September/October 2021 - 45

The All New DFI.org
Following two preparation years, DFI is approaching the
launch of its brand new website and data management
system. We can't wait to hear what you think about the
results in modernizing the site to make information more
easily accessible and findable for you, and to streamline
processes to reduce the time required on the site and improve
efficiency.
A Strong Foundation
Our original website and admin systems provided an
excellent foundation for the upgrade. Starting with a single
site and relational database system, they grew to include
numerous data fields, roughly 30,000 contact profiles and
3,500 products, and quite a few documents and subsites for
DFI regional chapters.
Design
In March 2020, a phase began of revising processes, data
structures (database fields), policies and general system
requirements. DFI staff and the consultant gathered user
feedback by conducting a survey (which received ~300
responses), and held 20 demographic-specific focus group
sessions, pulled from initial survey respondents.
Ultimately, to mitigate negative user effects of the systems
redesign, an iterative change tactic was adopted. Rather than
updating all procedures, styling and branding aspects, DFI
updated these elements progressively, and will continue to do
so for policies and requirements as the digital environment
evolves.
Build
The technology build stage began in June 2020, which
involved getting the new system set up and migrating current
data/records, plus redesigning the public website using
WordPress for content management.
This phase included preliminary system configuration,
eStore customization for DFI's complex product line, and
design of a custom corporate member module. Other work
included moving from a relational table database system to an
object-oriented database system.
The website page content was also reviewed for updates
and accuracy across the general dfi.org site, and the India,
Europe and Trust subsites, with a goal of being more succinct,
user-intuitive and visually appealing. In addition, a custom,
dedicated site was created and launched to publish and
promote the DFI Journal, seeking to increase its impact factor,
and provide an indexing option to attract additional valuable
articles for our member readers.
Original website homepage
Research
DFI leadership and a consultant hired to oversee this project
(see new staff article on page 51) then began a review of the
current system over two years ago that was completed in May
2019; this allowed for the researching of viable alternative
sys t ems , the de f ining /document ing o f cur rent
processes/procedures, and gathering informal user feedback.
After a detailed search, X-CD Technologies, a Canadian-based
software company, was selected for system development
because of its streamlined approach and clientele that
includes similar science, engineering and medical
societies/associations, such as the Canadian Geotechnical
Society.
New Journal site homepage
Increased Member Connectivity
With the COVID-19 pandemic in the mix, DFI also needed to
increase member access online to its highly attended
conferences and seminars. X-CD developed a new virtual
event platform that was the site for DFI45 Online (the 2020
DEEP FOUNDATIONS * SEPT/OCT 2021 * 45
http://www.dfi.org
September/October 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of September/October 2021
