About VAR
The media direction of public broadcasting
Reaches 89% Flemings through trusted brands
VAR is an innovative media partner that delivers high-performance solutions to advertisers and their partners/agencies and connects them with consumers in an optimal way. Thus Var is a successful partner that provides additional financial resources for VRT to continue offering high quality and locally relevant content. In this way, Var contributes to a flourishing and inspiring media landscape in Flanders.
VAR bets on digital transformation and always-on content strategy
In 2018, VAR plans to focus more heavily on the digital renewal of its customer-facing touchpoints and transition from a primarily campaign-oriented communications strategy to an always-on content marketing approach. To this end, VAR is partnering with PHPro, which is responsible for developing a new website, implementing a Content Management System and securing a maintenance contract for these new systems.
Agile approach and technology choices in VAR platform development
In Agile environments, flexibility is ensured by working iteratively, delivering a new release every two weeks: a so-called potentially shippable product or Minimum Viable Product (MVP). This means that functionality ready for production is delivered every two weeks. This approach prevents the testing phase from taking place only at the end of the project, which often leads to time constraints and inefficiencies. After all, during this crucial final phase, several tasks must be performed, such as content input and migration, testing and adjustment.
To avoid wrong decisions at a later stage, the project started with a global analysis. This phase laid the foundation for the platform and included aspects such as analysis, concept development, information architecture, design and the development of a style guide.
Technology choices for phases 1 and 2: Sulu CMS
For the first two phases, customization is not necessary. Therefore, Sulu CMS, a Symfony-based platform developed specifically for businesses, was chosen. Sulu provides a flexible environment for managing enterprise multi-sites and powerful applications. With advanced features for developers and a user-friendly interface for editors, it is the ideal choice for building modern business Web sites and Web-based software.
Phase 2 builds on the implementation from Phase 1 within Sulu.
Approach for phase 3: customization with Symfony
Phase 3 not only continued work within Sulu, but also started the implementation and integration of MyVar. Because MyVar is not a CMS, PHPro advised not to build these functionalities within a CMS environment. Developing custom functionality within an existing CMS can lead to limitations and technical debt, a pitfall that often occurs. Based on its years of experience, PHPro therefore chooses the Symfony framework for custom development, in addition to using a CMS solution.
This differentiated approach combines the advantages of a flexible CMS with the power and scalability of a dedicated framework for custom solutions.
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