CDHD - IdahoStars Website

Fewer support calls and more scholarship applications  

UX Research / Design / Section 508 Compliance
This project rebuilt the content architecture and visual design of a nonprofit website from the ground up enabling child care providers that used to program to finally be able to find the information they needed. The process was grounded in user personas, workflow analysis, site analytics, and Section 508 compliance reviews helping to transform a confusing resource into one that works for every user it serves.
Project Duration: 1 year + ongoing graphics support (2012-14)
My Role: Web Project Specialist
My Role
My role as web project specialist involved translating organizational objectives into design decisions across the full project lifecycle. Though not my most recent work, I included this project because the user research process uncovered unexpected insights about the end-user population that redirected the design. This early and formative lesson has remained prominent in my that research has to come before solutions, not after them.
Research Process
Users were struggling to find necessary resources while using a state-based website leaving training scholarship opportunities underutilized and increased support calls.
The team conducted interviews with providers and subject matter experts and held card sorting sessions, and analytics reviews prior to the visual design and content management overhaul (Drupal).
Outcomes

Through a research-grounded redesign spanning personas, workflows, analytics, focus-groups at the annual conference, and visual design, the project transformed a hard-to-navigate site into one that providers and consultants praised for its clarity and that measurably increased online scholarship applications.