As presented during a How-To Session at Museums and the Web 2016

1. Tackling Complex
Web Projects
Museums and the Web 2016
Sean O’Shea
1

2. Hello!
I’m Sean.
@sposhe / @cuberis
sean@cuberis.com
2

3. UX Design
3
Strategy
Advocate for the user
throughout all project
phases.
Adapt project process
and empower
internal stakeholders

4. Building a website*
is a complex
endeavor.
*or any digital experience
4

5. 5

6. 1. Lay the Foundation
2. Create Consensus & Momentum
3. Maintain Alignment
6

7. Lay the Foundation
— Section 1 of 3 —
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8. Adopting a
Discovery Mindset
Lay the Foundation
8

9. “A problem well
stated is a problem
half solved.”
Charles Kettering
9

10. We need a better website.
10

11. We need a better website.
↑ This is not a problem.
11

12. Parable of the Elephant
“Many-sidedness”
12

13. Adopting a Discovery Mindset
Dig deeper
Don’t settle for your current understanding
Take three steps back
Acknowledge that proximity affects perspective
Tap into and unify perspectives
Align visions to align momentum
13

14. Setting Preliminary
Goals
Lay the Foundation
14

15. Increase Membership
Increase Attendance
Reduce Info Calls
WCAG Compliance
Immersive Online Collection
At-a-glance Info
17

16. Setting Preliminary Goals
Create initial North Stars
The first heading for your journey
Don’t set them in stone
Continually reassess throughout the project
18

17. 19

18. Defining
Your Team
Lay the Foundation
20

19. 25

20. Defining Your Team
Who is involved?
Plot everyone who can or should have influence
Set expectations
Make sure everyone understands their role
26

21. 27

22. Mapping Your
Ecosystem
Lay the Foundation
28

23. 29

24. Mapping Your Ecosystem
Include all touchpoints
Every way your audiences interact with you
Include all integrations
Everywhere your data goes
Look for opportunities
Reuse, new connections, path optimizations
31

25. 32

26. Create Consensus
— Section 2 of 3 —
and Momentum
33

27. 34

28. Spectrum
Polling
Create Consensus and Momentum
35

29. 1 2 3 4 5
36

30. 1 2 3 4 5
Dog CatEqually Both
Are you a dog person or a cat person?
37

31. Keep
users on
the site
Get users
to quality
content
Equally Both
What is our primary goal?
38

32. Keep
users on
the site
Get users
to quality
content
Equally Both
What is our primary goal?
39

33. 40

34. 41

35. Spectrum Polling
Returns analog feedback
Solicits non-binary data
Equalizes playing field
Quieter voices don’t get lost
Creates ownership
Stakeholders are able to retain control
42

36. 43

37. Personas
and Empathy
Create Consensus and Momentum
44

38. “[Personas enable you to]
focus on a manageable
and memorable cast of
characters.”
Shlomo Goltz, Smashing Magazine
45

39. 46

40. 48
Everyone.
↑ Not helpful.

41. 49

42. Five Types of
Museum Visitors
— John Falk, Identity and the
Museum Visitor Experience
Explorers
Facilitators
Experience-Seekers
Professional/Hobbyists
Rechargers
50

43. Personas
Catalysts for empathy
Tool to get inside head and heart of others
Explore segmentations
Reframe how you divide folks up
51

44. 52

45. Cardsorting
Create Consensus and Momentum
53

46. 54
Cardsorting
Supplies
Note cards or sticky
notes
Sharpies/markers
Personas
Group of internal
stakeholders.

47. 55
Step 1
Create two columns—wants and
needs
Go over your personas
Assign each stakeholder a persona
to inhabit
Ask “what content or functionality
do you need to see on the site to
accomplish your goals”?

48. 56
Step 2
Stakeholders create cards,
announcing to the group as they do
Stakeholders place cards in what
they feel is the appropriate
columns
Ask stakeholders to step out of
their personas back into
themselves
Is there anything missing?

49. 57
Step 3
Collectively, stakeholders group
similar concepts or families of
cards
At the same time, they discuss if
cards need to switch columns
Have each explain the content
they attributed to their persona
Do others have anything to add?

50. 58

51. Cardsorting
Content brainstorming method
Prioritize and qualify content
Approach from persona and museum POV
Be purposeful about switching between them
59

52. 60

53. Maintain Alignment
— Section 3 of 3 —
61

54. Exploring with
Mood Boards
Maintain Alignment
62

55. — Laura Franz
http://branding.blogs.
umassd.
edu/2015/02/09/mood
-boards/
63

56. 64

57. Mood Boards
Prototyping for design
Low-effort exploration of design directions
Tool for iteration
Gather feedback, explore more
68

58. 69

59. Sitemaps
Maintain Alignment
70

60. 71

61. 72

62. 73

63. 74

64. 76
The Three Click Rule
↑ Forget it.

65. Sitemaps
Approach from users’ POV
Check your institutional baggage
Be wary of anecdotal evidence
Backup with research
77

66. 78

67. Lo-Fi Page
Prototyping
Maintain Alignment
79

68. 80
Page Prototyping
Supplies
Note cards or sticky
notes
Sharpies/markers
Personas
Group of internal
stakeholders.

69. 81
Step 1
Go over your personas
Assign each stakeholder a persona
to inhabit
Ask “what content or functionality
do you need to see on this page to
accomplish your goals”?

70. 82
Step 2
Stakeholders create cards,
announcing to the group as they do
Ask stakeholders to step out of
their personas back into
themselves
Is there anything missing?

71. 83
Step 3
Prune content that is better suited
to a different location on the site.
If this is the homepage, think of it
as your 30s elevator pitch.

72. 84
Step 4
Decide where on the page content
should live.
At the top? Middle? Bottom?
Group content that might coexist.

73. 86

74. 87

75. Lo-Fi Page Prototyping
Approach from persona and museum POV
Be purposeful about switching between them
Remember to prune
No one page should do all the heavy lifting for
your site.
88

76. 89

77. 90
Project Roadmap
Laying the
Foundation
Discovery Mindset
Preliminary Goals
Defining Your Team
Ecosystem Maps
Consensus and
Momentum
Spectrum Polling
Personas
Cardsorting
Maintaining
Alignment
Mood Boards
Sitemaps
Lofi Page Prototyping

78. Thanks!
Follow-Up & Feedback
@sposhe / @cuberis
sean@cuberis.com
ray@cuberis.com
Resources & Slides
cuberis.com/mw2016
Special Thanks
Emily Lytle-Painter
91