Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Have questions? We have answers.
One thing about having a software product. Clients, prospects, friends, and even our own employees always want to know more. Following is a list of frequently asked questions that we see on the RFPs; we hope that these are in your understanding of Tacklebox, and content management.
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The FAQs are also available in a printable PDF file.
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If you have any further questions, don't hesitate to call us at 410-465-7805.
The Basics
What sets Tacklebox apart from other CMS products?
Uniquely, Tacklebox was developed by Web designers and usability specialists. Brook Group’s Experienceware approach to providing Web products and services to companies and government entities is embedded in Tacklebox’s DNA. At our core, we are a publishing company, with over 30 years experience in the publishing process. Tacklebox was conceived and executed to assist our clients in streamlining and simplifying their Web publishing process.
This product was born 10 years ago and has been through rigorous testing. To create Tacklebox, we teamed up with a $20 million software firm to aid in development. Now in its fourth generation, Tacklebox continuously improves because of our hard-working engineers, designers, and content management specialists.
Tacklebox has been certified by the U.S. Department of Energy and tested in the IBM SPC labs in Chicago. During the tests, Tacklebox withstood traffic at 4 times the ordinary maximum, running it continually for a week.
Tacklebox’s deep feature set, providing not just content management, but site management as well, and robust engine have operated without fail on high-volume Web, intranet, and extranet sites for years.
We have also used Tacklebox as the core engine behind our innovative RAD prototyping tool. RAD enables our clients to quickly create a working copy of their site architecture and content schema before doing any design work or coding. It increases the efficiency of the site design and visualization process, helping to iron out the details before spending one moment on design or coding. On average, we save between 20-30% of time on projects as a result of RAD.
What is the Tacklebox system architecture?
Tacklebox is a Java-based, database-driven, fully Web-enabled CMS.
How does Tacklebox interface with other platforms?
As a Java application, Tacklebox is able to interface with a wide variety of platforms at the database, application server, and Web server levels. Tacklebox has been configured to interface with Web services, ASP pages, and other applications without compatibility problems.
Brook Group recommends a configuration resembling the following:
An ODBC-compliant database application such as Oracle
An application server built for high volume, such as IBM WebSphere,
Running on either an AIX, UNIX, or Windows 2003 Server box
A Web server running on either an AIX, UNIX, or Windows 2003 Server Box
Brook Group also offers Tacklebox on a hosted basis, using a Windows Server / WebSphere / Oracle configuration.
How scalable is Tacklebox?
Tacklebox was built for scalability. An example of this is the Department of Energy’s signature energy.gov site, a Tacklebox implementation that is a large, high-volume site. Prior to launch, both DOE and its prime IT contractor required that the site and software be extensively tested at IBM’s test facilities.
Built on a J2EE Model 2 architecture, Tacklebox emphasizes flexibility and openness and it delivers ease-of-use and configurability. The system is extremely scalable, secure and versatile, and will work on virtually any commonly accepted platform. Tacklebox can run on any number of back-end configurations: using such operating systems as Windows Advanced Servers, Sun Solaris, IBM AIX and Linux; such Web servers such as Windows IIS, Sun iPlanet, Apache and Netscape Enterprise; and application servers such as Tomcat, IBM WebSphere, Oracle AS, and BEA Weblogic; and the major ODBC database packages, including Oracle and Sybase.
Through close collaboration with IBM, Tacklebox has been stress-tested at IBM’s state-of-the-art testing facilities and emerged with flying colors, evidence that it can scale to meet any needs. This important feature ensures that Tacklebox will not only fit your technical environment, but can grow with evolutionary technical changes. Tacklebox was originally built as a CMS for large, high-volume government sites. Its first two implementations, as an intranet at the Department of Justice and as the engine behind the Department of Energy’s energy.gov, required that we test it under extreme stress. Before energy.gov was deployed, we tested Tacklebox at an IBM partner test center in Chicago, running it continually for a week under 4X maximum traffic for energy.gov. Then, our prime contractor asked for a real-time stress test in the production environment. Shortly after launch, we ran scripts against the live site, again hammering it with four times maximum traffic levels on top of what is was getting already. Tacklebox was able to handle the volume with finesse.
