I am starting my reviews with SPSBE's web site (http://spsbe.jhu.edu). I worked for WebDev at SPSBE for about a year during a 4-year stint working for the Information Technology Support Services (ITSS) unit.
Since I worked on supporting the SPSBE site, I have a great deal of insight into how the site has been managed, which parts have historically been database driven and which parts have been static. I also know a lot about the context in which it has been created and maintained, as well as how it was consumed internally and externally while I worked there.
SPSBE's site evolved from a static source into it's current incarnation organically. It is separated at a high level into two divisions (schools of Business and Education), and below that there have historically been subordinate divisions within the school(s). Differences between these divisions drive the design cycles of the sites, and exert different influences in design choices. Divisions with better-funded and bigger programs have tended to get more revisions, and have had more needs for dynamically managed content.
The site is architected on a single web server, and with a few exceptions is served by a single content management database. Dynamic functionality exists in:
| Feature |
|---|
| [at least minimally] Database Driven Navigation |
| Breadcrumbs |
| Reservations |
| Create Prospect |
In this site you see a database driven naviation linking to subordinate folder/indexs and sometimes subordinate pages. The site has the benefit of never really having to be redisigned, but instead the database driven navigation has been laid over an existing static site. The whole site has been rethought quite ingeniously with the benefit of CSS, reuse, and accessibility, but its development stalled when it came time to create a search feature.
External indexing penetrates the site quite well, and serves the users minimally. The in-product ColdFusion indexing-driven searches are good at page indexing, but are totally opaque. Thus, the school continues to really struggle to shaping the user experience.