Research

The BC Cancer Agency engaged ADGi in late 2008 to undertake the blueprint development (site map and wireframes) for a site redesign.

For several years prior to engaging us, the agency had been considering a redesign, and through various smaller projects, building a business case.

Unfortunately at the start of the project there was very little consensus among the various stakeholders as to the scope, necessity, and required functionality for the redesign project. The site is required to provide so much, and such critical, information to diverse audience groups (public, patients, family practitioners, oncologists, and pharmacists to name a few) that many stakeholders were skeptical that a unified solution could be provided.

ADGi recommended user research with the stakeholders and users of the site to determine the business needs, user requirements, and the priority of the functionality. The user research took the forms of focus groups, individual interviews with key stakeholders, and usability testing.

Our evidence-based and deliberately transparent approach:

• always driving design recommendations from research results
• always sharing our raw data and methodology

was instrumental in driving consensus about the final design solution and its scope. By detailing the expected functionality in the final wireframe deck, we also were able to set the stage for the discussion about functional specifications based on user needs and an accepted design rather than a group's perception of audience or technology bias.