Give me a website I control Give me a website I control – – Today!Today!

Colin HarrisonColin HarrisonChief ExecutiveChief Executive

Structure of the Day

• Morning : Planning the siteMorning : Planning the site– You will actually building a site today, – it is likely that you will need to carry on building and changing

when you get back to base.– Remember that any IT project involves change.

• It may affect internal processes in the organisation

– Treat today’s site as an exemplar you can show back at base.

• Afternoon: Building your siteAfternoon: Building your site– Have you got electronic documents / logos/ photos with you?– Can you get at them via the Internet or email?

Create a plan

• Work out what you want your site to Work out what you want your site to do do – Define your site's goalsgoals– Work out who your audiencesaudiences are – Start to organise your site into

• pages of content • functions.

Define your goals – Who? • If you don't know what you're trying to If you don't know what you're trying to

achieve, why bother building a site? achieve, why bother building a site?

• Who will be involved in defining the goals? Who will be involved in defining the goals? – Everyone if possible– Or at least the key players. You have to make them feel like they

are contributing to the project. – Group consensus can make or break a project. – Involving more people usually creates a more complete set of

ideas

Define your goals

• Ask Questions Ask Questions

– What is the missionmission or purpose of the organisation? – What are the goalsgoals (short- and long-term) of the site? – Who are the intended audiencesaudiences? – Why Why will people come to your site?– Why Why will people come BACK BACK to your site?

Define your goals

• Filter the Answers Filter the Answers – Take out the answers about audiencesaudiences to use later. – Rephrase all the rest as goalsgoals.

• If it’s a long list, group them into categories.categories.

– PrioritisePrioritise them. • If in categories, prioritise each category separately.

– ReorganiseReorganise the list in priority order• Now your site has a purpose!

– If doing this back at base – get approval (commitment) before proceeding!

Exercise 1 – Define Goals

• In groupsIn groups

– Create a list of prioritised goals for each organisation• Work on one organisation at a time

• Try to think of more possible goals

• Ask who are the key players back at base

– Pick someone to report back for the whole group

Define the User Experience

• Who is the audience? Who is the audience? – How can you design a site if you don't know who's going to be

seeing it?

• Create an audience definition Create an audience definition – This consists of who the users are and their goals and

objectives. – Scenarios, or stories, are useful in visualizing the audience.

• Who should be involved in creating this Who should be involved in creating this definition?definition?– Generally, the same people will be involved.

• but other people may help you understand how the audience will react to your site.

Define the Audience

• Take the list of audiences you put to one Take the list of audiences you put to one side. side. – Ask everyone if they have any additions– If the list is too long, break it down into categories.

• Prioritise the importance of each audience Prioritise the importance of each audience • Reorganise the list in priority order.Reorganise the list in priority order.

Create Scenarios • Scenarios are storiesScenarios are stories

– Tales of users experiencing the site, helping you visualise its use.

– Useful to check the site design when finished.• Describe a set of users who represent the majority of visitors Describe a set of users who represent the majority of visitors

– Use the previous definitions of your audience.

– The size of the site and audience determine how many you write.

– Usually 3 to 6 are enough. • For each user, write a scenario. For each user, write a scenario.

– To get started, bring the user to life.

– Create a character with a name, a background, and a task to carry out on the site.

– Use a task from your list of audience needs and goals. Then write a story about how the character uses the site to complete the given task.

– Be creative

Exercise 2 – User Scenarios

• In groups, for each organisation:In groups, for each organisation:

– Create a prioritised audience list– Describe a set of users who represent the majority of visitors – Create a scenario for each user– Report back to whole group

Analyse similar organisations

• Are there similar organisations you know of?Are there similar organisations you know of?• A good way to learn about your own site. A good way to learn about your own site. • List possible organisations. List possible organisations.

– Ask around– Net search

• Generate criteria to evaluate each site. Generate criteria to evaluate each site. – Against your goals– Any features or functionality you find interesting. – Technical stuff:

• download time, • page size, • layout,• look and feel.

Exercise 3 – Web Analysis

• Individually (or by organisation):Individually (or by organisation):– Evaluate each site you have thought of:– Use either a tick or a grade 1 to 10

• Use the tick where something is present or not

• Use the grade where things are subjective e.g. look and feel

• Take notes and grab screen shots of each site.

• Evaluate your existing site, if you have one.

– Go back to you goals and audience goals• Do you need to amend your design?

Site Content

• Gather the pieces to create the structure and Gather the pieces to create the structure and organization of the site. organization of the site.

• Two questions: Two questions: – What pieces of contentcontent does the site need? – What sorts of functionalityfunctionality will be required?

• Rank each element as essential or desirableRank each element as essential or desirable• Group elements to define site structureGroup elements to define site structure

Exercise 4 – Define Content

• Create a content inventoryCreate a content inventory– Use the list of goals, the needs of your audience, and your web analysis

- already collected - to start two new lists: • content elements • functional requirements.

– Rank each element as essential or desirable.

• Group the elementsGroup the elements– Write each element down on a post-it note – Try different ways of grouping– When satisfied on groups think of a pithy name for that group– This may become a heading on the website

• Finally Finally – Draw & write up a content map