Uncovering expectations of web site visitors and building a site that makes discovering IT easy

ABSTRACT

Two years after transforming its World Wide Web presence and publishing process, Information & Access Technology Services at the University of Missouri-Columbia embarked on developing and publicly documenting another online redesign: the evolution from a "best guess" to "can't miss" site.Armed with 24 months of use data and feedback from surveys and focus groups, IAT Services was able to combine known strengths of the 2000 site and develop solutions from suggestions for the 2002 site. The entire initiative focused on a summary comment from a focus group participant: "If you put this stuff on your site, don't worry, we'll visit it. Often."Capitalizing on the stability of the Web publishing process, the 2002 site redesign initiative aimed at three objectives:

• To provide personal information to users about all of the services IAT Services provides them.
• To overtly retool the site interface in a service-focused manner consistent with all related publications, including the cornerstone Everything Guides.
• To complete the identity tie to Got Technology?, an effort focusing on making technology at MU easy to acquire, access and use.

This paper will journey through the redesign, outline the important infrastructure requirements, discuss the critical decisions and rationale behind them and provide before, during and after snapshots of the evolution at MU.

REFERENCES

• 1: Web site: TechKnowledge, Information & Access Technology Services, University of Missouri-Columbia: http://iatservices.missouri.edu/techknowlege/
• 2: Web site: Web Editors Forum (resources for local style), Information & Access Technology Services, University of Missouri-Columbia: http://iatservices.missouri.edu/authors/
• 3: Web site: Adaptive Computing Technology Center, Information & Access Technology Services, University of Missouri-Columbia: http://iatservices.missouri.edu/adaptive/webdesign.html
• 4: Web site: Associated Press http://www.ap.org/pages/order.html
• 5: IAT Services follows this hierarchy of style authorities: Associated Press Style; IAT Services style (including any MU-specific style); Webster's New World Dictionary.
• 6: Web site: Webtrends: http://www.netiq.com/webtrends/
• 7: Web site: Infrastructure status page. Information & Access Technology Services, University of Missouri-Columbia: http://iatservices.missouri.edu/status/
• 8: Web site: W3C http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/
• 9: Web site: Webmonkey http://hotwired.lycos.com/webmonkey/00/50/index2a.html?tw=authoring
• 10: Web site: Builder.com http://builder.cnet.com/webbuilding/pages/Authoring/Xhtml/
• 11: Web site: http://Dig Internet Search Engine Software: http://www.htdig.org/
• 12: Web site: MU PawPrint http://iatservices.missouri.edu/pawprint.html
• 13: Web site: MU PrintSmart http://iatservices.missouri.edu/printsmart/
• 14: Web site: MU Bengal Suite http://iatservices.missouri.edu/bengal/
• 15: Web site: IAT Services InfoTech Training http://iatservices.missouri.edu/training/
• 16: Web site: Alertbox http://www.useit.com/alertbox/
• 17: Web site: IAT Services Statistical Reporting http://iatservices.missouri.edu/stats/

INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  H. Information Systems
  H.5 INFORMATION INTERFACES AND PRESENTATION (I.7)
      H.5.2 User Interfaces (D.2.2, H.1.2, I.3.6)
          Subjects: Training, help, and documentation

General Terms:
Design, Documentation, Human Factors, Management, Measurement, Performance, Reliability, Security, Standardization

Keywords:
Web site, accessibility, advertising, computing, customer service, design, document management, focus groups, graphic design, information technology, news, online information, personalized web content, print publications, statistical reporting, telecommunications, usability, user guides, user interface