Rebuilding IA to improve comms adoption
Our customer’s employees had to use three separate applications to get access to their data. The main goal for us was to connect these applications into one user-friendly space that supplies smooth, easy and problem-free access and exploration while delivering a satisfying and pleasant user experience.
Our client is a global grocery and general merchandise retailer. With around a million employees spread around the world, without perfectly crafted and targeted comms the corporate spirit won’t be achievable.
Out customer employees had to use three separate applications to get access to their data. Each of these applications had a different approach to IA which resulted in counterintuitive navigation between the applications. Also splitting user resources between apps led to an excess of pages about a particular topic.
Information Architecture reconstruction dealt with three so far independently working applications destined for internal use of the company’s employees. All three being vast heavy content websites housed (accommodated) considerable amounts of content, often overlapping between them. Each of them also demanded from the user separate login when jumping from one to another application chasing the same information spread between them. This understandably has been a source of immense frustration and confusion amongst the users.
The main issue found in all three applications was a fragmented, overgrown in time and extremely complicated information architecture without a planned organization, multiple broken or empty pages, dead ends, duplicates and almost random navigation systems. All these and many other minor issues resulted in high bouncing rates and left the company’s employees confused and discouraged to ever use the applications again.
The main goal for us was to connect these applications into one user-friendly space that supplies smooth, easy and problem-free access and exploration while delivering a satisfying and pleasant user experience.
Reconstruction work fully embraced all aspects of Information Architecture Engineering, User Experience and Usability Testing as well as building a unified software platform. Employing innovative tools for information architecture mapping and analytics helped us considerably speed the whole process and communicate work progress to the stakeholders keeping them well informed and involved all along.
The final effort paid off revealing a well structured, all-in-one, engaging platform gathering multiple positive feedback from the users. All three applications were supplied with reorganised information architecture and visually unified to appear as a single independent application. Multiple logins have been replaced by a single entrance demand. This solution gave the users one place to enjoy the benefits offered by the site and find any information needed in one place.
Thanks to an advanced IA analysis the team was able to implement a new, unified self-service platform, containing the functionalities of three applications provided by the customer.
Development of a single technological stack and the introduction of a consistent information architecture allowed for a significant reduction in the client’s operational costs.
The software documentation provided by the team and the training of the client’s team allowed the client to deliver content faster in a strictly defined, yet flexible information architecture.