Information Architecture and UI Redesign

Popolo Project


Popolo is an international standard for open government data specifications. I was tasked with creating a new information architecture and redesign for their current website.


Project Context
Content inventory, navigation proposal and  UI + Branding redesign. of current Popolo Project website with the goal of

Skill Set Used
Heuristic Evaluation, User interviews, Personas, Information Architecture, UI and Visual design.
Duration
1 month.


Intro

Popolo is an international standard for open government data specifications. The site is meant to be used by developers looking for documentation on the international standard, but it also intends inform the Open Data community  and capture the support and participation of its .org members.  I was tasked with creating a new information architecture and redesign for their current website.

“A large part of the problem is that the site currently feels back to front to
me: it’s much more about _your_ process in creating the Spec, than
about _my_ process in using it”


 

The problem

 

The site is mainly oriented as a functional guide for civic developers, but it renders arcane to less tech-savvy users, making it hard for ‘policy people’ to use and understand the specifications.
The site is not very intuitive to search, making it hard to use, specially for novice users.
Even expert users who are familiar with the structure of the site struggle with accessing certain information
The site’s voice and content structure is too ambiguous, it is not currently designed to target two personas with very different needs


Background research

To better understand the expected goals of the new site’s I talked to stakeholders and interviewed some power users.
I presented the stakeholders with the following survey:

1) Where does Popolo situate in the following axis. Choose a number from 1-10, 1 being closer to the first term, 10 being closer to the second term.

This simple exercise helped us clarify and align the stakeholder’s expectations.


Insight: IA Redesign Principles

 

  • Scaffold the access to complex content for novice users while providing appropriate shortcuts for power-users.
  • Divide site content based on personas defined into two main groups: Technichal Spec and About Popolo.
  • Optimize home page for Persona #2: Lawrence. Use to convey the value of the initiative to potential new users and help them get oriented
  • Keep contents in home page brief and introductory.
  • Create an about page containing further ‘policy’ details that Lawrence may find useful.
  • Provide quick access to reference spec’s terms.
  • Create a use case library, to serve as a repository of examples that can be referenced either from the technical spec or from the policy site.

  • Proto-Personae

     

    TONY

    Tony is a civic developer. Works remotely with several different civic organizations across the world.
    He’s a cut right to the chase type of guy, when he accesses the site he’s looking to reference some specific term.
    He’s familiar enough with the site to know how to use common terms by heart. He mainly accesses the site when he’s stuck trying to puzzle out more complex challenges, like how to express that Parties X, Y, and Z combined to form a Parliamentary Faction.

    “I primarily want it to just show me what the fields are and how to use them (with multiple
    examples of each[1]), not start out by talking about what fields there should be.”


    LAWRENCE

    Lawrence is an advocate for open government data.
    He believes in the power of aligning organizations from all over the world around an open data standard, so they can share and reuse the knowledge created by each one.
    He is concern about the validity of the standard across the myriad of government structures to be found.
    He’s also in charge of assigning funding to several open government initiatives, so he’s an evangelist for open standardization among the organizations he funds.
    He cares about showing others the value of the standard and how it can be used to improve the quality of democracies around the globe.


    Solution

    Sitemap and new layout.

    Applying the IA Principles to the layout

    Optimize home page for Persona #2: Lawrence. Use to convey the value of the initiative to potential new users and help them get oriented

    • Keep contents in home page brief and introductory, linking to more detail in the ‘About page’.
    • Make sure home page provides a clear introduction to the project for first-time visitors while providing quick access to reference areas for returning ones.
    • This ‘Introduction’ must include content for the two primary personas, so we included a ‘Principles’ section and a ‘How to contribute to the standard’ Section. lastly we included a testimonial section to quote participating organizations across the globe to increase brand trust.
    • Provide quick access to reference spec’s terms so devs can still readily access the ‘reference’ section.


    About Page

    • About Page states the goal of the project front and center
    • Include clear and simple path to get started. An early call to action and a ‘Basics’ section.
    • What’s Popolo good for: Include coding examples that solve real-world data problems that both .Org people and devs can relate to.
    • About page contains further ‘policy’ details that Lawrence may find useful.


    Final information architecture Moodboards