Does Tacklebox support a thin client model?
Tacklebox is a three-tier architecture using a thin client model, in which all processing is done at the server level. The client is used only as a content entry mechanism or to send certain administration parameters to the server for processing.
What are the Tacklebox licensing requirements?
Brook Group offers two licensing options: Full License and Hosted License. In the full license scenario, the site is hosted at your data center, using your technical infrastructure, firewalls, and support staff.
In the hosted scenario, Brook Group provides the entire system infrastructure at its secure hosting facility. The hosted application model is a lower-cost version of exactly the same software. That is, when we host your Tacklebox-powered site for you, you still get the full power of Tacklebox, without the cost of developing and maintaining an infrastructure to support it. In addition, you receive all software updates, patches, and fixes immediately at no charge. Overall, this results in substantially lower costs in license and maintenance fees and infrastructure/support costs.
The full license option allows clients to leverage their existing technical investment to provide a hosting environment for the database, application, and the site itself. In this scenario, the client controls the entire Web environment, utilizing their security and network infrastructure.
What client, server, or third-party licenses are required to run Tacklebox?
In the Full License option, we require a Windows or AIX server, Web Server running WebSphere, and an ODBC-compliant RDBMS, preferably Oracle.
Does Tacklebox support wireless technologies?
All Tacklebox output is managed via templates. Just as HTML templates are wired into Tacklebox to facilitate serving Web pages, output to other media such as wireless, phone, or other required output types, is made possible by templates deployed to deliver that content.
In what languages and/or platforms is Tacklebox written?
Tacklebox is a Java-based product, built on a Struts framework.
How many customers are using Tacklebox?
Tacklebox has currently has 10 clients, ranging from the US Department of Energy to House of Ruth Maryland. There are also several launches underway. And yes, Brook Group uses Tacklebox for its sites, too!
Key Features
How is Tacklebox different than other content management systems?
Tacklebox was developed out of a long-time Web design and services firm augmented by a very large software talent placement firm. Tacklebox was not built by techies for techies, but by people for whom usability, information architecture, and design are paramount.
Tacklebox provides the full range of content management tools: WYSIWYG authoring, content scheduling and expiration, user and role-based permissions, document and image upload, recall, rollback, a flexible workflow creation module, user management, content audit trail, and more.
The Tacklebox site administration module provides the ability to manage site sections and navigation: adding, changing, deleting and moving navigation elements. It also provides meta tagging for SEO and a user registration module that provides access controls for password-protected areas of the site, enabling intranet/extranet-style access.
Is Tacklebox a browser-based system?
Tacklebox is a fully browser-based interface both for authoring and site management. It does not require a dedicated desktop client.
Does Tacklebox have a Windows-based editor and the ability to interface with Microsoft products?
Tacklebox uses a WYSIWYG editing tool with a Word-processor-like toolbar. For staff with HTML experience, the editor can be toggled to HTML view. Content can be edited directly in Microsoft Word. The editing module is fully compatible in cut-and-paste mode with Microsoft products.
What personalization functionality does Tacklebox deliver out-of-the-box?
Tacklebox out of the box provides a robust registration and access management system. The system provides for the creation of “visitors” and/or “visitor groups.” Access to pages, sections, or sites can be limited by group or user. In this way, for example, we can run both public Web sites and intranet or extranet sites using a single copy of Tacklebox, by limiting access to the intranet/extranet.
What is the notification process?
E-mail notifications are sent by the system at each step in the workflow. If an item is deleted or finally approved for publication, the author is notified. There is a complex set of business rules around notifications.
Is there a notification process sent to the author after a predetermined time?
In user testing, we have found that most authors have their own external prompts to update content. Where they do not, they normally do not wish to be bothered by notifications.
How does Tacklebox support dynamic linking?
Through its WYSIWYG editor, Tacklebox provides for creating links in a number of ways.
