CHALLENGE
The Cumberland County Library System (CCLS) issued an RFP to find a partner to lead the usability, project management, and planning efforts for the county library. With a grant from the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) to support the work, there were high expectations for success.
The goal was to establish a virtual library branch and utilize new technologies, including RSS feeds and e-commerce tools, to enhance the library’s services. I successfully competed for the project and joined a strong in-house team as a consultant.
SOLUTION
From my perspective, the work involved in this engagement provides a comprehensive overview of what a usability project entails. The usability expert helps drive the project forward, working in collaboration with the client and the technology vendor.
It was built with easy maintenance in mind at the start. Key deliverables included a requirements and planning function, the creation of the information architecture, and usability testing.
We also set and published the organization’s first Web standards document: Web publishing guidelines to guide future content management. We combined listening to both the voice of the customer and the voice of the stakeholder, with a good measure of baseline and beta usability testing.
To summarize, the scope of my work included:
Usability
- Expert review scorecard, baseline, and beta
- Requirements development
- Benchmarking the competition
Voice of the customer
- User interviews
- Customer Profiles, including an analysis of analytics
- Task analysis, baseline, and beta
Voice of the stakeholder
- Planning assessment
- Design strategy
- Training and Publication Guide
RESULTS
Analytics for the first year showed visits grew by 17 percent. My Web scorecard before and after shows that the adoption of best practices grew by 24 percent. My usability testing shows the task completion ratio for top tasks increased by 15 percent.
We transformed problems into solutions:
- The problem of duplication was transformed into a unified look and feel for the content
- The problem of inconsistent page layout, look, and feel was transformed by embracing standards to create a consistent look throughout the site.
- The issue of the site’s ineffective use to promote events and resources was addressed by leveraging Web 2.0 to network the organization with its members better.
As a result, there are several benefits for the user: the site is more relevant and focused on top tasks, standards help the organization save time and be more effective, and content is more accurate, error-free, and timely.
AWARDS
The mark of a successful project can sometimes be found in awards and recognition that follow, which I was pleased to see happen with the CCLS venture. The State Library of Pennsylvania contacted the county library leader to inform them that they wish to utilize this website project as one of their LSTA Exemplary Projects. I was also grateful when my task manager, Jonelle Darr, the Executive Director of the CCLS, praised my contribution to the team.
“Kathy assisted the Cumberland County Library System with a total overhaul of its website. Of all the consultants that we’ve ever hired, she was — by far — one of the very best,” said Darr.
“She delivered what was promised, on time and as expected. She not only designed the site’s architecture but also provided us with the tools and working knowledge we needed to continue improving our website. Plus, she was a strong advocate for us when working with our CMS vendor. I would engage her again without hesitation.”
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