Public Sector

The TransLink site has a set of applications that it uses to provide transit information to users, collectively known as the Trip Planning tools. From TransLink’s market research team, TransLink knew that the most common reasons that users were coming to the website were to create trip plans or get trip information (bus and train schedules). However, they also knew from the customer feedback logs that many users were frustrated and/or unsuccessful at obtaining the information from the tools provided. Further, because the trip planning tool was a third-party application embedded in the TransLink site, the web logs were not capturing any information about usage, nor had the research team ever done detailed research with customers about this area of the site.

TransLink engaged ADGi to analyze the usability issues of the current tools, and to provide a redesign for them.

The Process

Since there had been little to no research done on the trip planning tools, and because they were the most highly used section of the website (over 90% of people surveyed said that they came to the site for trip information), ADGi knew that defining and analyzing the usability issues of these tools was paramount to creating the redesign.

Given the vast number of users of the site, ADGi created a user research test plan with the following components: online survey (to provide statistical breadth); facilitated face-to-face user testing; a request to IT to obtain the data logs from the third-party application to analyze the data that users were providing when requesting trip information.

The usability tests were conducted in 2008. ADGi provided a report and presentation on their findings to the TransLink stakeholders in early January 2009, and the information provided - particularly the videos showing real users using the tools - met with great enthusiasm and provided a solid business case for the redesign project.

The Solution

Using the information exposed during the user research ADGi provided detailed wireframes for the redesign of the Trip Planning tools. In consultation with ADGi and its internal IT teams, TransLink split the development into two phases. The first changes launched with the redesign of the TransLink site in the spring of 2009 and the majority of the changes were implemented in the fall of 2009.

The BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) provides provincial and national leadership in public health through surveillance, detection, treatment, prevention and consultation services.

BCCDC’s website contains rich information but over time had become difficult to navigate and out-of-date. The site also serves diverse audiences: both the public for information on public health and health professionals needing forms and other tools. The site was not serving either audience effectively and was in need of an overhaul.

BCCDC hired ADGi to create a blueprint for a redesigned site that would include a new site structure and details on how users would navigate through the site.

The Process

For the first stage of the project, we developed the IA and then validated it with the three target audiences for the site: members of the public, health professionals, and the media. Using our online navigation testing tool, Navtester, we conducted three rounds of testing and refined the IA between each iteration.

We then created the redesign blueprint showing the new information architecture and site layout. 

The Solution

The first version of the IA that we tested was organized by either audience (general public, health professionals) or type of resource (publications, research, news). We discovered during the first iteration of testing that users did not easily identify with their audience.

We then moved to a topic based information architecture and began consolidating all information about a given topic together. The results in the navigation testing improved.

For the final site we have 7 main topical categories and all information related to a particular topic is found together. If a user goes to a particular disease page, for example, the section not only contains an overview but all related statistics, research, and news.

We also provide two alternative ways to navigate to content: resource pages and audience pages. The resource pages allow users to find content based on type of resource while the audience pages provide content of interest to particular groups. As all the content is cross-referenced, people can find information quickly no matter what path they use to navigate the site.

Raised Eyebrow then took the blueprint and created the visual design and final layout for the website. BCCDC launched the new site in June 2009.

TransLink engaged ADGi to create a new information architecture (IA) for their website. The overall objective was to design a new user-centric IA that supported the existing content and allowed for planned growth.

The Process

TransLink has a market research department that has done extensive research into the habits and preferences of the website users, and they have developed an active online focus group panel, called TransLink Listens, whom they survey often for opinions and attitudes.

ADGi reviewed the user research that TransLink had already done and reviewed the existing site's content and structure. Then ADGi proposed a new site structure, which we validated by doing iterative online navigation testing with members of the TransLinks Listens panel.

This iterative testing allowed ADGi to create an evidence-based site structure that met the needs of the diverse users of the TransLink website. Because the proprietary tool that ADGi uses tracks the success rates and pathways of each iteration, ADGi was able to show the many stakeholders within TransLink how the new site structure would meet their objectives of focusing on easy access to customer information.

The Solution

ADGi created a detailed site map for TransLink, that they were able to hand over to their development partner to create the new site.

TransLink launched their redesigned website in April 2009.

The Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA) operates nine provincial agencies, including BC Children's Hospital and the BC Cancer Agency. It is also responsible for specialized provincial health services like trauma, telehealth and thoracic surgery. On a province-wide basis, PHSA plans, coordinates and evaluates specialized health services and works with the other health authorities to provide equitable, cost-effective healthcare.

PHSA had an employee intranet that was in need of an overhaul, and hired ADGi to help create a blueprint for a redesigned site that would include a detailed site map and wireframes.

For the first phase of this project we conducted user and stakeholder interviews. The aim was to understand what key tasks users needed to complete in a given day/week/month and how they went about their information retrieval. Based on the research, a content audit, and data review (PHSA had conducted a user survey prior to this project), ADGi developed a strategy document with recommendations for the redesign.

Next we developed the information architecture. Findability on the site was a key issue identified during the user research, so we used our proprietary testing tool, NavTester, to conduct iterative navigation testing of the site to ensure that the right structure was developed. Thanks to internal recruitment and promotion, the response rate to each iteration was over 30%, far above typical response rates to surveys. Anecdotal feedback we heard from the PHSA team was that the navigation testing had created a positive buzz and people who had not been invited to participate in the survey were asking to do so.

We then created the site map and wireframes for the redesign. These were received with very positive feedback from the PHSA team and project sponsors. The resulting design has 15 topic areas. A ‘Yahoo-like’ index on the home page is unusual and breaks the 7 plus or minus 2 rule: it is assumed that people cannot remember more than 7 items at a given time and navigation structures should have no more than 9 top-level categories. The navigation testing we did showed that users were able to find the information, quickly and easily even with 15 top-level categories.

PHSA launched their redesigned intranet, using ADGi’s design approach, in November 2008.

BC Hydro was switching to a new content management system and had decided to use the opportunity to seek funding for site redesign at the same time. They hired a consultant to create the blueprint for the redesign. While the consultant delivered a blueprint document, the information architecture solution was found to have issues after usability testing was conducted by a second consultant. BC Hydro hired ADGi to help them fix the information architecture in preparation for content migration.

Given that two consultants had previously worked on this project as well as the content management system vendor, there was little appetite or budget to do the work. Staff had no tolerance for more discovery meetings, user interviews, or surveys. At this stage they just wanted the problems fixed.

Given the limited budget, ADGi decided that a two-staged approach, working directly with the Intranet Manager, would work best. The first stage of the process was to create a site map of the existing site. Typically, we would have created a content inventory in a spreadsheet but in this case we chose to create a visual map of the existing site. The benefit to doing this was enormous as for the first time the Intranet Manager could easily visualize the site. For the second stage of the process, we worked collaboratively with the Intranet Manager to, first, adjust the proposed IA to something that would meet the user needs (which had been defined loosely in the existing blueprint) and, second, move blocks of pages to fit the new structure.

As with most intranet sites the solution is a work in progress. BC Hydro has a framework that is flexible and can be modified as the company and employee needs evolve. The Intranet Manager and successive team members understand how the structure works so that future changes can be implemented without the help of a consultant.