<aside> ⛔ The following content is still a work-in-progress and may change very much. Tread lightly and try not to take it seriously.

</aside>

To be effective in designing the website, we need to align ourselves with a common vision and goal. This set of questions are designed to enable us to carefully plan the design direction for the site.


  1. Define purpose/vision for the site

●What is the purpose of the site?

●What are the goals of the site?

  1. Develop goals for the site

●How would you define a successful website for this project?

●What does success look like?

●How would you describe the site

  1. Define audiences and goals

●Who are the users of the site? (Primary and secondary users)

●How would you describe the users? (User characteristics, such as age, experience,

education, etc.)

●Why will they come to the site? (User needs, interests, and goals)

●When and where will users access the site? (User environment and context)

●How will users access the site? (User computer settings, such as connection speed,

resolution, etc.)

  1. Conduct task analysis and prioritize tasks

●What will users do on the site? (User tasks, content, features, and functionality)

●Which tasks are critical to users’ success on the website? (Criticality)

●Which tasks are most important to users? (Importance)

●Which features of the site will users use the most? (Frequency)

●Which features are prone to usability issues? (Vulnerability)

●Which tasks are critical to the organization’s success on the website?

●What will compel users to return to your website?

  1. Determine measurable usability objectives

●Which tasks should users be able to accomplish easily with few errors? (Efficiency)

●Which tasks should users be able to finish quickly and efficiently? (Effectiveness)

●What level of satisfaction should users have after using the site? (Enjoyability)

  1. Discuss expectations, requirements, and preferences

●What is your vision of what the site should do?

●How would you describe your initial view of the project? What do you think the project

should entail?

●What prompted the redesign?

●Who will be the key point of contact?

●Are there any restraints, mandates, or guidelines for the site?

●Are there any sites you would like to model or a particular style that you prefer?

●What characteristics/attributes/attitudes should the site convey to users?

  1. Determine accessibility requirements and needs

●Is the site currently accessible?

●What type of accessibility testing has been done?

●What types of accessibility tools are being used?

●Who is the key point of contact on accessibility issues?

  1. Identify available resources and training needs

●What level of resources is available for site updating and maintenance?

●Do you have content writers skilled in writing for the Web?

●Are there graphic designers on staff?

●Who will be responsible for programming and maintaining the site?

●Who is in charge of site marketing and promotion?

●Who will be responsible for analyzing your site analytics?

●Do you have a budget available for hiring or training staff?

  1. Discuss initial technology needs

●What are your hosting needs?

●Do you currently have a domain name or do you need a new one? Do you have the

budget to buy a new domain name?

●Are you currently using a content management system? If so, which one? If not, which

systems are you currently looking at?

●Are you currently logging Web metrics? If so, what metrics are you currently capturing? If

not, do you plan on adding them to your site?

●Do you currently have a search engine? If so, what type of search are you using?

●Do you have a budget for implementing new technology?

  1. Timeline and Project Plan

●Are there current mandates or deadlines in place requiring you to complete your project

by a specific date?

●Can you think of any issues that may arise that could delay your project completion? If

so, do you have a plan for ensuring that the project moves forward?

●When do you want to complete the project?

●Do you have the available resources to complete your project on time?

●Who will be responsible for managing the project plan and timeline?