Methods & Tools

Discovery

• User and stakeholder interviews
• Content inventory and analysis
• Concept and terminology mapping
• Review of web and search analytics
• Review of user feedback
• Comparative/competitive analysis
• Usability heuristic analysis

Design

My preferred methodology is to begin generating design deliverables as soon as possible, iterating them throughout the project based on user testing, stakeholder feedback, and business needs.

• MindManager, for content mapping and taxonomy / IA tree / controlled vocabulary design
• Visio for annotated wireframes, conceptual diagrams, workflows and process analysis
• BalsamIQ Mockups, for wireframing and prototyping
• Axure RP, for wireframing, prototyping and IA documentation
• MultiTes, for Z39.19-compliant taxonomy and thesaurus development
• Adobe Creative Cloud (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign) for visual design and layout
• Spreadsheets for hierarchical tree structures, content inventories and other forms of data analysis
• ScreamingFrog site crawler, for content and structural reviews and analysis
• TechSmith SnagIt, for capturing and annotating screenshots
• ScreenSteps, for developing user documentation

Testing

• Card sorting and tree structure testing
• Usability testing
• Precision/recall testing for search results

I have developed, delivered and/or facilitated workshops on the following topics:

• Web information architecture
• Content renovation
• Writing for the web
• Metadata
• Web governance and management