I came into this project at a time when the site was being readied for launch.  The site - homepage excerpt at right - it was in the usability lab, and it was bombing - none of the users knew how to find what they needed, and many thought they didn't even really need the information anyway, since they had stored the old version on their hard drives and didn't know that the old was wrong.

The site featured philosophy of brand management, which was really important to administrators, but not to designers.  Designers didn't want to browse for the latest version of templates and style guides, we discovered in the usability lab.  We found their criticisms of the website to hook on several consistent requirements unmet: They wanted the content organized to show what's new, what's been updated organized in specific timeframes, and problem-solving tactics and remedies (best practices shared).  How to design a website to give them that convenience and support to their workflow?

We interviewed 10 different kinds of users, from print and web designers, to poster designers in the research group, to the administrative and editorial heads of publications like the annual report and magazines.  

We modeled each and then pulled together into one view all their workflows, communication patterns, required artifacts (forms, notebooks, references) and significant cultural influences on their work.  The following two images show an individual's communication model (image 1) and the consolidated communication model for all users (image 2).

Once we understood which kind of user (role) needed what kind of information (artifact) from whom (communication) under what kind of constraints (cultural influences), we were able to envision ways to give people what they needed the way they needed it. 

Ultimately, we could see that they needed a customized environment to alert them to relevant material updates.  The ideal solution would be to deliver them what they need without them having to ask for it. 

In the image below (image 3), we played out 2 visions: one a website of "come-and-get-it" and the other a server that is activated to update designers' hard drives automatically.

Alison Andrews   |   alison@functionlust.com