Designing Web Sites to Achieve the Extraordinary: A User-Centric Approach (G020)

Workshops > Government > Complete List > Designing Web Sites to Achieve the Extraordinary

WHY SHOULD YOU ATTEND?

For any organization in any sector – public, private, voluntary – its web site is a key communications channel. Ensuring the site is effective and fully supports and forwards mandate, strategy and operations is a constant challenge in an evolving web environment which interacts, influences and is influenced by the broader communications context. The experience of those who use a site is the determinant of its utility as a communications asset for the organization. Measuring, understanding and responding to users’ experience is therefore vital in achieving a performing and sustainable web presence based upon optimal use of resources available. The web site persona approach offers a strategic and precise means to understand and respond to the user experience. This introduction to the web persona concept and application is relevant to anyone working with the web and/or in communications and related areas.

WHAT WILL YOU LEARN?

The workshop will focus on:

  • The impact of a changing Internet on web communications
  • Key issues in and drivers of an exceptional user experience
  • Website persona one approach to optimizing user experience
  • Developing a website “persona” - what is it and what does it means
  • A strategic approach to planning, developing and implementing a web site persona
  • Measurement and performance tools for exceptional user experience

Agenda Day 1

  

8:45 - 9:10 AM

Participant Introductions and Workshop Overview

9:10 - 10:30 AM

Communicating in the New Web Reality

  • The web in strategic communications
  • The impact of a changing Internet on web communications
  • The emergence of social networking and user contribution
  • Evolution of web communications in government
  • Key elements of effective web communications
  • An organization’s ideal communicators – its staff
  • Linking the characteristics of the ideal communicator and the web

Exercise: Identifying the characteristics of an effective communicator and relating these to effective web communications.

10:30 - 10:45 AM

Break

10:45 - 12:15 PM

Web user experience - why it really matters

  • The web user experience
  • Elements of an exceptional web user experience
  • Challenges, roadblocks and measuring the web user experience
  • The Website Persona: a user experience-based approach to effective web communications

Exercise: Defining the good and bad user experience?

12:15 - 1:15 PM

Lunch

1:15 - 2:45 PM

The Website Persona

  • The language of Persona
  • The role of persona in web communications – a two way street
  • Applying the persona concept to your website
  • Examples of website persona and exceptional web user experience
  • Measuring your success

Exercise: Case study – applying persona to public sector websites

2:45 - 3:00 PM

Break

3:00 - 4:15 PM

The Persona Experience

  • 7 steps to exceptional user experience
  • Persona as a first step in meeting a new communication reality
  • The reality of change in and for government communications
  • Implementation challenges
  • Resources

4:15 - 4:45 PM

Wrap-up and workshop evaluation


Instructor

Don Candon

Don Candon is an expert in customer service, sales, marketing and strategic sales management and the key role and place of technology in business and organizations.

read bio

When, Where How much?

December 5, 2008

Suite 205, 223 Colonnade Road
South, Ottawa

$ 675 (+ tax)

Register for a workshop

Online

By mail

The Centre for Excellence in Communications
Suite 214,
223 Colonnade Rd South
Ottawa, Ontario,
K2E 7K3

By email

registration@comcec.com

By telephone

(613) 233 2175

By fax

(613) 233 7617

E-mail Updates

Receive bi-weekly workshop schedule updates by e-mail

Testimonials

"It was great that this workshop was created and designed for non-technical people"

"I was very interested in the persona based idea and the notion that when designing a website, one should look at it from the user point of view rather than the stakeholder"

"I was able to take practical ideas from this workshop that will be easily applied in our company"