Projects / BC Hydro - HydroWeb IA
BC Hydro was switching to a new Content Management System and had decided to use the opportunity to get funding for site site redesign at the same time. They hired a consultant to create the blueprint for the redesign. While the consultant did eventually deliver a blueprint document, the information architecture solution was found to have serious issues after usability testing by a second consultant.
BC Hydro hired ADGi help them fix the information architecture in preparation for content migration.
Given that there had been two consultants previously working on this project as well as a third, the content management system vendor, there was little stomach not to mention budget to do the work. Staff had no tolerance for the idea of any more discovery meetings, card sorts, tests, or surveys. At this stage they wanted the problem fixed.
Given the limited budget and staff situation, we decided a two staged approach where we would engage with the Intranet Manager would work best. The first stage of the process was to create a site map of the existing site. Typically, we would have created a content inventory in a spreadsheet but in this case we chose to create a visual map of the existing site. The benefit to doing this was enormous as for the first time the Intranet Manager could easily visualize the site and the problem space. For the second stage of the process, we worked collaboratively with the Intranet Manager to first adjust the proposed IA to something that would meet the user needs (defined loosely in the existing blueprint) and second move blocks of pages to fit the new structure.
As with most intranet sites the solution is a work in progress. At this point BC Hydro has a framework that they can work with and the Intranet Manager understands how that structure works so that when future changes come about she will be able to implement without the help of an outside consultant.