I’m not surprised that Saanich’s revised website interface is costly, given the low performance of the average website coding company and Saanich’s IT department, the inefficiency of organizations, and the emphasis of recycled Saanich councillors on appearances instead of facts and values.
Good security and a major advance in usability should have been part of the effort, yet the new scheme fails usability from the start of use – graphics are far too large, which requires much more scrolling to see actual content. (I haven’t used it enough to judge if most information is easier to find than with the old, poorly organized website, council activities aren’t.)
Complexity can be handled by true professionals, based on principles and sound development procedures. But they take a rational customer to get requirements clear before starting programming – note council’s June 20, 2016 agenda package lists two failures to define requirements completely. And it’s odd that Atomic Crayon is credited with the work yet more money was paid to a different company that appears to be only a personnel agency, supposedly to manage the project (which they appear to have failed to do).
RFP processes are only as good as the objectivity and smarts of the requestor, whereas the website project and the development of the criteria for an EDPA consultant suggest Saanich lacks both. It’s up to voters to straighten governments out by developing solid candidates and helping them get elected less than two years from now, so we have a council that can ensure leadership for quality work.
Keith Sketchley
Saanich