Customer: National Institute for Neurological Disorders (NINDS), National Institutes of Health (NIH), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
(Computer Sciences Corporation, prime contractor)
Goal: Provide professional website, and intranet design, development, maintenance, and support services to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
Application:
- Epilepsy Research Benchmarks Message Board Development and Implementation – Develop and implement message board application through which NINDS is able to gather public input in this manner for the first time.
- Wellstone Center Web Site Development – Develop and Implement the new features and functionality for the Wellstone Center web site. Transfer the site from old hosting server into NIH server.
- New NINDS Grants Web Content Development and Implementation – Develop and implement a new web content type which ultimately is being used as a model to all NINDS grant web pages.
- NINDS Intranet and Internet Maintenance – Respond to update and change requests for both NINDS intranet and internet.
- Software implementation – Identify customers’ needs based on their requirements and translate that into a web application which is suitable to their business processing. Verify software business functionality and provide technical advice which in return add values to their site, thus increase web traffics. Implement new technology to facilitate user interaction with the sites.
- Software Upgrade – Update existing software to mirror current business procedures.
- Others – Provide support to generating some multimedia projects such as dynamic Flash News box on NINDS public site.
Challenges:
- Provide long-term stable staffing solution within challenging NIH environment.
- Come up with solutions to meet the requirements of users who don’t necessarily have technology knowledge and background.
- Design and develop web application based not only on the client needs, the aesthetic but also on 508 regulations.
FTI’s Approach: Specific tasks include:
- Update ninds.nih.gov website and related sites and application with content provided by the Government, in accordance with Federal standards
- Review and approve content updates entered into the content management system (Rhythmyx)
- Train government personnel to perform content updates using Rhythmyx (RX), a content management system (CMS) licensed from Percussion, Inc., and provide content updates assistance
- Create new workflows and add new users to RX
- Update website so that the content is fully accessible by persons with disabilities (Section 508)
- Track all website content update requests using the Remedy trouble ticketing system
- Provide technical and administrative assistance with the NIH Portal (Plumtree).
Products Used: Rhythmyx (RX) content management system (CMS), Remedy trouble ticketing system, Plumtree portal software, HTML, JAVASCRIPT, CSS style sheet and Photoshop, Share Point Designer, VisualBasic Web Forms, Microsoft Access, Javascript, C#, SQLServer, .NET, XML, XSLT, ASP, ASP.NET1.1/2.0
Benefits:
- Provide an authoritative resource on all neurological disorders
- Foster better communication, collaboration and cooperation among and between its various stakeholders
- Provide a full array of usability assessments and processes to establish standards for the architecture and long-term viability of the Institute’s goals
- Help guide NINDS through the cultural and business changes that will occur as NINDS changes the way it does business.
Delivery: On time, within budget. CMMI Level 3 project.