Unit III Goals & Objectives

Goal & Objectives The ENDS versus the MEANS Goals are measurable statements, describing what can outcomes can be reasonably expected or accomplished over a fixed period of time (a day, a month, a semester) Objectives are clear, realistic, measurable, time-limited statements of action that reflect progress toward specific goals Writing clear goals is an important component of planning the strategy and IA of a site Whether you want to sell, educate, entertain, persuade, or provoke, every part of a site should support your goals Periodically evaluate your site using the goals and use this type of activity to help plan site improvements

Examples of Educational Goals Increase Student Enrollment Reduce Program Expenses Demonstrate understanding of the purpose of a university education and the links between general education, career development, and lifelong learning Practice clear articulation of ideas in conversation and in writing exercise critical reading, thinking, and writing skills Develop Reusable Lesson Objects (RLOs) on Information Architecture for BATEC instructors

Examples of Business Goals Develop advertising strategy Increase Sales Revenues Build the customer base Increase Cross-sales of Mortgage and Investment products Decrease transaction volumes (e.g. move calls out of the call center) Create lead capture system Reinforce brand marketing efforts Improve system performance

Goals Define Site Strategy What message do you want the site to convey? How will you persuade the audience to accept your message? Select the tone for your site. Will it be informal or formal? Visionary or conservative? Dramatic or practical? Identify the depth of information or level of detail you will offer? Overview? Summary? Detailed? Consider the style and presentation of imagery and text on the page. Plan site features that will help meet your goals. Chat? ? Shopping Cart? Identify your capabilities and how they might best meet your goals. Does your staff have the skills to develop the content needed? Do you have a budget for artwork or other site features? Will the technical staff be able to implement and support the features of the site? Will there be enough interest in the chat feature to be engaging? Will it require a moderator?

Goals Define Site Success Goals translate to user requirements and user success metrics. (e.g. if the business goal is to move 20% of claims status calls out of the call center and into the web self-service channel) The information design and usability of this feature is key to the success of the site: need functionality to accomplish this and methods of measurement to evaluate this type of activity Site success can be measured in a number of ways: –Site activity: number of unique site visitors, page hits, downloads, requests for information (RFI), completed applications –Increased site subscriptions (free or fee-based) –Increased sales revenue from ads, products, campaigns –Favorable customer feedback via , postal mail, phones –Favorable reviews or awards from industry analysts

Prioritization of Goals The prioritization of website goals helps to determine the site scope and specific requirements Goals may overlap, or in some cases, compete, making it difficult to define, measure, and achieve success Several factors that affect the prioritization of goals include: organizational values, resource constraints, and compliance Prioritization - Which is most important? AccessibilityUsability Functionality

Breakout Session Writing Site Goals In small groups write goals for the BATEC site redesign Share group goals and document similarities/differences Activity Time: 30 minutes Identify and prioritize goals according to importance or urgency Identify and prioritize goals according to resources (time, money, human resources) Prioritizing and organizing goals helps determine site scope –What can we do in the time allowed? –How much can we afford to spend? –What specific skills to we need to employ? –Who has these? –What is their availability? –Do we need additional staffing?

Breakout Session Writing Site Goals Identify and prioritize goals according to importance or urgency Identify and prioritize goals according to resources (time, money, human resources) Prioritizing and organizing goals helps determine site scope –What can we do in the time allowed? –How much can we afford to spend? –What specific skills to we need to employ? –Who has these and what is their availability? –Do we need additional staffing?

Sample Deliverables as Props HL ROI - Project Success Metrics (Show on-screen only) HL Scope Matrix (Show on-screen only) Project Initiation Phase (Show on-screen only) Project Definition Document (Show on-screen only) Technology Scoping Document (Show on-screen only)

BATEC Site Redesign Project Goals & Objectives Output of Unit III to be included in Design Document folder