IA Strategy for a Global Barcode Standards Website
Background
GS1.org is a nonprofit member-driven organization that administers standards and solutions for UPC barcodes in the US. There are about 200,000 US member companies that use the global GS1 standards to optimize their value chains and business processes.
GS1.org is a nonprofit member-driven organization that administers standards and solutions for UPC barcodes in the US. There are about 200,000 US member companies that use the global GS1 standards to optimize their value chains and business processes.
Opportunity
During the Information Architecture class, we were asked to investigate the current content and information architecture of the website and make recommendations. The client had limited support staff which was inundated with elementary questions and clarifications. Also, the website did not reflect the high standards and authority with which they help members and non-members.
My Role
I paired with another student and we followed the double diamond design process model. We investigated both the problem and solution separately. We vigorously discussed each problem and solution to arrive at a consensus. To end, we proposed short-term and long-term IA strategies that matched the client's requirements and capabilities. This project took 2 months.
During the Information Architecture class, we were asked to investigate the current content and information architecture of the website and make recommendations. The client had limited support staff which was inundated with elementary questions and clarifications. Also, the website did not reflect the high standards and authority with which they help members and non-members.
My Role
I paired with another student and we followed the double diamond design process model. We investigated both the problem and solution separately. We vigorously discussed each problem and solution to arrive at a consensus. To end, we proposed short-term and long-term IA strategies that matched the client's requirements and capabilities. This project took 2 months.
High-Level IA Issues Identified
We found following high-level challenges in the GS1.org website:
Structure. Website structure mirrored the organization structure. Not necessarily that aligned with the user's mental model.
We found following high-level challenges in the GS1.org website:
Structure. Website structure mirrored the organization structure. Not necessarily that aligned with the user's mental model.
Content Silos. The content was not supported enough by main and sub-navigation. Also not all content was accessible via the Search function. Further, the content was not personalized keeping in mind the variety of the industries GS1 supports.
Navigation. Inconsistent navigation and multiple page-level navigation techniques created information dead ends.
Solution
Short Easy Fixes to alleviate obvious usability and navigation, problems
● Organize/rename to create usable categories from data
● Draft content that is relatable to users based on their industries need and even user profiles - the idea is to make the content relatable
● Renaming – labels, pages, features to improve user understanding
● Judicious use of cross-reference links and consistent page-level navigation – this reduces navigation confusion, remove dead ends, and control bounce rates
Short Easy Fixes to alleviate obvious usability and navigation, problems
● Organize/rename to create usable categories from data
● Draft content that is relatable to users based on their industries need and even user profiles - the idea is to make the content relatable
● Renaming – labels, pages, features to improve user understanding
● Judicious use of cross-reference links and consistent page-level navigation – this reduces navigation confusion, remove dead ends, and control bounce rates
Long Term Fixes directed towards improving organizational capabilities
● Invest resources in researching, creating, and maintaining a powerful information architecture that informs content strategy, UI design, and interaction design
● Research into a capable Content Management Platform
● Invest resources in researching, creating, and maintaining a powerful information architecture that informs content strategy, UI design, and interaction design
● Research into a capable Content Management Platform
● Inhouse Team vs Agency Conversation needs to take place
Below are some deliverables that I prepared to identify insights, opportunities, and themes.
