Build a more usable intranet. User research and design. Presentation by James Breeze and Joanna Lewis at Arkgroup conference in Sydney Nov 2007

1. Engage your organisation
Involving management, staff and IT in your intranet
(re)development project
James Breeze, Chief Experience Officer
Joanna Lewis, Customer Experience Consultant
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2. Program
Why engage your organisation? 9.30 – 11.00
Morning tea
11.00 – 11.20
Gathering requirements 11.20 – 12.30
Lunch
12.30 – 1.30
Communicating your needs 1.30 – 3.00
Afternoon tea
3.00 – 3.20
Validating your design 3.20 – 4.00
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3. Activity: Introductions
• Where are you in the process?
• What are your key issues?
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4. Why engage your organisation?
• Executive:
– Strategic direction, funding, ownership
• Management:
– Content owners, provide resources, lead
cultural change
• IT:
– Providers of platform, technical support,
projects methodology, ‘gatekeepers’
• Staff :
– User needs
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5. Intranet governance
Executive
ownership
Strategic direction:
engaging management,
IT, key divisions
Tactical engagement: web authors,
publishers, staff representatives assist in user-research

6. Activity: Governance
• What governance structure best suits
your organisation?
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7. Gathering Requirements
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8. Basis for requirements
• Context: your business, strategy, goals,
‘next big thing’, technical environment
• Content: content types, volume,
functionality
• Users: user types, how and when they
access content
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9. Activity: Requirements
• What are the requirements for your
intranet project?
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10. Techniques for gathering
requirements
• Current web usage and search data
• Stakeholder interviews
• Focus groups
• Ethnographic research
• Surveys
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11. Activity: Requirements
• Write a script for a stakeholder interview
for your intranet project.
• Write a script for a user focus group for
your intranet project.
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12. Communicating your needs
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13. Communicating your needs
• Requirements report
• Information architecture (IA)
• Wireframes
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14. What to consider for IA
• Primary navigation structure
• Secondary navigation
• Alternative access paths
• Home page content
• Utilities links
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15. Techniques for developing IA
• Brainstorm (within project team)
• Workshop (with key stakeholders)
• Card sorting
– open
– closed
Tip: Use remote card sorting with optimalsort.com
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16. Tools for documenting IA
• MS Word or Excel
• MS Visio
• Mindmap (demonstration)
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17. Wireframe design
• IA and navigation design skeleton
• Low tech, easily edited
• Demonstrates navigation and page
layout
• Wireframe for key page types
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18. What to consider for wireframing
• Constraints – technical, CMS,
accessibility
• Different page requirements
• Navigation depth and design
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19. Techniques for wireframing
• Brainstorm with key resources –
technical, design, IA
• Document with MS PowerPoint, MS
Visio, Axure or other diagramming
software
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20. Activity: Developing the following
intranet wireframe
• Navigation structure to four levels (9 at L1)
• Home page content: DG’s Blog, 4 news
items, access to 5 key applications, 5 key
forms, 1 large promotional pod
• Utilities for search, staff directory, sitemap,
intranet help, site feedback
• Slow access in regional areas
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21. Validating your design
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22. Validating your design
• Prototyping
– Paper prototyping
– HTML prototyping
• Usability testing
– Guerilla testing
– Formal testing
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23. Typical usability test
• Brief explanation of project and process
• First impressions: user browses around
the site and gives verbal impression
• Scenarios: user completes set tasks on
the site
• Evaluation: user completes open and
closed questions evaluating the site

24. Activity: Scenarios
• Write 5 key scenarios to test your intranet
development.
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25. Summary of organisational
involvement
• Intranet governance
• Requirements - organisational strategy,
technical platform, content, users
• Information architecture –
brainstorming, cardsorting
• Wireframing - brainstorming
• Development – usability testing

26. Contact
O: Level 3, 50 York St Sydney NSW 2000
P: 1300 858 015
E: jbreeze@objectivedigital.com
E: jlewis@objectivedigital.com
W: www.objectivedigital.com
B: www.usableworld.com.au
©2007 Objective Digital Pty Ltd www.objectivedigital.com 26