The comments below relate to higher-education sector websites previously developed by Peter in 2000-2003 whilst working under the business name ‘dialogue designs’.
Systems Discipline, Centre for Complexity and Change
Faculty of Technology
The Open University
UK
“I was instantly attracted to the ‘amend-it-yourself’ website system. The idea that I could modify my website from anywhere in the world with internet access was very appealing – and it’s so easy!! I’m now using the system for both my personal website and my research project…”
[And regarding SysWeb, the Open University Systems Discipline’s Intranet/Extranet site]
“Dialogue Designs’ sitemachine/amend-it-yourself content
management system makes it very straightforward for the department
members to each take responsibility for updating and expanding different parts of
the SysWeb site. Staff find it very easy to modify pages and create new
ones, and it makes it simple for us to set up restricted-access sections
of the website to support special project groups. We are also running a very successful international web based study group using the mailing list and discussion tools provided by the site. The SysWeb site gets heavy traffic
and is absolutely reliable.”
Faculty of Technology
The Open University
UK
“I found the SysWeb software very easy to use. Creating the text for the page did not need any specialist knowledge and it took a very short time to become accomplished at formatting and linking text. I also found it useful that the text fields on the straw poll were not limited and enabled me to write what I wanted. The ideas bank is a great tool, very useful for gathering feedback and ideas in a way which is easy to use and accessible to all. The quiz facility is a simple elegant way of making a website truly interactive and I welcome a chance to use this in the future.”
Wageningen,
The Netherlands.
“What we wanted was a web site with lots of different sections that we could
each build and edit, use to distribute documents, and interact with our
users. One that was easy to navigate, flexible and yet distinctive. What we
didn’t have in our small organisation were specialised IT people, loads of
money for expensive consultants talking another language, or lots of time to
learn how to author web sites. What we found was Dialogue Designs.“What we have now, after 18 months, is a site of over 500 pages, in 3
different languages, with 7 people regularly updating the contents. The
number of hits is growing fast – currently about 7 thousand hits per month.
Our only problem now is how to best use the site – not how to make it.”
Cranfield University
UK
“…has been found to be some of the most reliable bespoke software ever purchased by the University. It was installed and running on our server within two days of it being supplied and has never been subject to a major failure.
The proof of the pudding for bespoke software is the extent to which it is used and taken up within the organisation. The two Departments which initially commissioned the software to be written are so pleased with the success of this first experiment that they are extending the use of the Online Course Companion to courses other that the MSc in Process Systems Engineering for which it was first designed. There is also a significant interest right across the University by others who wish to see how this approach can enhance their teaching activities.” [System built by Dialogue Designs in 2001 based on our SiteMachine version 1 content management system.]