Proposal to Redesign Website for Friends of Rock Creek Environment FORCE Proposal prepared by the Blue Team Anand Lalye Laura McCarthy-Ceffalo Srikant Polapagrada Thet Oo

Website Redesign Proposal for FORCE What is FORCE? – A nonprofit organization that works to preserve the Rock Creek watershed. – Its mission statement reads “promote a healthy and sustainable Rock Creek watershed through conservation, education and restoration. “ 9/Default.aspx

History of the Organization –Founded in 2005 – Decided that the focus should be on the entire watershed, not just the creek –Interestingly, did not want “friends” in the name Website Redesign Proposal for FORCE

At initial meeting heard from similar organizations: Friends of Sligo Creek and Friends of Cabin John Creek Watershed – – Website Redesign Proposal for FORCE

Research Methodology 1.Survey of Website— (Blue team member as member of public and first impression.) –What works –What doesn’t work 2. Card Sorting Exercise Website Redesign Proposal for FORCE

Survey of Website: What works? 1.The logo is eye catching and does provide a focus for the site. 2.The map of the watershed is helpful and gives the user a visual to determine the extent of the watershed. 3.Calendar provides a quick summary of the upcoming events. 4.Upcoming events and current news on the home page is useful. Website Redesign Proposal for FORCE

Survey of Website: What doesn’t work? 1.Too much text. Too static. 2.Bureaucratic feel—similar to websites for Federal agencies 3.What are the reasons for the logos at the bottom of the page? Members or administration? 4.Not an “outdoor” feel to the site. 5.Menus organization and labels are confusing. Website Redesign Proposal for FORCE

What doesn’t work?  continued 1.No navigation aid for user to track its current location. 2.Because of weird pull down menu, users will miss some content – for e.g.: mission statement. 3.Watershed map is useful but permanently occupying screen estate. Website Redesign Proposal for FORCE

Card Sorting Exercise -> users’ mental model 1.Open sort was exercised. 2.Due to the resource constraint, the participants were not the representative sample of the targeted audience. 3.Nine people (friends and colleagues) were recruited for the sorting concepts/menu items were explained to the users. 5.WebSort was used for the exercise.

Initial result with 40 categories!! Website Redesign Proposal for FORCE

After merging similar categories,

Website Redesign Proposal for FORCE Categories x Items Chart

Website Redesign Proposal for FORCE Tree Diagram –we settled with five groups.

Clean and crisp color scheme for friendly and inviting look. Menu are reorganized based on the card sorting result. “Join/donate” button on every page since the donor should not have to dig up pages to contribute. Navigation aid like breadcrumb bar to help the users move around. More graphics and a bit of dynamic content to enliven the site. Website Redesign Proposal for FORCE

%20Project%202/index.html Here it is!!

Our suggestions for future development Some form of CMS tool should be in-place for regular updates and administration. Mass-mailing/listserv software to facilitate fund raising, organizing for action, and spreading information. Thank-you letters, public acknowledgments, and exclusive donors’ club/reception for top donors would spur more donations. More Web 2.0! Such as FORCE facebook group, follow FORCE on twitter,… would spur interest of young generation.