What languages are supported on the initial implementation?
The WYSIWYG editor supports Arabic, French, German, Hebrew, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Portuguese, Russian, Japanese, Korean, (simplified) Chinese, Chinese (traditional), Danish, and Swedish (as well as option left-right or right-left editing); others can be added.
Does Tacklebox have virus scanning capabilities?
Like most CMS systems, Tacklebox does not provide virus scanning out of the box. This is a function of software installed on your servers other than Tacklebox.
What is Tacklebox’s caching approach?
Tacklebox has a fairly complex caching process to maximize responsiveness. Templates and the site tree are pre-cached at system startup so page editing is quick and site management is most efficient.
Finances
What are typical implementation costs?
The typical implementation costs for the Tacklebox product can range anywhere from $50K-100K for the hosted version. With extensive integration and design, the price could go up quite a bit. Our average hosted implementation runs $90K-100K complete with design, content coaching, information architecture, software, and training. Complete enterprise projects on average run between $150-300K and up.
What are the annual maintenance and support fees on Tacklebox?
The annual maintenance and support fees are 18% of license fees annually.
What are the training costs?
Training is included with the package and additional training can be arranged for $110 an hour.
Integration and Interoperability
How does Tacklebox support integration with other systems?
This is a broad topic, and the answer, broadly, is that Tacklebox, as a Java-based, ODBC-compliant, fully Web-enabled application can be configured to “work with” third-party products. An example of this is integration with third-party shopping cart software. A Tacklebox client asked Brook Group to team with another vendor to make this happen. Even lacking specific requirements, we can say with confidence that interoperability is achievable.
How is Microsoft Office integration supported?
Microsoft Office is integrated through the Tacklebox easy-edit application, which offers the ability to work in Word if the publisher prefers to work in that environment. The authoring system provides close support for Office products. Content can be edited directly in Word, or copied and pasted from any Office product. The editor also contains an automatic “clean-up” option that strips some of the Word-created content of its MS-specific HTML artifacts.
Users
What capabilities does Tacklebox have for administration?
Tacklebox users with the appropriate permission levels see an “Administration” link when they log in. The Tacklebox administration module provides for user add/edit/delete, full site management, content management at the site level for all current and past content, a workflow creation and editing module, access controls to set up site visitor groups and the access to specific site areas, a My Items area for each author, and an Approvals queue for content reviewers.
Can a user personalize content?
Using the Tacklebox add-on registration module, visitors can log in to view a specially-designed site just for them. This function is created for each site on an as-needed basis. It is driven by templates created for that site. Extending this function needs requirement definition. Personalization can be passive or active, rudimentary or extensive.
What specific roles does Tacklebox offer?
Each user is assigned a role of author, editor, reviewer, site administrator or section manager, determined by the site administrator.
Permission levels:
- Author: Create and edit one’s own content (if included in a workflow)
- Reviewer: Approve or disapprove content in a workflow, but cannot create or edit content
- Editor: All Author and Reviewer functions, and can edit other’s content
- Section Manager: Can perform all site management functions for a given section and its subsections
- Site Administrator: All of the above, site-wide
Web Site Design
How does Tacklebox use templates to define page appearance and functionality?
Tacklebox provides automated brand management and style consistency. The system is built to provide consistent styles, page layout templates, and navigation to make sure that the presentation maintains its integrity despite numerous authors with varying skill sets.
This is an important mechanism to maintain design and style consistency within a given publication or across multiple products—handled automatically by the publishing system’s tailored templates.
Templates are the core of page behaviors. Each page template is composed of JSPs called “Tiles,” each of which is a content container. These tiles are independent entities that drop into the layout when the page is called, and can be configured to simply display content according to the style sheet, or do an infinite number of other jobs, such as display a given content type, call a data source outside of Tacklebox, run a Flash movie, rotate content sequentially based on business rules, etc. Templates begin as HTML pages. Together with the client, Brook Group staff defines each tile and “wires” the templates into the Tacklebox engine.
