James Robertson provides much needed assistance for those shopping for content management systems. In Top 10 Mistakes When Selecting A CMS, Robertson shares valuable advice designed to prevent you from making the most common content management system procurement snafus. 

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According to Roberston, managing director of Step Two Designs, an intranet and content management consultancy based in Sydney, Australia, “It is easy to get caught up in the detail of the requirements and the CMS project, losing sight of the overall objectives and process. The starting point is therefore to step back and to evaluate where the project is at, and how it will proceed. By reviewing the project against the ‘top 10’ in this article, it should be possible to chart a rapid (but careful) path through the selection process, to the final deployment of a CMS that works well for authors, site administrators and the wider organisation.”

Photo © wista – FOTOLIA

In number five of the top ten list—Not distinguishing between requirements and selection criteria—Robertson says, “The core trap for those writing content management tenders is failing to distinguish between requirements and selection criteria,” which Robertson explains are NOT the same thing. “At the end of the day, there must be a clear distinction between requirements and selection criteria.”

If you’re looking for more than just some friendly shopping advice, you might consider getting a copy of Robertson’s Content Management Requirements Toolkit. The Toolkit provides a comprehensive starting point for identifying the business and technical requirements that will drive your selection process. It contains 133 fully-developed CMS requirements, across five main categories. These are ready to be cut-and-pasted into your content management tender, saving days of effort and ensuring that nothing is missed.”

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