Serena.com Web Content Management Customization 

Serena Software, a leading developer of application development software, wanted to streamline its web content management tool, Serena Collage, to create a more efficient and lightweight product. 

Goals: Reduce the number of Serena Collage user interface templates from more than 150 down to only 15.

Solutions: Instead of offering a large selection of fixed templates, I overhauled the web content management tool to empower the user to define the web page layout while remaining consistent with the software’s look and feel. 

In order to do this, I learned how to dynamically write JavaScript into Serena Collage’s contribution fields. This allowed users to set up a field for each page element, decide whether that element would be turned off or on, and save his or her choices in the XML that defines the page content. The overhaul also included building a UI bar for defining the layout and writing a JavaScript library so the user could preview the changes. 

The CSS and contributor interface I built work with the product to standardize layout patterns. The software also allows a branding manager using the product to set size and character specifications for other users within that contribution region. Using JavaScript validation on the product contribution fields, the system automatically notifies the branding manager if a user does something outside the parameters of the predetermined specifications.