The Washington Post

The PRODUCT

Outcomes

‍Findability: Introduced a search-first layout and decluttered IA.
‍Efficiency: Surface Okta quick links and “most-used” modules on the homepage.
Governance: Clarified ownership for resource pages and added Updated on metadata to reduce stale docs.
‍Speed: Componentized the interface for rapid MVP build and future iterations.

Outcomes

PROCESS Overview

DISCOVery

• Stakeholder Interviews
• IA & Validation
• Tree Testing
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Design

• Sitemaps and Personas
• Wireframe and Sketches
• Rapid Prototyping
• Responsive Design

Tools

• Sketch app
• Whimsical
• Invision
• Optimal Workshop

User Interviews

During this process, we focused on asking questions that would help us understand areas of opportunity to focus on. For our user interviews, I began with the following topics to better understand their workflow;

How they interacted with the website

Any pain points they encounter in their day to day while using the tool

Opportunities they might want to share to imrpove their experience

Interview FIndings

Stakeholder requirments

Stakeholder discussions allowed the team to identity where the MVP efforts should be focused on for the redesigned solution.

Home page
Hero Banner
OKTA Apps Quick Links
Featured Events
Featured "In the News"
Search Page and Indexing
Informational Page
Resources Download link
Related Resources

User Insights

Users found the navigation menu a bit confusing to use where some items wouldn't be where they expect it to be.
When locating resources, it was difficult for people to find the most updated documents.
Users didn't have the option to search, they had to navigate the website using the nav menu.
The tool was primarily used to search for other colleagues and their location in the office
HR wanted a way to build a more consistent communication line with its employees. They found that its difficult to post new information within the current website.

Tree Testing

The image displayed showcases the outcomes of our tree testing activity, a remote session where users engaged with scenarios and specific tasks. The primary objective was to discern the most intuitive paths or options for users. By analyzing activities with high failure rates, we pinpointed areas of confusion within the current site map. This method enabled us to revisit and refine opportunities for improvement within the sitemap, ensuring a more seamless user experience.

Insights

• High failure rate occurred when participants reached " Employee Resources" and about 25% of participants failed to locatre the section.
• Close to half of participants utilized the back button to choose another route.
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Information Architecture

With the research conducted and analyzed, our sitemap was organized so users could easily locate resource online. Below is a snapshot of the sitemap generated for mapping resources in our new design.

WireFraming Components

We wanted to have consistent layouts throughout the website. in order to meet the goal requirements of the new tool, we needed to confirm that the proposed layout templates met those business requirements (event registration, social integration, workday integration, etc).

Componentizing these the following elements allows us to create a consistent experience for users and allowed developers to efficiently build our MVP.

• Content Cards
• Side Panel Navigation
• Hero Banner
• Page Header
• Global Navigation

Imagining the Visual Brand with stakeholders

Voice and Tone

Meeting with various stakeholders, we embarked on the voice and tone workshop, a journey to define the very essence of the brand's communication. Through lively discussions and engaging exercises, we delved into the personality and style that would resonate with our audience. Like characters in a story, each participant contributed to crafting the narrative of our brand's voice, ensuring that every message would captivate and connect with our audience, weaving a cohesive and compelling tale of who we are and what we stand for.