Chapters

ASIS Chapter Website Development Issues - ASIS Chapter Internet Development

By: Steve Duell
Website Committee Chairman - Columbia River Chapter #064
Website Committee Member - San Francisco Bay Area Chapter #006

Introduction

This document is a general discussion and suggested set of guidelines for the development of ASIS Chapter web sites.

General Discussion

The primary reason for creating and maintaining an ASIS Chapter website is to provide the local members with up-to-date information and the ability to use the website to interact with the local Chapter. As such, a Chapter website should be thought of as a tool that is used to enhance the usefulness of the ASIS Chapter. A well-developed Chapter website should complement the local Chapter not overshadow it or be a replacement for actual meetings.

The advantage of having and using an ASIS Chapter website is that it gives the Chapter collaborative options that work with individual members' schedules and which gives them the ability to participate more often in the Chapter and at their convenience. Similarly, a Chapter website also gives the more remote members the opportunity to stay in touch with what's going on in the Chapter. Finally, a Chapter website offers members a chance to interact with other member's that they may never have been able to meet with at regular Chapter meetings.

This being said, it follows reason that all aspects of an ASIS Chapter website should first and foremost be in compliance with, and in the spirit of, ASIS conduct and professionalism. The Chapter website should serve as both a formal representative of the Chapter and as a "rally point" for the local Chapter members. Just like the Chapter newsletter is a platform for sharing Chapter information, so should the Chapter website be a platform for sharing Chapter information with the added advantage of being more easily kept up-to-date and which also has the ability to provide relief for some of the Chapter administration activities such as event registration.

In the course of determining appropriate Chapter website content, we should begin with the most basic of standard ASIS Chapter features and then look for how these features can be enhanced through the use of a Chapter website. Although a Chapter website is capable of being able to provide embellishments that would not otherwise be possible, there should still be certain fundamental Chapter website components that continue to function exactly the same as their real world counterparts. A good premise for beginning work on this task would be to try and imitate real life with the Chapter website.

General Guidelines

  1. All content should reflect well upon ASIS.
  2. If it isn't a fact, don't publish it.
  3. If it isn't appropriate for a Chapter meeting then it probably isn't appropriate for the website either.

Recommended Chapter Website Components

General Discussion

In determining which aspects of an ASIS Chapter website are appropriate for use, you may wish to consider taking a "brochure" approach to the solution. In essence, this approach says that if you would be willing and able to put the information into a brochure, then recreating this "brochure" as a website should not raise any causes for concern. If we follow this approach, then many of the recommended components should become immediately easy to determine.

If we are to also insist that Chapter websites have at least a minimal amount of functionality, then we may wish to continue to use the "brochure" approach. Many brochures frequently include registration/application forms and payment information. Similarly, a Chapter website can also offer event registration and membership application forms. The fundamental difference in this situation being that online form results can be immediately emailed whereas brochure applications would still need to be sent by snail-mail.

Minimum Recommended Components

Website Content

  1. ASIS Name and Logo
  2. Chapter Name [and Logo if you have one]
  3. Introduction
    1. Description of ASIS [hyperlink to www.asisonline.org], chapters should not write their own
    2. Welcome to the local Chapter
  4. Contact Information
    1. Name
    2. Contact data (at least one)
      1. Phone number
      2. Fax number
      3. Email address
      4. Mailing address
    3. Chapter Title (e.g. Chairman, vice-chairman, etc.)
  5. Future Chapter Meeting Information
    1. Date
    2. Location
    3. Cost
    4. Subject
    5. Registration Method(s)
  6. Hyperlinks
    1. ASIS International Website [www.asisonline.org]
    2. Security Management [www.securitymanagement.com]
    3. Links to other sites if:
      1. Provides information valuable to persons working in the security profession, or
      2. Is a specific page or section of a for-profit web site that provides valuable information for free to security professionals, or
      3. Is not hosted or provided by an organization with an interest in the sale of products or services unless that organization participates in a referral program with ASIS International.
  7. Copyright Notice

Website Architecture

  1. Registered Domain Name for the Chapter
    1. Should use the .org suffix
  2. Web server location for hosting the web site
  3. Password protection for modification of the web page(s)
  4. A Homepage
    1. All additional web pages should be accessible by following hyperlinks or responding to forms in the web site
  5. All images should be stored in an image folder on the web server

Summary

The guidelines listed above should accommodate the minimal requirements of a small Chapter that has a one-page only website. Following these guidelines should provide a professional, albeit sparse, Internet presence for the Chapter that is useful to both its members and visitors.

Additional Website Components

General Discussion

In this section, we will discuss the additional website components that may be added to Chapter websites. The use of these additional components will depend upon the needs and budget of the Chapter. This discussion will only include known web site technologies and practices available at this time. It is reasonable to assume that in the future there will be developments that will necessitate reviewing and updating this list.

When examining potential additional website components, it needs to be noted that there may frequently be several viable methods for accomplishing a specific task. The method chosen to accomplish a specific task may already be pre-determined based on how the rest of the website is already set up. Alternatively, the chosen method may be pre-determined by the software tools, ISP restrictions, and the web development skills of the webmaster. Regardless of the method(s) used, the end result should always be in compliance with ASIS guidelines.

To further simplify and organize this list, it is recommended that it be divided into several categories including:

  • Information
  • Interactivity
  • Security
  • Administration

Information would be content that can be obtained by the visitor.
Interactivity refers to the website's ability to accept and process visitor involvement.
Security covers the application of procedures to protect the content and members personal information.
Administration lists the committee methods used via the website.

