Phase I

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Contents

Completed Milestones

Team access to Milestones and To Do lists are in BaseCamp

Design Brief for Phase I

TLT Web Site Redesign 2008, 05/27/2008

Project Overview

Overall Goals

Revise the information architecture, visual design, content, and functionality of the Teaching and Learning with Technology Web site (http://tlt.its.psu.edu/), so that it better meets the needs of users and of TLT.

Vision

Perception/Tone/Guidelines

The target audience (faculty) feels that TLT is a credible resource. They know TLT via work relationship and through TLT symposium and other conference sessions. They do not come to the TLT Web site for this information (in general). If they go to a Web site, they go directly to the service site. They are generally most interested in getting options for accomplishing a specific task. They are very interested in personal consulting.

Communication Strategy

The communication strategy is how we will convey the overall message. Based on the director interviews, some of the messages TLT wishes to convey through the Web site are:

We will convey the message of credibility and helpfulness by simplifying the experience and create a compelling, intuitive experience. We will display testimonials liberally to illustrate practical application of services and practices to cultivate a culture of technology and engagement. Related content will have the ability to be built from different sources and be distributed through the use of content aggregation (RSS/XML). Content creation will be simplified so that content authors and users alike can post easily via a content management system. Messaging and action items will be clear throughout the site, and the visual design and concept will make people remember TLT as a reliable resource.

Target Audience

Using the information gathered from users during the card-sorting sessions and from the director surveys, we got a sense of who the site visitors are, why they are coming to the site, and what tasks they are likely to perform. We are in the process of detailing user personas of TLT’s various audiences. They will include characteristics, education, language, computer expertise, domain experience, motivation, and/or expectations.

Audiences

Faculty (teaching + research) Faculty/Student Faculty/Staff Instructional Designer Student Staff Outside Universities

Initiatives

This project includes concept development, design and layout, production, and programming for the TLT Web site. The structure and hierarchy of the site will be based on user-centered design (from card sorting and paper-prototyping usability sessions). Production of the site includes content creation, writing, and editing, and the creation and optimization of all files/images. The site will be created using the Plone content management system. This project is scheduled and estimated to complete its first iteration on August 15, 2008. Factors that increase or decrease the production schedule (for example, late content or additional features added) may affect the schedule. These factors may be rolled into the next iteration phase.

Initiatives for August 2008 Launch

Future Initiatives

Usability Testing

Wireframes

Committee Meeting Notes

Meeting Notes for Jan 15, 2008

Kick-off meeting

Attendees Audrey, Allan, Catherine, Dana, Derick, Erik, Mary, Tara

Goals for this meeting

  1. Introductions
  2. Discussion of the group's goals and first steps
  3. Selection of a committee chair (short-term, rotating appointment)
  4. Overview of the steps of site redesign process
  5. Planning next actions

Results of the meeting

Step 1: the design plan The first goal of this committee will be outlining a website design plan including an estimated timeline to present to John Harwood by February 1, 2008. Audrey has been honing a redesign strategy for this first step, which largely consists of defining the project. This step involves...

The result of this step will be a document clarifying the high-level goals and initiatives of this phase of the redesign (and goals for subsequent iterations), while balancing the users' expectations and needs with the stakeholders' strategic vision and goals, looking at the organization as a whole. It will outline...

This document will serve to get buy-in and get everyone on the same page. Audrey will work with Catherine this week to edit the plan and finalize it in our next committee meeting, scheduled for next week.

Housekeeping Audrey Romano will chair the committee.

A communication staging area to facilitate feedback and collaboration will be set up.

Miscellany Organize around the things that we do and not how we're structured. Amen!—Erik Rose

To do Another thing we can do immediately is make a note on the current TLT site's homepage that gives notice that a redesign is in the works and solicit volunteers for user interview and get general feedback and suggestions.

In the next meeting we will outline the process of conducting user interviews and creating user personas.

Meeting Notes for Jan 24, 2008

Redesign Overview Plan Drafting/Time Assessment

Attendees: Audrey, Allan, Catherine, Derick, Mary, Tara

Goals for this meeting:

  1. Overview the more detailed steps of the ReDesign Workflow Plan. Get team endorsement.
  2. Review estimated time scales for DEFINE and STRUCTURE processes. Get team endorsement.
  3. Process Plan Completion:

How should this be delivered to JTH? What level of detail? Does he need a physical document or direct him to the Intranet Project Profile. Is this document enough or should an executive summary be created with this outline as an appendix? Catherine and Audrey will complete this stage and alert team of its completion for final team approval and delivery to JTH.

  1. In the DEFINE > Plan stage, do we accomplish this as a team or have one person assess and present a draft for team to endorse?
  2. Next actions:
    1. Begin auditing current site(s): main TLT (and unit sites). Who gets assigned, when can this be completed?
    2. Communication Staging Area: Project Profile page on the intranet exists for all of TLT to see an overview of the purpose, process, and progress of the project. However, for the team, a more project management focused tool may be necessary (e.g. Basecamp). Project Definition vs Project Management (outbound communication (PR), team communication and versioning, todo lists, milestones, push vs pull, feeds, is this basebamp + intranet? Or wiki?)


Results of the meeting: The Redesign Workflow Overview Plan will include a short paragraph summary with key points in how the goals and objectives of the project will be defined and give a basic time estimate for the first two major processes (DEFINE AND STRUCTURE) and a ballpark end date for possible scope scenarios (July 08-min to Sept 08-max). Catherine and Audrey will meet next week to create this and it will then be sent to team members to revise and finalize. It will also undergo a review by Cole Camplese.

Specify in the document also that Unit Directors will be interviewed one-on-one by one to two team members. One to lead the interview and the other to record. Request permission to tape record. Contact JTH to set up the first Director interview.

