The strategy proposed will focus around the experience of the user and how we can build a site that is familiar to culture and lhistory of your users.  With a strong focus on user experience, the proposed updated site will be centered on conforming to today's web browsers standards and the diverse types of media available to be displayed on.  We will work with your staff to review and analysis the user traffic patterns to determine the focal point of the taxonomy of the site. We will also look at customer feedback from both residential and commercial users to focus on the key driving factors for visiting the site.  We will also work with the you and come up with a comprehensive plan to drive more user traffic and make content easier to find with the least amount of effort.

The user experience is important to the overall reception of the the new site.  The development team will use its experience in Analytics and User Interface Experience to provide a comprehensive report on where users are focusing their attention and work with you to provide a better marketing of initiatives you are focused on.  The SSAI Team has experience in developing strategies around campaigns and analysis of web sites. The development team has experience in providing feedback for many high-profile websites, both on the consumer level and government level.

Our information architecture process is as follows:

Establish Website Goals
 

Our information architecture process begins with identifying the business objectives of the website. The team will meet with the key stakeholders to determine the goals and central purpose of website to devise an effective user-centric solution.  We'll discuss the current features and limitations of the current website to determine the desired user experience objectives and recommended website design elements/functions. We'll work with your staff to identify customer experience objectives and establish a project timeline.

Deliverables: Business Objectives Summary that outlines the the top level goals and objectives.

Define User Intent
 

Good information architecture greatly influences the user experience. Knowing the users and their intent on the website will guide the IA team on how to structure the website to satisfy the needs of the customer and insure a rewarding experience.  To identify the various users of the website and their information-retrieval behavior, the AI team will conduct user-interviews, create personas and develop user scenarios or stories to establish the ‘big picture' of who the users are and their key site objectives.

Deliverables: Personas / User Profiles of each site user type

Assess the Content
 

The IA team will do a full analysis of the existing site content to gain a thorough understanding of the current website's purpose and structure. The AI team will review and familiarize him/herself with the layout and organization of the current website focusing on accessibility, content presentation, navigation structures, organizational architecture, content placement, etc. Using a content analysis tool, all content is stored in an inventory documentation system and used for content assessment, categorization and migration.

Deliverables: Inventory Documentation System

Organize the Content

Based on the user analysis, site analytics and business goals, the IA team will conduct a card sorting session and other taxonomy technics with key stakeholders and users to define section labels and key metadata to group the content into appropriate categories.  Content prioritization and hierarchies are established. The final product is a complete site map that identifies the entire structure and organization of the website.
 

Deliverables: Site Map

Define Navigation and Site Flow

Once the site structure is established, how users navigate the website needs to be determined. Some users want to find content quickly with minimal clicks, others may want to do exploration. The key is to provide methods of navigating the site that users can quickly understand. Using the priorities and hierarchies established in the content organization session, the IA team creates a navigation system using interactive wireframes. Wireframes allow a customer to understand how a site or tool will interact before it is built, and helps further capture, refine and confirm requirements. We use a wireframing tool called Axure RP which creates clickable/interactive wireframes that can be exported as system specification which provide information to developers and further define system interactions. These wireframes serve as the visual blueprint for how a user will navigate and find important content. Only layout and content placement is determined, design elements such as color and graphics are not considered.
 

Deliverables: Interactive Wireframes

Conduct Usability Testing
 

Key stakeholder and users provide feedback on the functionality and navigation of the new website by doing usability testing. Using test plans, users will complete typical tasks using the wireframes while the IA team observes and take notes. The goal is to identify any usability problems, collect qualitative and quantitative data and determine the participant's satisfaction with the site layout and navigation. A usability report summarizing the results is produced.
 

Deliverables: Usability Report