NCL Website Redesign: Coordinating Digital Transformation Under Budget Constraints

Role: Communications Manager & Designer

Timeline: February 2020 – November 2020

Budget: $30K → $40K (33% scope expansion)

Context: 120-year-old consumer advocacy nonprofit, 2-person communications team

The Perfect Storm

National Consumers League in early 2020: website from 2009, NationBuilder contract expiring with painful renewal costs, and Board members making pointed comments about "other nonprofits' nice websites." The redesign had been "someday" territory until three things aligned—I'd joined with design/UX experience, strong organizational finances, and an approaching contract deadline.

What started as "make our website less embarrassing" became something much bigger.

Scope Evolution: Website to Digital Transformation

The original $30K brief: redesign NCLnet.org for modern UX. Then we discovered NationBuilder renewal costs—our grandfathered pricing disappeared with any website change, making renewal budget-breaking.

Our "simple" project suddenly included:

• Complete email system migration (30K+ subscribers across multiple programs)

• MailChimp integration (~$1,200 annually vs. prohibitive NationBuilder costs)

• Email template design and automation

• Content migration for 8+ years of blog posts

• Fraud.org integration (nearly 100K monthly subscribers, our most valuable digital asset)

Going back to leadership mid-RFP for 33% more budget required MoSCoW prioritization—Must Have (core functionality), Should Have (email integration), Could Have (enhanced features), Won't Have (e-commerce fantasies). This taught me scope management isn't preventing changes—it's communicating how changes serve organizational priorities.

Strategic win: We negotiated Fraud.org's redesign as part of expanded scope. It launched two months early as our test case with zero major issues—validation our vendor and process worked.

Hybrid Project Management: A Methodological Stew

This required mixing multiple methodologies based on situation demands. Core framework: Dynamic Systems Development Method (DSDM), perfect for fixed deadlines and flexible scope.

DSDM elements:

• MoSCoW prioritization for stakeholder management

• Time and Materials contract supporting scope evolution

• Incremental delivery focused on business value

• Active stakeholder collaboration throughout

• Timeboxed delivery (NationBuilder deadline)

We bent one DSDM rule—expanding budget when email migration became critical. Sometimes you break methodology to serve business needs.

Added Lean principles (eliminate waste by not migrating unnecessary content, maximize work not done with microsites), operated within Waterfall constraints (RFP procurement, formal stage-gates), and layered traditional risk management for our sketchy vendor situation.

Result: Agile flexibility where needed (scope, features, content), Waterfall structure where required (procurement, budget approvals, timeline).

Vendor Risk Mitigation

Classic dilemma: best vendor exceeded budget, affordable option had red flags. The chosen WordPress developer showed up late to meetings, had technical issues, and presented mostly screenshots instead of live portfolio work.

My boss and I flagged concerns immediately, but budget constraints meant moving forward. Mitigation strategies:

• Contract structure: Time and Materials contract (recommended by all interviewed vendors) provided flexibility while maintaining cost controls

• Payment structure: Staged payments instead of upfront lump sum

• Oversight escalation: Weekly check-ins plus formal reviews with Executive Director and CFO

• Role dynamics: I handled friendly vendor relations, my boss enforced contracts

• Documentation: Clear checkpoints requiring stakeholder sign-off

When the vendor missed deadlines and went quiet, our systems worked. Staged payments motivated improvement, documented oversight provided leverage.

Stakeholder Diplomacy: The Blog Hoarding Battle

Biggest challenge: Executive Director's attachment to eight years of blog content. Hundreds of posts meant manual cleanup and significant launch risk.

Solution: Frame around organizational priorities, not personal preferences. I emphasized quality over quantity (much content no longer reflected current positions), timeline risk (blog cleanup threatened NationBuilder deadline), and user experience (curated content serves visitors better than overwhelming archives).

Result: Launched with 50 most recent posts, commitment to ongoing addition. Saved weeks of timeline and thousands in costs.

Scope creep management: When an executive assistant repeatedly pitched e-commerce for nonexistent merchandise, I diplomatically explained why retail operations exceeded our capabilities, budget, and timeline.

Technical Integration

March 2020 brought COVID-19, but hybrid work culture meant minimal disruption. The pandemic actually reinforced modernization urgency as events went virtual.

Critical integration: email forms automatically sorting subscribers into MailChimp segments while preserving preferences. Required three-way coordination between WordPress developers, MailChimp support, and our team for API configuration and testing.

Process innovation: I advocated for Script Your Future microsite during build phase. Since we were creating WordPress infrastructure anyway, building it concurrently was cost-effective while solving program needs. I handled site mapping and wireframes to minimize vendor costs.

Results: Built to Last

Launched November 2020, still NCL's digital presence four years later—testament to sustainable project planning.

Performance:

• Email open rates: +12% within six months

• Click-through rates: +27% with better segmentation

• Carousel functionality maintained 46-81% click-through

• Fraud.org integration preserved most valuable asset

Organizational impact:

• Vendor management framework for future projects

• Scalable email system supporting growth

• Improved cross-departmental communication

• Internal capabilities for ongoing management

Budget success: $40K investment delivered immediate improvements and long-term capabilities, with annual email costs at ~$1,200 vs. prohibitive NationBuilder renewal.

Lessons in Accidental Project Management

Methodology isn't religion—it's a toolkit: The hybrid approach worked because I applied frameworks strategically, not dogmatically. DSDM's MoSCoW was perfect for stakeholder management, but we needed Waterfall procurement for organizational requirements. Use what serves the project.

Risk mitigation beats risk avoidance: When you can't choose ideal vendors, systematic oversight and payment structure manage performance effectively.

Stakeholder management requires understanding power dynamics: Knowing who makes decisions versus who provides input streamlines communication and prevents endless revision cycles.

Documentation enables future success: Vendor oversight, stakeholder communication, and scope management frameworks became templates for subsequent initiatives.

If managing similar projects today, I'd negotiate budget ranges instead of fixed amounts, include vendor transition planning in contracts, and conduct more thorough risk assessment during selection. But four-year longevity of both systems suggests we built something sustainable—the best measure of project success.