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IT Project: Northwestern IT Website Refresh

Project Status

December 13, 2022: The refreshed IT website has successfully launched. The redesigned site highlights the organization's online presence and better prioritizes the user experience with new convenience features, upgraded navigation, and a prominent search.

Project Timeline

Background

In January 2017, the Northwestern IT website was relaunched in the University’s updated template to improve web accessibility. The update was predominantly cosmetic and retained the site architecture. In 2018, the Northwestern IT Service Catalog launched, evolving the site further. While the site undergoes regular maintenance and modifications, the information architecture is due for a review, and we are focused on:

• Interviewing key stakeholders and conducting critical user experience testing to ensure a full audit of the site’s strengths and opportunity areas
• Reviewing and scaling down the more than 700 web pages that currently exist
• Eliminating existing URL redirects
• Preparing the IT Service Catalog pages for inclusion in a future third-party service management tool
• Reimagining the look and feel of the site’s home page
• Evaluating the need for and introducing enhanced opportunities for Northwestern IT units to illustrate their impact and partnership with stakeholders across the University

Goals and Objectives

Technology impacts everyone at Northwestern and enables the campus community to carry out its work and the University's mission. We understand providing straightforward and streamlined access to information about Northwestern IT services and support is critical. Technology evolves rapidly. We are committed to providing a web experience featuring timely information on services and tools and updates on new technologies available to students, faculty, staff, and researchers.

At the end of the project, we expect the following outcomes:

• The campus community retains access to timely information about Northwestern IT services and support
• Information is easier to find, more accessible, and visually engaging
• High-traffic areas of the site are elevated and enhanced, making popular content even more prominent
• Increased site usage by the University community
• The number of web pages on the site is reduced by nearly half
• Northwestern IT content coordinators are appointed and trained to ensure service information remains timely and accurate
• Enhanced opportunities introduced for Northwestern IT units to illustrate their impact and partnership with stakeholders across the University

Approach

The project includes a phased approach from May 2021 to January 2023:

• Phase One: Assessment, Discovery, and Research (May to August 2021) – Includes a series of user-experience testing sessions, an online survey, stakeholder interviews, and audits to determine the site’s strengths and weaknesses. Audits will focus on site analytics, information architecture, design, content, and current resources and technology.
• Phase Two: Ideate, Design, Optimize, and Test (August 2021 to December 2022) – Includes test site creation; removing out-of-date files, pages, and URL redirects; aligning content; preparing service catalog pages for a transition to a future third-party service management tool; reimagining landing and marketing pages, additional user-experience testing, and more.
• Phase Three: Implement, Generate Awareness, and Monitor (January 2023 to March 2023) – Includes taking the site live, marketing site enhancements, monitoring site traffic, and adjusting content accordingly.

Timeline

The target dates below are subject to change as the project progresses.

Project Team Engagement