What We Recommend Recommendations for the website based on interview findings

Transcription

1 What We Recommend Recommendations for the website based on interview findings July 6, 2009 Allow users to both browse and download documents. What if Commerce City's new website became a national model for comparable municipalities? Submitted by: Marjorie Alexander Lori Eronimous A CMS allows website content to be updated and displayed automatically, for example, articles on the homepage. Employees who support the website must be able to dedicate a portion of their workday to working on the website. Allow for multiple approvers so that content isn t stalled at a workflow step if an approver is out of the office. Validate the themes and recommendations with the public. Recommendations are based on common themes from the interviews. Make a positive first impression on the homepage. What if the CMS and document management system cut the cost of doing business?

2 Executive Summary This document contains recommendations that address the general themes that emerged as participants were interviewed. The recommendations are grouped into the following categories: Identified pain points Staffing to support anticipated requirements Content Management System (CMS) What if Commerce City's new website became a national model for comparable municipalities? Proposed workflow Potential information architecture Focus groups Sample schedule

3 Identified Pain Points The recommendations would alleviate some of the pain points that became evident during interviews with Commerce City employees: The same link may display different documents. Larger documents are not available online. The process for creating and updating content is slow. The homepage does not convey a good impression of Commerce City. Information exists on the website but users can t find it. Lack of self-service opportunities to request or submit information. Lack of rich internet applications (video, blogs, slideshows, etc.) Pain points were identified during interviews with Commerce City employees.

4 Staffing to support anticipated requirements Unify and consolidate Commerce City s efforts by identifying members of and strategies for a web user group. Include representatives from each department to report on tactical issues, members of IT for technical support and members of the Marketing department to provide strategic perspective. Ensure that resources are available to support the website. Employees who support the website must be allowed to dedicate the necessary amount of time during their workweek to receive training on the website and it's processes, and to perform daily tasks such as publishing and approving content, monitoring the website's use, user metrics, responding to user feedback, etc. Promote the adoption of the website and it's utilities such as Ask C3 and interactive maps for use by citizens and employees. Provide training and incentives, such as a treasure hunt. What if city staff was allowed time each week to contribute to the site, and help reinvent the City's brand and image?

5 Content Management System (CMS) Baseline Requirements It is recommended that the CMS selected be one that is widely used, and possibly an Open Source solution. This strategy would relieve Commerce City the need to employ web development staff in-house, as a popular CMS would have a large following of contract developers to be used on an as-needed basis. A searchable document repository with advanced search features. Ensure that citizens can quickly and easily look up ordinances, election details, budget information, building guides, etc. A maintenance strategy and system where outdated content expires and/or users are automatically prompted to review site content regularly for accuracy. CMS system should allow content providers to attach metadata, or tags, to content for organization and searching. What if the CMS was able to automate and provide fresh site content? Improve customer satisfaction? Increase city revenue? Reduce complaint calls?

6 Content Management System (CMS) Baseline Requirements CMS should control content modules that are frequently changing. For example, What's New and Current Events would be instances of this case. CMS system should allow users to update information quickly, secure the information, track versions, archive and most importantly, maintain links globally Include larger.pdf files that can be downloaded, such as building guides. Ensure that larger.pdf files contain a clickable table of contents and bookmarks. Example of possible CMS systems are: Joomla, Plone, and Hot Banana. What if the CMS and document management system cut the cost of doing business?

7 Proposed Workflow Establish the criteria and process for submitting and approving website content. Identify authors and approvers within each department. Many departments have employees serving in this role informally already. Establish a simple but flexible workflow within the CMS. An example of a simple but flexible workflow is: Author writes the content (or submits a document, in the case of.pdf s) completes a checklist, and assigns tags in the CMS before submitting the content to the Approver. Approver follows an approval checklist and has the ability to make changes to the content and the tags before approving the content for publication. Allow for the rejection of content by the approver, and ensure that the approver has a mechanism for describing the reason, such as a text field so that authors will know why their content was rejected. After the approver approves the content within the CMS, it is automatically published. What if successful staff collaboration and teamwork caused unexpected benefits in the areas of teamwork and productivity?

