Enhancing Employee Development through Information Architecture at SAIC

1. Erika Lewis, James Wetherill, Paul Coyle, Vivien Lau IDIA 630.085 Information Architecture Dr. Nancy Kaplan University of Baltimore, Spring 2009 Information Architecture

2. Agenda • Overview • Business Goals • Current HPPBU Website • Strategy • Content Inventory • Description • Concept Model • Mental Model • User Personas • New Design: Sitemap • Wireframes • Page Flow Comparison • Recommendations • Questions and Answers

3. 1. Overview • SAIC’s product is information: • employee development is critical. • need identified during bi-annual internal poll • SAIC’s intranet contains development resources • these are scattered and not well-organized • time constraints on their use • Objective – identify resources, and place them in context • encourage employee development • Build community • increase employee retention. 3

4. 2. Business Goals Challenge – create an information architecture that will: • Increase the capabilities of the HPPBU employee development website • Allow employees to maximize their use of the resources • Reflects SAIC’s commitment to employee development 4

5. 3. Current HPPBU Home Page 5

6. 4. Strategy - Content Inventory 6

7. 4. Strategy Continued • The main features of the proposed information architecture: • Reorganization of important links • Information within the business units area available for customization • Focusing the users attention on the 4 main areas most utilized on the SAIC site • Consistency of terminology, design and navigation with Quicklinks visible within a single page fold • Collapsible menus have been used 7

8. 4. Strategy – Concept Model 8

9. User 4. Strategy – Mental Model Learns About Selects Documents Training Communicates Authors Selects Rates for Recommends for Social Networking People Sends Collaborates 9

10. 5. User Personas I Age Between 22 - 30 Occupation Junior Software Engineer Education 4-yr College Computing and Web Experience Expert Interest/ Activities Daily Blog, Twitter, iPhone, Training Programs, Corporate Intranet 10

11. 5. User Personas II Age Between 50 - 65 Occupation Senior Project Manager Education Master Degree Computing and Web Experience Beginner/ Intermediate Interest/ Activities Phone, for “getting things done” that do not require a computer.; a strong interest in adoption of any tool which can make her business unit more productive 11

12. 5. User Personas III Age Between 30 - 45 Occupation Business Unit Manager Education Master Degree Computing and Web Experience Intermediate/ Expert Interest/ Activities Office Events, Documents that are relevant to the current project. 12

13. 6. New Design - Sitemap 13

14. 7. Wireframes • User wants… • an integrated, consistent interface • view the summary of regularly performed tasks • monitor information related to the job • a hub to access various organization related resources/data • to personalize content 14 Sources: Human Factors Internal – The Science and Art of Effective Web and Application Design Class Material

15. 7. Wireframes Continued • Structure and Navigation: • Show the logical default state of the application • Have primary tasks that are prominent • Support frequency of use • Be efficient. Support doing the task quickly or accurately • Match the user’s metal model • It behaves as the user expects 15 Sources: Human Factors Internal – The Science and Art of Effective Web and Application Design Class Material

16. 7. Wireframes - High Level Concept Branding/ Message 1 1 HPPBU’s Global Navigation 4 2 2 3 Landing Page Content 3 5 Quick Links 6 4 HPPBU Sub Navigation 5 Feedback 6 16

17. 7. Wireframes – HPPBU Home Page Enable Access to the Homepage 1 1 2 Create Positive 1st Impression 1. Tag line 2. Banner 2 2 4 Present All Major Options on the Homepage 3 3 5 Moderate White Space 4 List of Contents 5 17 Sources: Bailey, R.W. 2000, from http://www.webusability.com; Chaparro B. S. 2009. from http://psychology.wichita.edu/surl/usabilitynews/111/eyetracking.asp; Nielsen, J. 2001, from http://www.useit.com/alertbox; Human Factors International Class Material

18. 7. Wireframes – HPPBU Home Page – Mouse Over Quick Links 18

19. 7. Wireframes – 2nd Level Page 19

20. 7. Wireframes – 3rd Level Page Breadcrumb Navigation 1 1 20 Sources: Bailey, B. (2003). from http://www.webusability.com/article_website_breadcrumbs_8_2003.htm

21. 7. HPPBU Wireframes – Navigation Global/ Primary Navigation Menus in the Left Panel 1 1 21

22. 7. HPPBU Wireframes – Page Fold Keep All Important Information Above the Page Fold 22 Sources: Human Factors Internal – The Science and Art of Effective Web and Application Design class material

23. 8. Page Flow Comparison – Download Medical Claims Form 23

24. 8. Page Flow Comparison – Download SAIC University Course Catalog 24

25. 9. Recommendations • Training and Feedback: • The need for an employee development web site was identified through a bi-annual survey. Smaller scale interim surveys of the user population should be conducted to evaluate the acceptance of the employee development web site, identifying opportunities for improvement. • Establish a systematic program of site traffic analysis to track how users are navigating through the site and identify the resources that are most heavily used. 25

26. 9. Recommendations Continued • Community Building • Branding and Value of business unit • Feedback • Social Networking Applications 26

27. 9. Recommendations Continued • User Centered Design • Keep the global navigation menus in the left panel • Enable access to the homepage • Creative positive 1st impression • Present all major options on the homepage • User “Icons” to help user scan quickly, short phrases, and sentences, & small readable paragraphs. • Moderate white space • List of Contents • Use breadcrumb navigation on the third level page. 27

28. 9. Recommendations Continued • Users can only rate or tag specific pages within the intranet. • Make the employee profile interactive. • Provide incentives such gifts or other bonuses to utilize the site during and after work time. 28

29. Questions?