tag driven information architecture using moss

Tag Driven Information Architecture using SharePoint 2007

Case Study: NZ Ministry of Transport

Ari Bakker

Overview• The New Zealand Ministry of Transport (MoT)

is a government agency responsible for creating transport related papers and reports for the NZ government

• They wanted an intranet that would improve the flow of information around the organisation, as well as being engaging and enjoyable to use.

Achievements• Initial phase built in 2006 on MOSS Beta 2• Second phase completed in May 2007• Won Microsoft New Zealand’s Partner Solution

of the Year, and Business Productivity Solution of the Year awards in 2007

• Named in Nielsen Norman Group’s “Top 10 Intranets of 2008”

How we created a winning User Experience

Goals• Improve information flow throughout the organization • Improve information findability to reduce staff time spent

looking for information• Improve access to business-critical information• Support and strengthen the MoT culture and improve staff

morale and job satisfaction by having the intranet be a channel for staff interaction

• Reduce the amount of email communication between staff by creating a functional and attractive communal space

Understand your users• Personas• Task flows• Field research

Making information “findable”

Pathways to information

Pathways to information

Metadata magic

Metadata magic

Metadata magic

Metadata Schema – Tags (Columns)

Metadata Schema – Content Types

Page based tagging

Demo

How metadata makes things findable

Engaging the user

Engaging the user

Survey results

Desktop based alerts

Outcomes• “Observations show that staff are exploring

the new design and features—and as a result discovering information they initially missed.”

• “The redesign results go beyond just general satisfaction—they’re having a positive effect on staff productivity as well.” - Hamish Denston – Intranet Content Manager

Outcomes• Prior to the intranet, employees communicated to

all staff or to a group of staff members using email.

• The email volume was significant, as was the demand on staff time in dealing with it. These emails have been replaced with the intranet’s Alerts and Announcements features, and the notifications are now unobtrusive.

• “This helped to reduce the stress on staff of having a build-up of emails—that may or may not be relevant—cluttering their in-boxes.”

Lessons Learnt• Know your CMS – get people who understand

the technology involved in the design process• Communicate with your users regularly—

before, during, and after the project phase• Have a plan for deployment – initially and for

fixes and future phases

Thank you

Blog: ari.provoke.co.nzMail: ari.bakker@gmail.comZef (Design): zefamedia.co.nz