8 Potential Information Architecture Improve the look and feel: Build website identity and brand using photos and video as well as engaging text and logos on the homepage and department-level landing pages. Examples include Ask the Mayor question submission, How-to videos, How to get a permit, interactive maps, a virtual tour of Commerce City and the Civic Center. Make a positive and powerful first impression on the homepage. Design for the citizens, businesses, and visitors. Conduct testing to determine how useful and usable it is. Show compelling and timely content on the homepage. Publicize the good things that are happening in Commerce City. Maintain a calendar of events for the entire city with the ability to filter the calendar for certain types of events, such as Family, Business Owners, Public Works, etc. What if the new Commerce City website caused increased public participation in government, events and safety?

9 Potential Information Architecture Improve the look and feel: Respect privacy, build trust, and demonstrate transparency. Avoid user log ins, and cookies where they are not improving the user experience. Ensure that the site is accessible to citizens who require special assistance in reading, hearing, or navigating web sites. Promote two-way communication with users. Provide mechanisms for users to submit comment and questions via forms. Requires monitoring and timely responses. Foster a sense of collaboration with citizens in growing the city. What if the new site became a trusted resource for citizens to participate and interact with city decision makers?

10 Potential Information Architecture Improve the navigation: Use consistent navigation bars, obvious links, action buttons, descriptive link names and embedded links. Organize the hierarchy to match the way citizens think. Give users multiple ways to navigate. Implement a global and local navigation. The global navigation persists throughout the website, while the local navigation changes with the context of each page. Also provide a task-based navigation ( How do I ) based on a study of what your citizens do. Design a broad and shallow hierarchy to reduce the number of clicks necessary to access info. Understand what users are coming to the site for, don t make them guess. Provide breadcrumbs that show how users get from the homepage to the current page and back. Use a string of back links and separate them by a '>' symbol. What if citizens were able to see and use site sections and functionality that they recommended?

11 Potential Information Architecture Develop new features: Provide self-service applications for citizens to request information and give feedback as requests are submitted or processed, for example submitting requests for reports or information, general comments and complaints. Provide methods for users to participate in online transactions, such as paying fees or fines online. Evolve the site into a living document for the city. Provide mechanisms and site sections where users can add content, share their stories, interact, celebrate the City and the benefits of living, working and playing Deliver comprehensive and personalized answers to general and local community questions--ask C3. Use redundant navigation to make it easy to understand, such as Help, FAQ, How Do I?, etc. What if Economic Development inquiries went up and calls for help went down?

12 Potential Information Architecture Develop new features: Connect users to employees who have the autonomy to solve problems and answer questions. Where appropriate, provide specific names and/or photos for contacts on the website, not just positions. Allow citizens to sign up for subscription or mobile text messages to receive details about: neighborhood programs, monthly newsletters, Parks and Recreation events, community events, police information (emergencies, crime alerts, predators, lockdowns) etc. Provide live webstreaming of City Council meetings, community meetings, public education. Using Vimeo for a low cost is a viable option. Alternatively, provide access to pre-recorded sessions. What if citizens subscribed and contributed to city social networking tools?

13 Potential Information Architecture Homepage Search Feedback Help Blog Site Map and A-Z Index Announcements and News Maps Boundaries Wards Zones Businesses Trails Parks Subscribe to Or Text Messages Alerts Events Newsletters Careers Job Openings Volunteer Opportunities Library Documents Minutes, Agendas News Press Releases Videos Forms Ordinances Community Calendar Council Meetings Hearings Public Events About Commerce City Landscape Demographics Weather History Photos Tours Places to See Partners Departments, Divisions, Departments, and Services Sub- Divisions, Departments, and Sections Services Sub- Divisions, Departments, and Sections Services Sub- Divisions, Departments, and Sections Services Sub- Divisions, and Sections Services Sub- Sections Self Service Applications Request Information Submit Feedback Pay Online Fees and Fines Directory Contact Elected Officials Employees

14 Focus Groups Conduct user testing during the development and design process and before the website is rolled out to ensure that the website meets users needs. Include employees and citizens in this process by means of focus groups. What if citizens were so excited about the new site (and city image) that they contributed ideas for future site functions and content?

15 Sample Schedule In order to maintain momentum (and excitement within City staff), we have created a sample schedule on the following pages that: Describes near term milestones with a target Phase 1 Completion date of November 30, 2009 Proposes action that shows site progress to the public and allows continued development under the hood Provides a sense of tasks and related cost estimate for near term budgeting purposes What if the new city site started to unveil itself as soon as November 2009? What if city staff and citizens were able to witness and contribute to the new site, as it's being designed and built? Talk about collaboration!

16 Sample Schedule August Milestone

17 Sample Schedule November Milestone

18 Sample Schedule Spring 2010 Milestone