Is a GUI in place to allow non-technical contributors and editors to create and modify content?
Following the three-tier model, all interaction with the site is through the Tacklebox administration interface, an easy-to-follow interface aimed at non-technical users. At the content level, Tacklebox provides template-and-CSS-driven WYSIWYG authoring in an easy-to-use non-HTML format configured for each site. For authors with HTML experience, a “view-as-HTML” option can be toggled on, so they can actually flip to code view to make content changes.
At the administration level, the administration interface provides management of all content that has ever been on the site, for such features as recall and rollback.
What skills are required for building templates?
Brook Group can offer full service support or clients may create templates in-house. If a client prefers to create templates, the following skills are required: designing the page in Photoshop, creating HTML and cutting up the artwork, and creating JSPs. Training may be necessary on the first template or two. The JSPs are then wired by a Brook Group engineer to the system.
Workflow
Describe the publishing workflow.
Tacklebox gives you the ability to define both workflows and roles. Users are assigned roles, then inserted into appropriate workflow steps. The workflow is then assigned to content. Once that assignment is made, the system provides authoring access to the appropriate users. As each actor in the workflow takes an action on the content, it is moved to the next step and the next step actor is alerted via e-mail. The Tacklebox build-your-own workflow feature ensures that workflows can be designed to mirror your existing or desired processes.
What workflow capabilities does the product have?
Workflows can be any number of steps (a single-step workflow is an automatic publish without review). The system administrator or section manager can add, delete and change workflows and workflow assignments(i.e.,which work flow applies to which content). Asapieceofcontentmovesthroughthecreation=>review=>edit process, the person in the next step is notified by e-mail when it is their turn to act on the item. Depending on the person’s permission level and the role assigned to a workflow step, the person can either author original content, review-but-not-edit content, or review-and-edit content. At each workflow step, comments can be added by the actor in that step. Comments are associated with an item and are carried with it as it moves through the cycle.
Who can define and manage workflows?
Any system administrator or section manager can create and edit workflows. There is a provision for a system administrator to override a workflow step if necessary. For example, in an emergency situation, action might be required on content without sending it through an entire workflow sequence. In that case, a system administrator can invoke “override” mode. With content scheduling, even if an item has moved entirely through the approval process, it is not published until its scheduled date/time.
Can workflow applications be customized?
Workflows are fully customizable. There is no limit to the number of workflows that can be created, the number of content items that can be assigned to a workflow (some clients use a single workflow for all content), or the number of steps in a workflow. Workflows can be changed at any time without disrupting the flow of content.
Search
What are Tacklebox’s search capabilities?
Tacklebox’s powerful search capabilities provide full Boolean site search functions with weighted search results. Content-specific searches can also be created further increasing the power of the search. In addition, if taxonomies are used, content can be tagged so that the search engine uses controlled vocabulary searching.
Whether needing to use the Tacklebox search engine or some existing search software, whether needing general site search or a combination of search and specific queries, the Tacklebox database architecture and search functions will ensure that the customers find what they are looking for. Brook Group can use Tacklebox in conjunction with virtually any search engine.
Does Tacklebox support metadata search?
The Tacklebox metadata feature provides a powerful way to embed specific page title, description, and keyword information that form the core information used by such search engines as Google and Yahoo!. Meta information will target your site for optimal treatment by external Web search engines and can help focus your internal site search for the best possible results. Site administrators can easily create new or edit existing metadata through the easy-to-use Site Management module.
Which third-party search packages have been integrated with Tacklebox?
We have incorporated the following search packages into Tacklebox: Oracle Search, Verity and Google search appliance.
What type of documents or attachments can be indexed for search?
Virtually any Microsoft Office document, HTML document, or PDF file can be indexed.
How and when is the search index updated?
This is fully configurable with almost any search engine and is often a question of bandwidth. Many sites are indexed hourly, some daily.
Are document attachments indexed for search?
Yes. Document attachments can be indexed for search.
Security
What security measures are in place?
