The document discusses the evolution of Centralities, the daily newsletter of the University of Central Oklahoma (UCO), from a manually compiled Microsoft Outlook email in 2001 to a more sophisticated automated system implemented in 2013. The new system uses an asset management workflow to allow easy editing and publishing of the newsletter content. It generates an HTML email template and XML metadata file that are processed by a server-side script to send the newsletter to mailing lists. Lessons learned included allowing more time for publishing and preventing user errors through increased automation. Future plans include revising the editor, publishing the archive from the workflow, and expanding the solution to other campus communications.

1. Not Just for the Web:
Cascade and Mass Email Messages
Cascade User Conference
September 17, 2013

2. UCO Configuration Overview

3. Our Challenge
Distribution of Daily News
Daily newsletter
Stories submitted by the UCO community
Compiled by University Relations
Emailed to the UCO community

4. Original Solution
Centralities Mark I
Born in 2001
Hand typed daily in Outlook
Archives in a shared Outlook folder
Had to be sent before the close of business

5. Centralities - 2001

6. Original Solution
Centralities Mark II
Created in MS Word
Sent as HTML from Word
Added branding
Repeated typos due to Word->HTML translation
Still archived in Outlook folder
Still sent before close of business

7. Centralities - 2005

8. Centralities - 2008

9. Centralities - 2009

10. Plan for a New Version
Centralities Mark III
User friendly creation and editing of messages
Queue for sending at any time
University branded
Automatically go out to multiple mailing lists
Online version and online archive

11. User-Friendly Editing

12. The Solution
Email Message Asset – The Message
Simple two-column HTML page
Left column for a block of upcoming events
Right column for content
Base URL set
Simple workflow:
Edit -> Publish Preview -> Publish Production
“View on Website” link

13. Workflow

14. Centralities - 2013

15. The Metafile
Email Message Asset – The Metafile
Uses the asset ID as a unique identifier
Contains:
 Send Date and Time
 Path to the HTML file
 All information for email headers
XML-based

16. The Metafile

17. The Archive
Published nightly
Simple jQuery-based script to filter the links

18. The Solution
Production Server-Side Script
Rewrite URLs for hostname change
Extract email information from the Metafile
Check if already processed
Send the email
Final cleanup

19. Lessons Learned
Timing
HTML and XML files are not published
instantaneously or simultaneously
Protect People from Themselves
More automation equals less chance of user error

20. Future Plans
Revise the edit form
Publish the archive from the Workflow
Add logging
Errors emailed to our Service Desk
Expand solution to other areas of campus
 President’s Office
 Cabinet Notes

21. David J. Lodge
405-974-2691
http://technology.uco.edu
dlodge@uco.edu