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Project Discovery for Content Websites
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Souvik Das Gupta
March 23, 2018
Design
1
260
Project Discovery for Content Websites
Talk presented at Powered By CMS, Pune.
https://poweredbycms.in
Souvik Das Gupta
March 23, 2018
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Transcript
Project Discovery for content websites
@souvikdg
Miranj We architect information and design radically simple, future-proof
websites
Content-driven Websites Represent an organisation or a business Publishing platform
(stories, articles, news, etc.) Facilitate e-commerce
“We want our new website to be modern, mobile-optimised, easy
to change and good looking.” “And oh, SEO-friendly as well.”
None
The problem usually doesn’t lie in what they’re sharing, but
rather on what they’re not sharing.
Problem Space Solution Space vs
Doctor by Hamza Butt on Flickr https://www.flickr.com/photos/149902454@N08/35081927460
Doctor by Hamza Butt on Flickr https://www.flickr.com/photos/149902454@N08/35081927460 Problem Space I
have fever I feel dizzy My stomach is paining My cut is bleeding Solution Space vs I’ve got typhoid I need MRI Scan Prescribe me aspirin
Problem Space Feels old Difficult to browse on phones Pain
to modify Dislike the design Doesn’t show on Google Solution Space vs Modern Mobile-optimised Easy to edit Good looking SEO-friendly
Typically briefs are unclear or inadequate because they try to
communicate the solutions rather than the problems.
So, discovering project needs becomes a necessary part of our
work.
5 Stages of Discovery
1. Listen 2. Probe 3. Prioritise 4. Strategise 5. Align
5 Stages of Discovery
None
Who?
All stakeholders
Web Team Designer Developer / Technologist Content Strategist Information Architect
Copywriter
Client “Website manager” or “Product owner” Management (decision maker)
Ongoing Roles Marketing and Communication Content-writer / authors Editor Digital
Marketer
Anyone else who may either have a say,
or simply, have good ideas.
Listen Stage 1
Domain Get familiar with the business, stakeholders, processes and terminologies
Wishlist Goals, Wishes, Content, Demand, Outcome, Impact, Quality, Analytics,
Features, Functionality, etc…
None
None
No “thought” or “idea” is discarded at this stage
1 “thought” or “idea” goes on 1 sticky note
None
Synthesise Add to the “thoughts” and move them around to
achieve a structured understanding of the client’s domain
Identify the various stakeholders, business priorities and potential content inventory
Align with the client’s vocabulary
Landscape Peers, Competitors or Superstars
Probe Stage 2
Constraints Timelines, Budgets, Life Expectancy (ROI)
How long should this new website last?
Goals Features, Functionalities or important Outcomes
Goals Hygiene vs
Goals Flexibility in page layout and content Evolution in brand
positioning Higher time on site Low bounce rate Increase repeat visitors Hygiene vs Easy to use Easy to edit Good looking Mobile friendly SEO optimised
None
Audience Identify the distinct groups that are likely to land
on our website and for each type map out their context and motivations, current solutions and their problems.
None
The often-missing Audience Internal team members, content author / manager,
partners, future hires, search bots, etc.
Design Run over references from the wild (including peers and
competitors) that help us capture reaction from clients and understand their tastes and aspirations
Brand Collect the expressions and phrases that determine the
positioning of the organisation or the service
None
Content Identify types and for each detail the editorial process,
frequency of publishing or update and real (or representative) samples
What is content?
All current and “future” information, document, write-up, knowledge, etc.
Marketing collateral is content
Media is content
Features and functionalities have intrinsic content
Synthesise Goals, Audience, Content, Design, Brand
Audience Goal (Outcome)
Audience Goal (Outcome) Content
Audience → Content → Goal Mapping is tedious but it
is important for the key outcomes
Prioritise Stage 3
“Everything is important”
Prioritisation is about “focusing on impact”
Prioritisation is about “analysing feasibility”
Prioritisation is about “building consensus”
Goals, Audience and Content
None
Card Sorting
Voting
Fist-to-five
Impact vs Effort
High Effort High Impact High Effort Low Impact Low Effort
High Impact Low Effort Low Impact
Strategise Stage 4
Content-First
Content Strategy Choice of Content, Discoverability, Frequency of Updates,
Narrative and Storytelling, Page or Design Strategy, etc.
Information Architecture Identify the primary content models and break
them down into smaller components.
Content models can be “broken down” in two ways…
Semantic Style vs
Semantic Title Author Excerpt Body Date Topic Cover Image Style
vs Text Block Image Block Video Block Gallery Block Timeline Block
Sitemap v2 by James Box on Flickr https://www.flickr.com/photos/b0xman/4472627015 Sitemap and
Navigation follows the information architecture
Technology CMS, Caching, SEO, Plugins, Other 3rd Party Services,
Performance Budgets
Work Plan For all stakeholders, including clients (fulfilling pre-requisites)
Align Stage 5
Discuss and agree on the Strategy, Scope and Plan
Responsibilities RACI matrix R=Responsible, A=Accountable, C=Consulted, I=Informed
Project Management Introduction to tool or process
1. Listen 2. Probe 3. Prioritise 4. Strategise 5. Align
1. Listen 2. Probe 3. Prioritise 4. Strategise 5. Align
Problem Space Solution Space
A website is not a commodity.
Neither is the process of discovery.
As much as the process is about discovery, it is
also about everyone aligning and being on the same page about the problems and the solutions.
And, helps speak the same language through the project
execution.
Not to mention, clients also gain a lot of clarity
— not just about website but also their business!
The Challenge
Thanks!