VerseOne understands the importance of Customer/User Experience (CX/UX) and creating clear and intuitive pathways for “users” - be they internal or external - to find the information (Content) they are looking for satisfying them by enabling them to complete tasks easily.
Information architecture (IA) is the very foundation of delivering exceptional Customer / User Experience (CX / UX).
Our proven and well-honed methodology developed over 17 years, involves an in-depth analysis of the different “personas” that would interact with your digital touch-points - website, intranet, mobile app, portal - and the types of information (Content) they would need in order to rapidly find what they are looking for and therefore have an excellent experience. A properly performed IA exercise
will increase efficiency, regulatory compliance, customer satisfaction and most importantly leads to cost savings.
VerseOne's Website IA Methodology is the starting point for every digital solution we provide and it also forms a part of the ongoing value-added services offerings that are key to ensuring that our digital solutions continue to deliver best value and success for our customers.
Organising functionality and content into a structure that people are able to navigate intuitively doesn't happen by chance.
Organisations must recognise the importance of information architecture or else they run the risk of creating great content and functionality that no one can ever find.
Information architecture is the term used to describe the structure of a system, i.e the way information is grouped, the navigation methods and terminology used within the system. An effective information architecture enables people to step logically through a system confident they are getting closer to the information they require. Most people only notice information architecture when it is poor and stops them from finding the information they require.
Information architecture (IA) is a key aspect of UX design that focuses on organising information, structuring Web sites and mobile apps, and helping users navigate them to find and process the information they need.
A well-designed, user-friendly information architecture ensures that users spend less time and effort searching for information and are successful in finding what they need. Key information-
architecture tasks include identifying common features in content, forming groups of similar information objects, and linking documents to other documents on the same topic. Optimising search for a Web site or mobile app also helps visitors to find information quickly.
Not only is this extremely frustrating for users be they internal or external to the organisation, but it has serious repercussions for organisations.
▶ For intranets it means low adoption rates and staff reverting to unsupported offline resources.
▶ It can have a major impact on regulatory requirements for example around accessibility.
▶ Users unable to access the correct information at the right time can lead to higher staff costs and low user adoption rates.
This problem is only set to get worse as the quantity of information available through sites increases. What can an organisation do to increase the chances that people can successfully navigate their site and find the information they require?
Depending on your business model, getting new Customers or Service Users could be one of your key targets. If so, your sign-up pages - and how to get there - should be carefully crafted with UX research. If it's too complicated, no one will register or give their personal data, which means you will struggle to demonstrate traction and deliver the levels of engagement and service.
Reputation is very important to public sector service providers such as the NHS and Social Housing especially with the release of the new Social Housing Charter, and the growing demand for key information being available around COVID-19 for the NHS. With these additional demands on staff attracting top talent is a key issue for Trusts across the UK, which having a greater reputation in the sector would significantly enhance.
IA has a big impact on the Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). Organising website's data and content affects usability, conversions, and ranking. Ranking places the website higher in the search results, usability makes the website easy to use, and a seamless flow leads to a higher conversion rate. If you have repetitive content, or index huge amounts of poorly defined content, it could adversely affect your SEO.
When the information architecture makes it easy for users to find what they are searching for, the cost of live help will decrease significantly and so will the need of the written documentation.
So as you can see, the costs of poor IA can quickly add up. We can assess what processes a Trust or Housing Association employs to ensure they don't waste money, and deliver the best user experience.
If Service Users/Customers cannot find the desired information, or access services, costs will skyrocket to achieve the same results. It should be easy for people to navigate from your website pages to where they want to go.
If there is a bad IA design, it can result in wasted time and reduced productivity while dealing with customers guiding them to information that they should be able to find on the website.
VerseOne understands that maintaining a great user experience is a continual process — and that websites and digital solutions are also continually evolving.
So, whilst an Information Architecture exercise may have provided a strong blueprint at the beginning of the journey, over time solutions can become de-focused, user journeys confused, and pages cluttered with old and irrelevant content. VerseOne's IA Review provides a review and recommendation service, measuring the effectiveness of your current solution, suggestions for easy fixes, and wider recommendations to make your online solution truly effective for all of your audiences.
VerseOne is the market-leader in our chosen sectors, and we know that we can make a positive difference to your organisation.
If you would like to find out more about any of our products or services, we would love to be able to tell you more - or even to demo them to you.
We work with Commercial Crown Services, enabling you to procure a variety of VerseOne solutions via their DOS 6 and G-Cloud 14 frameworks.
