Background
In May 2024, a leading private K-12 (the client) school with multiple campuses required a secure, scalable, and feature-rich digital platform to manage student information, internal communications, admissions, and content delivery for students, parents, and faculty. Their existing Umbraco-based content management system (CMS) was no longer meeting their needs in terms of scalability, personalisation, and user experience.
Challenges with Umbraco
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01
Limited Personalisation & User Roles
Umbraco lacked built-in role-based access and personalised content delivery. -
02
Scalability Issues
Increasing content and users led to performance slowdowns. -
03
Inefficient Workflow Management
Teachers and administrators struggled with document sharing and approvals. -
04
No Integrated Portal for Parents & Students
Required a single sign-on (SSO) experience. -
05
Security Concerns
Needed a robust access control system for handling student and parent data.
Project Brief
- Showcasing their point of difference across all digital touchpoints.
- Leveraging a new Liferay instance for the website.
- Incorporating a fresh, user-centric design to enhance overall engagement.
Why Liferay?
- Role-Based Access Control – Custom dashboards for students, teachers, parents, and admin staff.
- Personalised Content Delivery – Dynamic content based on user roles.
- Integrated Communication Tools – Forums, announcements, and newsletters.
- Scalable Infrastructure – Capable of handling high traffic and growing user number.
- Enhanced Security – Meets FERPA and GDPR compliance for student data protection.
Our Approach
Functional Specification Document (FSD)
To ensure clarity and alignment, we proposed creating a Functional Specification Document (FSD) outlining:
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01
Design requirements and objectives.
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02
New or retired functionalities.
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03
The development process and strategies.
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04
A detailed timeline covering design, development, testing, and launch phases.
This collaborative process ensured that the client fully endorsed the project scope and direction before development began. It also provided the accepted framework we would be migrating to which was Liferay.
Design Process
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Stakeholder Engagement:
Our designer worked closely with Our client's project manager and engaged prospective users (e.g., parents) to inform the design. User feedback was gathered using interactive exercises, such as menu card sorting, to optimise the website’s UX and navigation structure. -
Fragment-Based Design:
The design process utilised fragments, enabling modular, reusable components. Five key page templates were developed to streamline the creation of 40 pages, with additional input and feedback sessions facilitating the design of non-template pages.
Milestone Tracking
Development Process
Agile Methodology
An Agile development approach was adopted to enable flexibility and continuous collaboration:
- Weekly Work-in-Progress (WIP) meetings ensured transparency and allowed Our client to review progress iteratively.
- Stakeholders could approve specific sections during development, reducing the risk of last-minute changes.
Testing
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Internal Testing:
Comprehensive testing was conducted to validate functionality, usability, compatibility, performance, and security. -
User Acceptance Testing (UAT):
Our client performed UAT to ensure the website met user expectations under real-world conditions.
Go-Live Process
- Functionality under live conditions.
- Integration with third-party systems.
- SEO validation and analytics.
Results & Business Impact
- 30% Faster Portal Performance – Reduced load times and enhanced response speeds.
- Seamless User Experience – A centralised hub for parents, students, and faculty.
- 50% Reduction in Administrative Workload – Automated workflows improved efficiency.
- Higher Parent Engagement – Easier access to updates, event registrations, and reports.
- Increased Security & Compliance – Role-based access improved data privacy
Conclusion
The transition from Umbraco to Liferay successfully addressed the client’s need for a more scalable, secure, and user-friendly digital platform. By leveraging Liferay’s advanced role-based access control, workflow automation, and personalised content delivery, the new system significantly improved operational efficiency, user engagement, and data security. The structured approach—incorporating stakeholder engagement, Agile development, and rigorous testing—ensured a seamless implementation. As a result, the client now benefits from a future-proof platform that enhances the digital experience for students, parents, and faculty while reducing administrative overhead.
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