Hosted Tacklebox security is multi-layered. It begins at the secure NSA-approved hosting facility and its levels of telecommunications and network security. It extends to the application, Web, and database servers themselves, all of which reside behind the facility’s hardware and software firewalls. The servers also have software firewalls, and the backup server is not connected to the Internet, providing the truest “firewall” in case of disaster. Tacklebox encrypts all user passwords using the JCE1.2 (Java Cryptography Extension).
What user security is required?
Tacklebox is built to handle user authentication within the application. When a user is assigned to a workflow step, the system recognizes them.
What are the security administration requirements?
Administration is based on permission level.
Does Tacklebox support role-based security, user-based security, or both?
Both.
Does Tacklebox provide security down to the document level?
There is security down to the level of an individual piece of content.
How does Tacklebox provide secure publishing to the external server?
The system relies on the network for security between network elements.
Does Tacklebox interface with Active Directory or other server technology security modules of schemes?
Tacklebox does not provide out of the box integration, but we have successfully integrated it with an LDAP directory and are confident of its compatibility with an Active Directory authentication scheme.
Content
How does Tacklebox provide end-to-end content management, supporting the entire content lifestyle?
Tacklebox begins at the level of site management, allowing site administrators to manage site navigation, access control, and templating through its administration interface.
At the content level, Tacklebox provides template and CSS-driven WYSIWYG authoring in an easy-to-use non-HTML format configured for each site. For authors with HTML experience, a “view-as-HTML” option can be toggled on, so they can actually flip to code view to make content changes. Once content is entered, the workflow system and content scheduling feature take over, either passing the content to the next workflow step, publishing it to the site, or scheduling it for future publication and/or expiration.
When content expires, is replaced, or is deleted, it is still accessible through a content history function so it can be reviewed or recalled?
Once content is entered, the workflow system and content scheduling feature take over, either passing the content to the next workflow step, publishing it to the site, or scheduling it for future publication and/or expiration. When content either expires, is replaced, or is deleted, it is still accessible through a content history function, so that it can be reviewed or recalled.
Does Tacklebox support static delivery, dynamic delivery, or both?
Tacklebox supports both static and dynamic delivery.
How does Tacklebox support content publishing and expiration dates and times?
The content scheduling feature is available for all content, and is granular to 15 minute increments. A publishing daemon continually runs in the background looking for content scheduled for publication or expiration and acts on it automatically. The schedule date/times can be edited or changed at any time prior to publishing, or in the case of expiration, prior to expiration.
Does Tacklebox keep audit trails?
An audit table notes every action taken on every piece of content, recording the content ID, action taken, date/time stamp, and actor. This is true for site administration as well as content. While content may be removed from a site, a full audit trail is always recoverable. That audit includes the content itself, all edited versions of the content and a full record of exactly who did what when.
What type of approval history is maintained?
The content audit table maintains a history of actions on all items as they move through the workflow.
Does Tacklebox support rollback to previous versions?
Yes. All Tacklebox content can be rolled back to previous versions.
How does Tacklebox manage stale content?
All content that has been deleted, superseded or expired is maintained in the database and available through the content history tab. Although Tacklebox has the ability to move data offline for permanent storage, no Tacklebox client has yet requested this feature. They have found that they like having access to old content. From a technical point of view, the Tacklebox database is so small that there has not been an identified need to offload content to save system space.
How does Tacklebox track ownership and responsibility for Web site content?
The workflow controls who has author access to content. The content type controls whether it is shared or not. Business rules manage who is the “current” owner of a piece of content. The content audit table tracks actions by actors against a given piece of content.
How does Tacklebox support content versioning and manage multiple versions?
Whenever an item is changed, a new copy is created in the database and a link is created between the original and the newer versions. A page in the content administration section allows you to view all versions of content, as well as when they were changed, and their current status.
Tacklebox is a CMS, not a document management system. A DMS manages true document versioning. Tacklebox does, however, maintain all versions of a given piece of content. Each is viewable and editable and can be re-submitted.
Does Tacklebox have the ability to leverage existing data sources?
