Creating and maintaining a usercentred website

1
Creating and maintaining a user-centred website

• Neal Coady
• Lead Web Designer Surrey County Council
• nealc_at_surreycc.gov.uk

2
History

• Better Connected 2000 only answered 1 of the
  scenario questions
• Better Connected 2001 Surrey website makes into
  SOCITM top 20
• SOCITM better connected 2002 Surrey CC poor
  performance
• Email from SOCITM lost and not anwered
• June 2002 Completely new website launched

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History

• SOCITM 2003 a quote
• An excellent site which edges it towards the T
  category
• in my opinion for the superb joined-up-ness
  which
• offers deep links to most district services, plus
• information about them, not least via the
  excellent local
• county-led Surrey Info portal. The sites design
  is also
• very consistent and easy to use.

4
Jan 2002 website overhaul

• Jan 2002 - major organisation change to People
  First structure
• Gave the opportunity to detach the website from
  organisational structure
• IEG statement, 2005 targets etc.
• Lotus Notes Mini bespoke content management
  systems already in use.
• Internet crystal mark

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Objectives

• Build on the successes of our current website
• Meet the needs of the customer
• Accessible to all
• Meet Government guidelines
• Promote the single brand
• Consistent in style and content
• Single source of accurate information
• Separate design from content
• Complete in six months

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User-centred design approach Business case

• Cost savings possible from user-centred design
• Tighter specification before website coding
  starts
• Less reworking of website code
• Low risk and CMS agnostic
• Keeps the business informed with visual
  prototypes
• High cost features (sometimes hobby horses) can
  be evaluated on the basis of their value to the
  users.
• 41 would have phoned if hadnt come to website
• Budget split was 65 usability, 35 design

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User centered design The theory

• Research requirements
• Website statistics
• Site monitoring
• Search logs
• Call centre logs
• Exit survey
• Feedback
• Surveys (eg MORI)
• Focus groups
• User and stakeholder interviews

8
User centered design The theory

• Iterative design
• Card sorts
• Paper prototypes
• Wireframes
• User tests
• Click through prototypes
• Hi fidelity prototypes

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User centered design in practice

• With the usability consultants and with advice
  from services -
• Personas typical Surrey users were created with
  the help of the Scenarios typical tasks users
  would wish to accomplish were created.
• The list of Surrey CCs 600 services was
  categorised using the government category list
  and information from services
• Four user tests with public, each time making
  changes, testing again

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First iteration
11

Second iteration
12

Final iteration
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Lessons learned

• User centred design does save development effort
• Make sure the IA is poly-hierarchial (more than
  one route to things)
• User test documentation can cut a swathe through
  subjective design judgements
• Dont underestimate the effort involved in the
  research requirements stage
• Get usability experts to help
• Use see also as a supplement to IA
• Have a central web team
• to oversee authors/webmasters
• maintain standards/house style
• create links between different areas

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Lessons learned

• Use synonym based A-Z navigation
• Use a design agency that believe in usability and
  accessibility
• The people most vehemently opposed to standards
  to begin with may become the best advocates in
  the long run
• Getting the public to use the website as part of
  a promotional effort was a good way to observe
  how users navigated

15
Better connected

• Dont get too down if you have a bad result one
  year
• It was a catalyst to make things better
• Do review the report and summarise it for
  management
• Create an action plan to address the problems

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Addressing the complex environment

• Web standards - accessibility
• Winning hearts and minds
• Use technology to maintain best practice
• Content owners should not need to know about
  structural markup
• Separate content from presentation (if only)
• Centralise you look and feel elements as much as
  possible
• Training
• E-learning backup for page authors and webmasters

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Third party vendors

• Procurement Make sure your standards are part
  of the tender process
• Approach technical people early in the process
  (sales will usually say its AA compliant
• Testing against standards takes time make sure
  project managers are aware early on
• Take the time to explain the accessibility issues
  to senior users
• Try to maintain a central store of look and
  feel/metadata

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Performance monitoring

• Link checking
• Accessibility checks
• Sitemorse monthly checks
• Search engine tuning (top 1000 terms)
• Download speed
• Resilience and availability
• Service levels for response to feedback
• Web analytics
• Search log analysis
• Exit survey

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Summary

• Have a central team with overview
• Test with users at the first opportunity
• Use Better Connected as a catalyst for change