Higher Education - Drupal Platform Evolution
AI Powered Search
Personalised User Experience
Sitecore to Drupal
Background
Zoocha worked with the University of Portsmouth (UoP) in the replatforming of their legacy SiteCore CMS to a modernised Drupal infrastructure, supporting various integration touch points across the Drupal estate. Due to the requirement to move away from Sitecore, this project began with an initial review of the existing technical infrastructure, mapping any risks and dependencies to be captured during the migration. This allowed our team to identify the most appropriate route forward in migrating to Drupal, taking advantage of automated content migration tools as well as considering manual migration where indicated.
Key Improvements
AI-Powered Search
Algolia was as the enterprise search tool of choice, as a cloud-based tool that offers a managed service this was preferred due to the powerful UI that facilitates the easy configuration of filters, facets, and live results in the search feature.
Personalisation
An options appraisal and evaluation of industry leading tools led to the selection of Acquia Personalise to drive the personalisation effort. This allows the University to substitute existing page elements with personalised content and target content to unique audience groups, as well as conduct A/B testing with distinct content experiences to different users, with no reliance on code beyond the initial set up.
Workflow Management
Zoocha implemented custom workflows and permissions management for the University, ensuring administrators had full visibility over the version history of content and access is restricted to only users that require it. This has dramatically simplified the user experience for content editors that are only responsible for one area of the site, as well as ensured that administrators have the oversight that they need.
Microsite Management
Using the Thunder Drupal distribution, Zoocha have provided the University with the ability to quickly spin-up new microsites that conform to UoP brand and accessibility guidelines. This is supported by robust documentation, providing maximum control and flexibility to the University in the management of their digital estate.
A partnership approach
Centralised agile project management has been key to the success of our partnership with UoP. With multiple agile work streams often running in parallel, regular check-ins with the Zoocha Delivery Manager and digital lead at the University to monitor each project and assess progress against core KPIs has resulted in effective timeline and budget management.
Since project inception, UoP have benefited from consistency in personnel, with the Technical Architect offering over 12 years’ experience in Drupal remaining a core contact from the offset.
This has allowed our team to make practical recommendations for improvement that stem from a deep understanding of the UoP platform and organisational objectives.
We look forward to continuing our partnerhship with the University and seeing what comes next!
Testimonial
University of PortsmouthIn the 2 and a half years UoP have worked together, the blended digital technical team has successfully delivered the replatforming of our website, integrated several 3rd party platforms, and introduced significant UX changes to transform the UoP digital presence.
If an organisation is looking to partner with a digital agency that delivers high quality outputs, is conscientious and puts its customers at the heart of everything they do Zoocha would be that ideal partner