NOAA's Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory goes all in with Drupal

The work Inner File did with the Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory is a good example of how highly technical clients can benefit from our Drupal specific knowledge. The lab is made up of software developers, but they had no Drupal specific experience.

When NOAA's Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory decided to go Drupal, they went all in with plans for many Drupal sites. The flagship site was the first to go Drupal, and that is the site we built, but the lab had many project sites they wanted to convert themselves. Our goal was to help build the foundation that the Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory's team could build upon, and the skills to do so.

We set up a multi-site Drupal install, complete with an install profile to create new project sites. The primary site (508 compliant, of course) features a responsive mobile-first design via an Omega sub-theme. We created a custom module to bring in their contact directory phone listing and built a sophisticated media library.

Because they wanted to create new sites themselves (they are software developers, after all) they wanted some on-Site training in Seattle. After building the majority of the site, two members of our team hopped on an airplane and flew across country for several days of intensive training, which they video taped. Before we wrapped up we delivered detailed technical documentation.

The project was a success, delivered on time and on budget. The Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory's scientists and developers were a joy to work with and we think Drupal was just the right choice for them.