Review of the current thinking and strategic approaches being adopted by the Digital Media department of the V&A in their work of creating public-facing digital media services.

1. Digital Media at the V&A
Andrew Lewis
Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums
Bits 2 Blogs, 19 March 2013
linkd.in/andrewlewis
@rosemarybeetle
Victoria and Albert Museum

2. This session these issues
This session will cover will cover…
• Organisational governance and structure
• Digital Media content-delivery strategies
• Technical implementation of digital services
1. Developing new services
2. Rationalising legacy systems
• Using evidence of user needs to develop services

3. A journey

4. Strategy Governance
Iterate
Implementation Measurement

5. Governance

6. Governance….

7. Organisational governance

8. Digital Governance –agreed March 2012
New governance for digital processes March 2012

9. Trustee’s Technology Strategy Committee - role
• Ensure best practice in digital
• Agree, review and steer projects within an
overarching digital programme
• Check design integrity of digital output

10. Trustee’s Technology Strategy Committee - scope
• Digital output and content
• ICT infrastructure
• Creation of digital assets

11. Aligning departmental structure

12. Digital Media restructuring July 2012

13. Defining content process

14. Content commissioning workflow

15. Strategy

17. Developing strategic guidelines

18. Technical strategic guidelines
• Be audience focussed
• Use open data-driven as default
• Mobile first
• Use short planning cycles and defined product lifespans
• Make faster, smaller changes to services
• Separate content programming from delivery design
• Have clear governance and processes
• Objective-based planning/ evidence-based review
• A strategic direction not a fixed destination

19. Implementation

20. Change is daunting
Now Future

21. Rationalising services

22. V&A website landscape March 2012

23. V&A projected website landscape

24. You have to start somewhere

25. Targeted areas for 6-12 month action

26. Tough Love

27. Change requires hard decisions and
effort
• Restructured digital media department
• Department staff reduced by 30%
• Closed down 50+ legacy microsites
• Closed down 100+ legacy interactives
• Migrated main CMS to the Cloud
• Migrated media store off site

28. Shiny new things

29. New services or enhancements
• Iterations of responsive design for mobile
• Main pages, Home page, July 2012
• What’s On, Search pages, November 2012
• The Network – multiple-feed news blog
• Launched calendar app
• Improved What’s On design
• Rolling out branded V&A font on web pages
• Data-driven digital labels
• Launched 100 Plays theatre app

30. Responsive mobile website - July 2012

31. Mobile – user behaviour

32. Technical strategic guidelines
• Be audience focussed
• Use open data-driven as default
• Mobile first
• Use short planning cycles and defined product
lifespans
• Make faster, smaller changes to services
• Separate content programming from delivery design
• Have clear governance and processes
• Objective-based planning/ evidence-based review

33. The Network www.vam.ac.uk/b/blog/network

34. The Network – multiple-feed news blog

35. The Network
Learning Artist in Residence
Poster collection Engraved ornament
Research

36. Technical strategic guidelines
• Be audience focussed
• Use open data-driven as default
• Mobile first
• Use short planning cycles and defined product
lifespans
• Make faster, smaller changes to services
• Separate content programming from delivery design
• Have clear governance and processes
• Objective-based planning/ evidence-based review

37. Evidence

38. Beginners guide to using analytics
= good, right?

39. Technical strategic guidelines
• Be audience focussed
• Use open data-driven as default
• Mobile first
• Use short planning cycles and defined product
lifespans
• Make faster, smaller changes to services
• Separate content programming from delivery design
• Have clear governance and processes
• Objective-based planning/ evidence-based review

40. Using Analytics to understand users
2 1 5
4
3

41. 8,961 visits from here
18,961 visits from same
header link on ALL pages
(includes home page)
21,089 visits
from here
slidesha.re/ZoOiOr

42. Asking users to understand users
Survey visitors to the V&A Autumn 2012
•People turn off data to save money
•60% of people use a SMART phone to
enhance their visit
•People bring their phones, but not their
tablets
Full report free to download on V&A Digital Media blog
www.vam.ac.uk/digitalmedia

43. Organisations are systems
Strategy Governance
Iterate
Implementation Measurement

44. A journey

45. Digital Media at the V&A
Andrew Lewis
Thank you
www.vam.ac.uk/digitalmedia
Victoria and Albert Museum