Information ArchitectureRPI Spring 2008

ia-team2-at-rpi@googlegroups.com

Sarah DiodatoJenese GastonPaul LlanosAnne MillerChristine Rosakranse

Client ProfileSuburbandale, NY Public Schools

Business Group Engagement Objectives Metrics Scope Deliverables Budget / Schedule Key Players

Our Client

Suburbandale School District Location: Suburbandale, NY A suburban school district located in

upstate New York Approximately 5,000 students 1 high school, 1 middle school, and 5

elementary schools.

Business Group

…IT TAKES A VILLAGE

At Suburbandale Schools ...

What? Build an online community via an Information Portal that would provide:

Important News Emergency Communications Daily updates: Bus schedules, lunch menus, health forms, etc. Downloadable District forms

Why? Communicate on all topics related to the district through a well-

designed and highly searchable format Reduce calls to district offices on most information through a

usable web site would Encourage instant feedback from the community

Who for? Parents, Students, Teachers, School administrators, Board members …and Greater Community

Engagement Objectives

Challenges

1. Limited internet access - 10% of families in the school district require some form of public assistance.

2. Will client be able to manage social media components after initial implementation?

3. Conditioning community to use site to find information instead of office receptionist or print.

4. Technical Logistics – For example: Users who have a limited time on a public terminal may not be able to find what they need, Dial-up connections may have issues with low bandwidth

5. Diverse user community includes the non-tech savvy requiring the site be easy to use.

6. Motivating students to use the site ???

7. The need arises to keep the "surf-zone" safe and child-friendly (with a preference for non-commercial sites with low-level advertising, if that is possible). 

Engagement Objectives

The Superintendent would like to see the following results:

A 50% increase in traffic from the current site by the end of 2008

Diminished calls to the main district office for routine questions and forms

20 % Increased involvement and attendance at PTA activities due to better publicity and communication of its message

50% Increased community feedback on board and administration decisions to be measured by the amount of comments in the blogs or message boards.

Metrics

Scope – Engagement is limited to structure of the content and technology necessary for social media components as well as mobile website format. This excludes content, graphics or color scheme.

Deliverables - Heuristic Analysis, Personas, User Experience Design, Task Flows, Site Map, User Evaluations, Wireframes, Final write-up and presentation to the Superintendent and the school board.

Budget – $43,200. Fees for consultants are $120 per hour per team member to cover 6 hours per week on a 12-week project.

Superintendent Amy Alan

Would like to see her policies of an open and transparent administration reflected in the new Web site.

Not technical but is familiar web technologies and believes it can be very useful in bringing different groups in the community together

She’s very busy running the school district and will not be closely involved in the design process

District Technology Manager Janet Novak

Wants to be closely involved in the site’s implementation. Her staff includes 1 network administrator, 1 part-time faculty member for each

school and between 5-10 students per school She has overseen and personally worked on the site for 6 years The site redesign has been charged to her by her superintendent. 

School Legal Consultant - Susan Quentin

Motivated towards using newer Web 2.0 technologies Wary of online safety concerns of the students and and freedom of speech as it

pertains to social media technologies. She will be working directly with the team to provide advice on legal issues

Key Players

Information Architect - Anne Miller

Information Architect - Christine Rosakranse

Information Architect - Jenese Gaston A Web designer with a strong background in technical

communication, Usability engineering, and graphic design.

Information Architect - Paul Llanos Strengths include usability testing, software engineering,

and sales

Information Architect - Sarah Diodato Background in online publishing, advertising, and Web

analytics.

RPI Consulting Team2