YouthBuild USA Website Migration to Drupal CMS & CiviCRM

YouthBuild USA spent several years using a closed, proprietary content and relationship management service (CMS/CRM) that seemed like a great leap forward at first. However over time they realized it wasn't nearly as user-friendly as hoped for, nor as open, with regards to data, as they needed. In the end, the proprietary system was unable to incorporate all the unique aspects of YouthBuild's data regarding their programs and contacts.

YouthBuild USA approached CivicActions with the goal to move their existing website content into a Drupal CMS platform and their existing contact data into a CiviCRM solution. And they needed to do this while maintaining their existing visual design and their special data segmentation, activities, and workflows.

We used our standard Agile/Scrum development process to break the project down into manageable sprints, starting off with a valuable on-site kickoff at the YouthBuild offices in Somerville, MA. After discussing technical requirements, project strategy, and user stories, we began development by assigning part of the engineering team to focus on Drupal development and the other part to focus on CiviCRM configuration. We conducted our work in an open and transparent manner by continuously documenting our progress and providing sprint demos on a regular basis, and by the end of the project we even added part of the YouthBuild IT team to our development workflow.

When the project completed, YouthBuild USA was empowered with a flexible open source system that better fit their unique data workflows and allowed them to adapt their technology to their needs, instead of sacrificing their needs to fit the technology. Their mission to promote positive, sustainable change in the world is now supported by web applications that are simpler and more open than before.