Information

  1. Announcements
    1. Chapter Specific
    2. Security Alerts
    3. Special Events
  2. Archives
    1. Old Newsletters
    2. Research Articles
  3. Awards the Chapter has received
    1. ASIS Awards
    2. Charity recognitions
  4. Contact Information
    1. Chapter Officers
      1. Member Profile
    2. Committee Members
      1. Participants sorted by Committee affiliation
  5. Calendar Events
    1. ASIS International Events
    2. Chapter Events
    3. Chapter Sponsored Charitable Events
    4. Continuing Education
    5. CPP® Classes and Exams
    6. Local Security Expositions
    7. Local Security Seminars
    8. Regional Events
  6. Charitable Affiliations and Causes
  7. Downloadable Files
    1. Adobe PDF (Portable Document File)
    2. PPS (Microsoft PowerPoint Presentation)
  8. Goals of the Chapter
  9. History of the Chapter
  10. Hyperlinks to external websites should be security related destinations.
  11. Job Descriptions
    1. Committees
    2. Officers
  12. Job Opportunities
  13. Library
    1. Media Titles
  14. Maps/Street Directions
  15. Member Achievements
  16. Membership Directory
    1. Uses data from ASIS International records and interim local Chapter updates
  17. Newsletter
    1. Awards, Scholarships and Grants
    2. Chapter Meeting Minutes
    3. Chapter Nominations/Elections
    4. Clip Art
      1. Public Domain
      2. Custom
    5. Committee Updates
    6. CPP® Reviews/Updates
    7. Editorial Perspective
    8. Event Reviews
    9. Executive Council Minutes
    10. Images
    11. File Downloads
      1. Adobe PDF
      2. Map images
      3. Zipped or compressed
    12. Legislative and Judicial Updates
    13. Letter from the Chapter Chairman
    14. Member Achievements
    15. Member Contributed Articles
    16. Membership
      1. New
      2. Transferred In/Out
    17. Multimedia
      1. Audio Clips
      2. Video Clips
    18. Next Chapter Meeting Details
    19. Pre-existing Chapter Columns
    20. Special Events
    21. Special Project Progress Reports
    22. Sponsors
    23. Treasurer's Report
    24. Volunteers
      1. Requests for Volunteers
      2. Appreciation
      3. Recognition
  18. Photo Album
    1. Chapter Council Members
    2. Chapter Activities
  19. Policies and Procedures for the Chapter
  20. Scholarships
    1. Qualifications
    2. Winners List
  21. Special Event Announcements
  22. Sponsorship Notices

Interactivity

  1. BBS (or Microsoft FrontPage Discussion Groups)
  2. E-commerce
    1. Forms
      1. Annual Chapter Membership Dues
      2. Chapter Event Fees
      3. Luncheon Fee
      4. Sponsorship Donations
      5. Chapter "Favorite Charity" Donations
      6. Scholarship and Grant Donations
      7. Golf Tournament Fees
  3. E-mail (Pre-addressed)
  4. Forms
    1. Event Registration
    2. Luncheon Registration
    3. Workshop Registration
    4. Surveys
    5. Submit Member Achievement
    6. Feedback
    7. Committee Volunteer
    8. Event Volunteer
    9. Chapter Sponsorship
    10. Submit Job Opportunity
    11. Reply to Job Opportunity
    12. Update Membership Directory
    13. Update CPP® Member Profile
    14. Group E-mail Subscription
    15. Online Polls
    16. Personalized Legislative Letters
  5. Guest Book
  6. Membership Directory using a database
  7. Polls with immediate results displayed
  8. Shopping Cart (see E-commerce)

Security

  1. Password Protected Chairman/Website Committee Sub webs
  2. Password Protected Committee Member Only Sub webs
  3. Password Protected CPP® Member Only Sub webs
  4. Password Protected Member Only online Membership Directory
  5. Password Protected Member Only Sub webs

Administration

  1. Website Committee Sub web
    1. Information
      1. Proposed Changes
      2. Revision History
      3. Task List
      4. Explanations
      5. Website Committee members only contact information list
    2. Forms (Add/Modify/Remove)
      Using forms will help to provide future Chapter administrations with guidelines for consistently providing the same elements of information. Additionally, using this method provides a "cyber logbook" of the participants, actions, and timelines of website modifications.
      1. Events
      2. Security Authorizations
      3. Contact Information
      4. Newsletter Articles
      5. Homepage (Modify only)
      6. Special Requests
        1. InterNIC registration
        2. New website features
        3. Undefined ad hoc requests
    3. Interactivity
      1. Message board for just the website committee members
  2. Chapter Committees Sub web
    1. Information
      1. Chapter Committee members only contact information list
      2. Special announcements or other information from the Chapter chair
      3. SIG (Special Interest Groups) reports and updates
    2. Forms
      1. Request for additional resources
      2. Quarterly Reports
    3. Interactivity
      1. Message board for just the Chapter committee members
  3. Chairman's Sub web
    The Chairman's sub web is loosely patterned after the Website Committee Sub web described above. The primary purpose is to provide a sort of "pass-down" for future chairpersons and for the chairman to share confidential information directly with the webmaster. This would also be a good place to provide information on how to get the most out of the Chapter website from a chairman's perspective.

The additional website components discussed above are based on the current general operations of ASIS Chapters. The object has been to provide Internet solutions that make Chapter collaboration easier and that provide members with up-to-date information. Each Chapter should be allowed to pick and choose which of these suggested components to add to their Chapter website based on their individual Chapter needs and resources.

Summary

This document is a general discussion and suggested set of guidelines for the development of ASIS Chapter web sites.