For next meeting, Audrey will provide a draft interview questions which will be discussed and finalized by the team. The team will decide who will conduct the interviews for each of the Directors and will schedule them within the next week, if possible.

The difference between an audit and an inventory is that an audit will cover the main sections of the site (skeleton) and who currently is responsible (maintains) for the pages. For next meeting, Audrey will provide a process for auditing websites. The team will determine if we can accomplish this task each on our own or if we need help from the team or from others within our unit. How long do we need to accomplish this process?

Meeting Notes for Feb 11, 2008

Director Surveys, Site Auditing Tactics

Attendees: Audrey, Mary, Tara, Allan, Catherine,

Announcements: John Harwood has reviewed and responded positively to the Redesign Process.

Goals for the meeting:

Results of the meeting: In order for the interviewers to be prepared to conduct the Director interviews, we want to be a little more knowledgeable about the TLT site content and usage. We decided that a cursory site audit will help us have a better sense of the content and functionality of the current site.

Previous to this meeting, Audrey met with Christian Vinten-Johansen (Special Projects) to follow-up on site auditing tools. Web stats for the TLT website is available here on the staff intranet under the book Web Statistics. The web statistics for various ETS web servers are analyzed using an open source program called AWStats. More details on that later...

The Google Sitemap Generator was suggested as a tool that will "create Sitemaps from URL lists, web server directories, or from access logs". This could help us get an idea of general site sections, as a site map does not currently exist. The site index, which does exist, does not show architecture or relationships between the content. Audrey sent an email to Jason Heffner (ETS) immediately following the meeting to request use of the Google Sitemap Generator as well as asked for recommendations on other site auditing tools.

Consult with other unit staff that has experience with site logs, search keywords, audience...

Directors(Managers) to Interview and Interviewers:

Purpose of Director Surveys:


Process:


Customizing the Interview Questions: A book page will be created for committee members to edit and comment on. Consider the survey purposes. Consider what questions are critical. Edit into the language and organization-specific. Questions can be eliminated, generalized, and more in-depth questions added.

Initial Suggested User Interviews: Committee members Elizabeth Pyatt (ID-ETS) Barb Smith (ETS)

Meeting Notes for Feb 17, 2008

Discuss Process and Delegate Site Audit, Finalize Director Surveys

Attendees: Audrey, Allan, Catherine, Derick, Elizabeth, Mary, Tara

Goals:

  1. how do we accomplish getting current site data and analysis before the director interviews?
    • i asked jason about google site map, but he has not responded with feedback
    • we have awstats. how can we analyze this data to give us userful information
    • we have the last report that came from the WebXM product scans. Only a small percentage of the data from WebXM was included in the report.
  2. complete editing down of survey questions
  3. complete assigning of interviewers and -ees
  4. schedule interviews (create an email notice)
  5. identify users for profiling
  6. assign interviewers for user profiling
  7. project planning (can anyone tackle some of this)

Next Tasks:

Background info: From "Communicating Design" by Dan M Brown "With an inventory, the intent is to capture and describe every piece of content on the site. A content audit captures and describes less, focusing perhaps on the main content areas of the site... An audit establishes a boundary around the scope of the investigation."

Meeting Notes for Feb 25, 2008

Complete Site Audit, Finalize and Schedule Director Surveys

Attendees: Audrey, Allan, Catherine, Elizabeth, Mary, Tara

Completed Tasks: Received site audit results from Audrey, Allan, Elizabeth, Catherine, Tara, Frank and Mary. Finalization of interview questions.

Results of the meeting: Discussion on what the site auditing has revealed about the committee's understanding of the current state of the TLT site architecture and content. Our focus at this point is on the architecture and audience, and not about visual design. We want to know what is working and what isn't, what the director's think about their unit's services and its representation on the TLT site with the audience in mind (not the organization structure). and especially, Why.

General Observations from the Site Audit:

Next Tasks:

Interviewee and Interviewer Assignments:

Meeting Notes for March 31, 2008

Attendees: Audrey, Allan, Catherine, Elizabeth, Erik, Derick, Mary, Tara

We succeeded in getting 11 volunteers for the card-sorting session from the TLT Symposium signup/flyer.

We conducted 2 card-sorting sessions among our team.

Discussed what is needed for conducting the session with faculty/staff/students signups from the Symposium:

What the users role is in the card-sorting session:

What our role is in the card-sorting session:

Prompts:

Sites to conduct in:

Focus on UP signups for first run:

Meeting Notes for April 07, 2008

Attendees: Audrey, Catherine, Mary, Tara, Erik

Meeting Notes for April 21, 2008

Drafting Architecture, Navigation and Wireframes

Attendees: Audrey, Catherine, Mary, Frank

Goals for this meeting:

Results of the meeting:

Next meeting:

Meeting Notes for April 28, 2008

Drafting Architecture, Navigation and Wireframes

Attendees: Audrey, Frank, Catherine, Mary, Elizabeth, Derick

Goals for this meeting:

Results of the meeting:

Assignments:

Next meeting:

Meeting Notes for May 12, 2008

Attendees: Audrey, Allan, Elizabeth, Erik, Catherine

meeting goals:

next goals:

paper-prototyping

to do:

Meeting Notes for June 2, 2008

Attendees: Tara, Derick, Elizabeth, Catherine, Audrey, Erik

Tasks to accomplish:

Paper-Prototyping Session details:

Next tasks:

Meeting Notes for June 16, 2008

Attendees: Audrey, Catherine, Mary

Meeting tasks:

Meeting Notes for June 30, 2008

Attendees: Audrey, Catherine, Frank, Mary, Tara

Tasks:

Next Tasks:

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