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Government Website Redesign
Cherokee County - Rusk, TX
Website redesigned to improve usability, functionality, and utility for Cherokee County residents
Renovated Information
Architecture
Improved UI for easier navigation
Updated RWD for Desktop & Mobile
Access to forms, departments and more directly on homepage
Challenge
Why: Initial Concerns
Outdated county website leading to poor user experience:​
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Navigation difficulties
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Accessibility concerns
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Minimal responsive design
Solution
Project Goals
Website redesign included -
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Improved UI for easier navigation
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Updated information architecture
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Fresh responsive web design
Impact
Outcomes and More
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Consumers were ~1.5x to 3x more likely on average to successfully complete tasks
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Reported ~ 1.5-minute to 2-minute reduction in the average task duration
Additional
Who, What, When, Where
Role - UX Research, UX Designer, PM
Timeframe - Nov. 1st - Dec. 31st 2022
Tools - Figma, Trello, Miro, Canva, Artboard Studio
Empathize
Research, Analysis and Exploration
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Heuristics Evaluation Concerns:
Aesthetic and Minimalistic Design, User control and Freedom, Consistency, and Standards
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Cluttered content dragging down task completion
Inconsistent categories in primary vs secondary navigation menus
Unresponsive UI different across desktop versus mobile
Task Flow:
An initial task flow displayed paths taken to complete three usability tasks and identify usability issues during testing:​​
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Find Public Health Department information
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Locate & identify three government offices
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Learn and download information regarding an uncontested divorce
Action Taken by User
Enter Site
Result of Action
Exit Site
Enter Site
Lands on homepage
Exit Site
Task 1: Locate Public Health Dept info
Select "Other County Offices" cat.
Select "County Health Dept" secondary cat.
Lands on content page for County Health Dept.
Select county health dept website link
Select "Home" from menu and navigate back to homepage
Review content on external site
Land on external website
Task 2: Locate and identify three county offices
Select "County Offices" cat.
Select "County Judge" secondary cat.
Lands on content page for County Judge office
Select "County Court at Law"
Select "Home" from menu and navigate back to homepage
Review content on page
Land on county court with various members
Task 3: Learn and download information regarding an uncontested divorce
Navigate to top navigation bar
Select "Distrtrict Court" tab
Select "Distrtrict Clerk" secondary cat.
Lands on content page for District Clerk info.
Select "Instructions for Uncontested Divorce (PDF)"
Select "Home" from menu and navigate back to homepage
Review instructions on content page
Lands on PDF document
Research Methodology:
Research Results:
Results:
Outdated UI = poor experience:
Interviewees struggled locating forms as search function was unusable and varing navigating menus made for difficult navigation
Poor success rates:
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61.11% overall task success rate on desktop
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33.89% overall success rate on mobile
Average duration across tasks:
Desktop - 2.5 minutes
Mobile - Roughly 2 minutes
Define & Ideate
The User, their Journey and the Features
Meet Norma! She is a middle school teacher who wants to integrate the Cherokee County website into her instructional teaching.
Occupation: 8th-grade History/ Social Studies Teacher
Norma, a 39-year-old new Cherokee County resident, wants to learn more about her new county as she hopes to integrate the county's history into class assignments next fall
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"I enjoy helping my students learn and apply new concepts - I enjoy watching them grow"
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Has taught variety of subject over the last 10 years
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Enjoys learning about new cultures
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Integrates online resources into class instruction as a way to connect with students
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Finds online literacy very important
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Integrate Cherokee County history into class instruction
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User county website as a resources to learn about her new county
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Have students use website as a resource
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Struggles finding contact help center/information
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Several steps must be taken to get info.
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Multiple navigation menus - unsure what to click on
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UI is loaded with jargon and unorganized elements - making navigation difficult
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User-friendly county website to integrate within-class instruction
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Locate information in a time-efficient manner
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Easy-to-use website that her students can also utilize in class
Card Sorting and Site Map Restructure:
Condensed navigation from 11 to six primary categories. Added location for easy contact information
Utility elements created such as the employee portal
Footer elements (social links, address, contact information) added
Prototypes
Wireframes and Iterations
Sketches, Wireframes & Prototypes:
Norma's insight led to initial paper sketches and a low-fidelity prototype
Desktop:
Mobile:
Insight from initial findings, usability testing, journey mapping, and card sorting supported the development of an updated style guide and design system to improve user experience​​​
​Updated iconography and color palette​
Improved typography to convey a more modern asthetic
Testing & Iterations
Insight Synthesis and Application
Usability Testing Process:
Two additional rounds of testing were conducted with three interviewees each. Mid- and high-fidelity testing resulted in an overall reduction in duration and an increase in success rates across both devices.
Mid-Fi Testing
Results of Mid-Fi Testing:
Translation:
High-Fi Testing
Results of High-Fi Testing:
Existing Difficulties:
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Difficulty navigating menu categories
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Site appears "sterile"
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Missing icons on mobile​
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Color accessibility concerns on hover functions
Poor success rates:
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94.43% overall task success rate on desktop
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99% overall success rate on mobile
Average duration across tasks:
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Desktop - 33 seconds
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Mobile - 22 seconds
Improvements Made:
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Alphebetized menu
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Added pictures of county officials to make website more welcoming
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Added search icon on mobile
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Altered hover funciton to be WCAG AA passing
Translation:
Improved success rates:
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17% increase in overall success rates on desktop
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27% increase in overall success rates on mobile
Decreased duration:
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Overall 30 second reuction on both devices
Impact
Outcomes and Takeways
Data synthesis of usability testing results from Round 1 vs 3 -
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Users were ~1.5x more likely on average to successfully complete tasks 1-3
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2-minute reduction in the average duration taken to complete tasks 1-3
Data synthesis of usability testing results from Usability Testing 1 vs 3 -
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Users were 3x more likely on average to successfully complete tasks 1-3​
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~ 1.5-minute reduction in the average duration taken to complete tasks 1-3
Personal Lessons:
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Scope - unable to interview county-level government employees
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Previously unaware of accessibility testing via WAVE - would have been beneficial while annotating
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I hope to send the project to Cherokee County
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Goal: build out more pages for additional testing