Tacklebox is a Java-based, ODBC-compliant, fully Web-enabled application which can be configured to “work with” other ODBC-compliant data sources. Since Tacklebox content is essentially text containing HTML markup, it can easily manage existing content from numerous sources.
How do I upload content?
Tacklebox provides WYSIWYG file and image upload capabilities.
How does Tacklebox acquire content from external sources?
Content can be entered directly into the system, entered via Web service, copied and pasted from a Word document, or edited directly in Word via the authoring interface. The first job of building a content database is moving the existing content into the system. Our team of content specialists will work with you to move appropriate historical content into the system. Unique among content management providers, in addition to our technical developers, our staff includes graphic designers, librarians, and online usability experts. We can apply that mix of skills to the task of identifying, classifying, and converting all content types, working in a variety of formats. Our creative team has deep experience utilizing Quark, Adobe Acrobat products, and a variety of publishing systems, in both the print and electronic publishing worlds.
How does Tacklebox support the migration of content from different environments, including development, staging, and production?
Most Tacklebox clients find that a staging environment is not necessary. The combination of the preview feature and the ability to hide sections answers their needs. If staging is required, there are two ways to implement a staged environment. In each case, a full staging site is maintained and content is moved into production either manually or automatically by scripts.
How does Tacklebox separate content from the design and layout?
Tacklebox was built to make sure the right people were doing the right job. Using a CSS-driven page template approach, Tacklebox ensures that design and layout decisions are coded into the site. Providing WYSIWYG authoring, authors can manage content without worrying about inadvertently overriding site-wide design standards.
How can an end user preview content before it is published?
The content authoring system has a “preview” button, so that at any point in the content editing process, a preview will display the content exactly as it would look on the site. The software actually creates the page and embeds the content in it in real time. This is done in a new window so that the editing process is not interrupted by preview. Site sections that are being built can also be hidden, so that only logged in Tacklebox users can see them. In this way, a new section can be added to the site and slowly built over time. Once it’s ready for publishing, the section needs only to be toggled from Hidden to Live, making it viewable by site visitors.
What is the editing process like?
Content creation, editing, and revision are the core of the content management aspects of the software. For content managers without HTML knowledge, the site can be provided as a pure WYSIWYG/Word processing-like solution. Users with HTML experience can be provided a way to toggle into HTML view and edit content in that mode. To edit pending content, go to My Items (pending) and click on the title. There any changes can be made, saved, and launched.
How do I add metadata?
Tacklebox provides a metadata capability at the section level. Using the HTML view, content editors can embed metadata within a given piece of content. Metadata allows our clients to optimize pages for the search engines and assists with site searches.
How is metadata assigned and stored?
Metadata is assigned by site administrators using the administration module. Meta Title, Keyword, and Description data can be manipulated at any time at the section or page level.
Does Tacklebox have automatic release and expiration controls for content?
Tacklebox provides content scheduling and expiration at the level of each individual piece of content.
How does Tacklebox organize content into classifications?
Content types are handled through templating. Tacklebox can handle any content type, from HTML to XML to images, attachments, PDFs, streaming video, etc.
How does catalog management work within the CMS?
Catalog content is a content type and so would be managed by a template or template set built specifically to provide its needed functionality.
How do I e-mail a content item?
This is a function that can be embedded within content templates.
Can someone post a comment on a content item?
Throughout the content creation and editing workflow, content managers are offered the ability to post comments. All comments remain associated with a given piece of content as it goes through revision.
Can Tacklebox support cross-platform authoring?
Tacklebox is Internet Explorer, Netscape and Firefox compatible out of the box, on either a Windows or Macintosh client.
Support
How are product and service upgrades handled?
Upgrades are provided as they become available. In a hosted environment, they are simply applied and clients are notified of the changes.
What support is available?
Brook Group provides network level support for the server. Brook Group will provide limited phone and e-mail support. All support engineers are Microsoft Certified Systems Engineers. Senior support engineers have additional certifications including Microsoft Certified Solutions Developers and Microsoft Certified Database Administrators. Standard escalation procedures ensure that alerts from your servers are quickly resolved or escalated.
