3000 hours is 1.5 person years to overhaul the CRD website...:o

#7 Fairbanks

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Posted 31 October 2012 - 02:05 PM

Time to get rid of the CRD!!!. They are our equivalent of Translink. More than a quarter million dollars for what? WTF?!!!

#8 Mike K.

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Posted 31 October 2012 - 02:12 PM

Coincidentally the CRD just launched new radio and print ads in support of the sewage project (albeit costing many thousands of dollars just to air and print, let alone create). Spending taxpayer money to promote a taxpayer-funded project that many taxpayers do not support is questionable.

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#9 pherthyl

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Posted 31 October 2012 - 03:13 PM

I!m afraid Sedbury is right on this one. It always amazes me that no one ever seems to look at the millions the CRD spends. One of the major benefits of amalgamation would be getting rid of much of the CRD's ridiculously huge payroll and uncontrolled spending on office infrastructure and amenities.

VV should establish a whole separate investigation of the CRD budget.

Adrian


And I rest my case. Here's a man off the street that knows nothing about this project, the business case for it, how the cost stacks up to industry norms, how it may impact other resources, or how it might be right in line with the city's mandate, and yet does not hesitate to immediately jump to the conclusion that this is a bad idea.

#10 pherthyl

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Posted 31 October 2012 - 03:16 PM

I only wish I could have the opportunity to bid on such contracts....At $100/hour 3000 hours is 1.5 person years to overhaul the CRD website...:o


So you've just extended the timeline by 50%. That is an improvement?
And you have expertise in requirements gathering, web development, database development, data migration, graphic design, user interaction design, user testing, deployment, etc?
If so I think you should charge a lot more than $100/hour!

#11 Bingo

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Posted 31 October 2012 - 03:17 PM

I bet if you stopped and asked people on the street what they wanted the CRD to spend $287,000 on, a website wouldn't be the first thing that comes to mind.


Are they getting it done in China? :construction:

#12 spanky123

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Posted 31 October 2012 - 03:26 PM

A bit old now but I had to comment on it.

I bet if you stopped and asked people on the street what they wanted the CRD to spend $287,000 on, a website wouldn't be the first thing that comes to mind.


I'd bet if you stopped and asked people on the street if they even knew that the CRD had a website let alone ever used it I would be suprised if you got a 1% positive response.

#13 Mike K.

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Posted 31 October 2012 - 03:44 PM

So you've just extended the timeline by 50%. That is an improvement?
And you have expertise in requirements gathering, web development, database development, data migration, graphic design, user interaction design, user testing, deployment, etc?
If so I think you should charge a lot more than $100/hour!


Shouldn't we start with identifying what is wrong with the current website? I use the website quite extensively and have found it both user friendly and up to date. Unless the CRD intends to reinvent how it engages the public via it's website I wonder if what they're ultimately goal is with the new site.

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#14 VicHockeyFan

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Posted 31 October 2012 - 03:57 PM

I only wish I could have the opportunity to bid on such contracts....At $100/hour 3000 hours is 1.5 person years to overhaul the CRD website...:o


If you meet the qualifications you can bid. As they stated, they accepted the lowest bid.
<p><span style="font-size:12px;"><em><span style="color:rgb(40,40,40);font-family:helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">"I don’t need a middle person in my pizza slice transaction" <strong>- zoomer, April 17, 2018</strong></span></em></span>

#15 pherthyl

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Posted 31 October 2012 - 04:17 PM

Shouldn't we start with identifying what is wrong with the current website? I use the website quite extensively and have found it both user friendly and up to date. Unless the CRD intends to reinvent how it engages the public via it's website I wonder if what they're ultimately goal is with the new site.


I find it highly improbable that they didn't already do that.
Is this a good project? I have no idea.
What I do know is that jumping to a conclusion that the proper process has not been followed or that it is a waste of money is pretty naive. Imagine if one of your work projects was the subject of a 1 page critique by a reporter trying to portray it as overpriced. Would a layperson be qualified to judge it based on that?
Certainly lets get more transparency of the process (I don't know if the necessary background info is already on the CRD website because its hard to navigate!) but until I see the business case I wouldn't judge the merits of the project..

#16 Mike K.

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Posted 01 November 2012 - 06:30 AM

The CRD conducted polls and sought user feedback in ...2009. I'm not sure if a concern voiced nearly four years ago is the same concern that someone may have today. Seems to me like they should have engaged the public over the last six months before moving forward with a $300,000 project based on feedback gathered in 2009.

Like I said the website is quite informative and I find it easy to use. Everything is categorized well, the information is up to date the search function works relatively well. Making it look prettier and adding a few web 2.0 functions won't make it into something it isn't already (I'm in the business, I know how shiny colours can drive website updates while failing to improve usability or develop new and novel ways of delivering information).

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#17 dasmo

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Posted 01 November 2012 - 08:04 AM

I do have experience with development and design yes....
What Mike says is why, IMO, 300k seems a bit much. It's not a site of this scale from scratch. I don't do web development though, but I have been involved with it at different levels. To be fair, I haven't seen the project brief...

Recent events, in regards to the bridge, have made me much more cynical as of late...

#18 sebberry

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Posted 01 November 2012 - 09:19 AM

IMO, both the City of Victoria and Langford websites were in bad need of an overhaul. The end result is a visually attractive website that's also quite functional.

Like Mike, I find the CRD website quite well laid out with information easy to find, unlike the old CoV website. It might not be as pretty as the CoV or Langford sites, but it's functional. And when you consider that we still have people in our city who aren't comfortable with technology, you need a website that will cater to a broad range of people. In it's current form, I think the CRD website does this well. If it functioned like the old CoV site, then I'd agree it was time for an upgrade.

We don't know the exact scope of the project but I suspect given the "aging" appearance of it I'd suspect it includes a significant upgrade to the visual presence the site has.

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#19 Bingo

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Posted 01 November 2012 - 01:51 PM

Making it look prettier and adding a few web 2.0 functions won't make it into something it isn't already (I'm in the business, I know how shiny colours can drive website updates while failing to improve usability or develop new and novel ways of delivering information).


CFAX for example?

#20 sebberry

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Posted 01 November 2012 - 01:54 PM

No kidding. The CFAX web poll still doesn't work...

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