How are troubleshooting, diagnosis, and resolution handled?
As the network services team receives alerts, they are assigned to an individual engineer. The engineer then attempts to diagnose and fix the problem quickly and efficiently. Should the problem be too severe for a “simple” fix, the issue is escalated to the Lead Development Team.
How are clients notified of problems?
When any alert is received and verified by the Network Support Team, the client is immediately (within thirty minutes) notified of the problem via phone or e-mail. Clients can also choose to receive alerts directly from the available monitoring tools. Clients are kept informed of the status of their issue until it is completely resolved.
Training
What are the various types of training programs offered by Brook Group?
Content management provides for distributed authorship and workflow management. Whether your organization’s Web efforts will be supported by a small core Web team, or a widely distributed set of authors, reviewers, and approvers, Brook Group can provide training in all aspects of the system: administration, authoring, and understanding how content management works. Whether you need an executive overview of the system, or a hands-on classroom presentation with exercises, we will help you make sure your team is ready to publish the most efficient way.
What training materials are provided?
The license fee entitles the client to all user and administrator manuals, which will be posted to the project site.
What are the training costs?
Training is available for administrators and end users. Two half-day sessions come with the license fee. Additional training is provided at $110 an hour.
Other Features
What is Tacklebox’s reporting functionality?
No reports are provided directly with the system. The site management and content audit tables contain all transaction information and it is not complex to write reports off of those tables. There are third party products that we can recommend for this functionality.
Does Tacklebox offer language translation?
The WYSIWYG editor supports Arabic, French, German, Hebrew, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Portuguese, Russian, Japanese, Korean, (simplified) Chinese, Chinese (traditional), Danish, and Swedish (as well as option left-right or right-left editing); others can be added.
Does Tacklebox track user information to analyze site usage, traffic and behavior?
Tacklebox does not do site traffic analysis. All Tacklebox clients use third-party software for that function.
Can the site be posted to a stage while in development?
Most Tacklebox clients do not have the need for a true staging environment, i.e., a mirror of the site that serves as a staging server prior to publishing to the production site. They rely on such Tacklebox features as hidden sections and content preview. These allow site managers and content managers to view changes as if they were live. If the company does require a true staging environment, Brook Group can provide that feature.
Does Tacklebox have a system set up that would accommodate e-commerce?
Tacklebox does not currently offer a shopping cart solution. However, Brook Group does have experience in this realm. An existing hosted Tacklebox client asked Brook Group to team with another vendor to integrate their shopping solution with Tacklebox. Tacklebox, as a Java-based, ODBC-compliant, fully Web-enabled application can be configured to “work with” third-party products. Even lacking specific requirements, we can say with confidence that interoperability is achievable.
Online forms are built into Tacklebox and can be designed for the client’s specific needs.
How do users register to participate in an online conference/discussion (“webinar”)?
This is not difficult, but needs requirement definitions. Brook Group suggests integrating with existing webinar technology to achieve this.
Future
What is the strategic direction of Tacklebox’s future releases?
We release a new version of Tacklebox each year. With each roll out we introduce a new module or two. Last year’s addition was the ability to add metadata to sections. In the last few months, we rolled out RAD, our site prototyping solution. We roll out improvements about 5 or 6 times a year. We view Tacklebox as a living application. As such, if a client requests certain functionality that we deem valuable for all clients, we will roll that feature out to all users.
The direction of future development is to put more power in the hands of the client, so they are less and less dependent on Brook Group to assist them. This includes flexible content types that can be created by the client to user-developed templates that allow clients to wire their own HTML templates directly into the system.
Section 508
Is Tacklebox accessible to users with disabilities?
The Tacklebox application is Section 508 compliant and it gives all publishers every opportunity to create compliant sites. The software and training will encourage compliance. As a federal government vendor, Brook Group is required to provide Section 508 compliant Web sites and software. For details, see the Tacklebox information at section508.gov.