This presentation was made at the Human Centred Design revolution workshop organised by Different Solutions. It is a case study on our client, BHP Billiton and using a HCD approach for the redesign of their global intranet. It outlines the challenges an organisation faces when adopting a UCD approach, corporate governance and determining measures of success.

1. User Centred Design from an
Organisational Perspective
Dr. Jianzhong Lu Karl Davis
Manager, Internet and Intranet Professional Services Director
BHP Billiton Ltd Different
May 2005

2. Redesiging the Intranet as part of the Journey:
Intranet  Portal  Common User Interface
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3. Global Intranet Strategic Framework
All initiatives need a strong
supporting framework to Strategy & Guiding Principles Site Governance
make sure they deliver their • ITS37 a and b • Executive Sponsor
business and user goals – & • Site role, Goals & objectives • Steering Committee
that they stay relevant, • Design principles • Editorial Committee
focused and successful once • Publishing & content principles
• Usability principles
they are built. • Business drivers & principles Monitoring & Reporting
• Metrics
• Analysis/reporting tools
Methodologies & Processes • Review/testing strategy
• Project initiation • Reporting framework
• Content development
• Web application development
• User-centred design Discovery Framework
• Quality Assurance framework • Information architecture
• Site vocabulary (taxonomy)
• Discovery tools (search,
index, navigation, site map)
Marketing & Communication
• Marketing & promotion
• Feedback/support strategy Contributor Support
• Offline channels • Style Guide
• Stakeholder communication • Content Guidelines
• Customer/user communication • Checklists, templates
• Workshops, training
• FAQs, whitepapers, “how-tos”
Site Design Rules
• Style Guide
• Content Guidelines
• Methodologies, processes
• Quality Assurance framework
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4. Organisational Issue
 User-Centred Design is “a good idea.”
 However… Project must deliver to “the business.”
 Stakeholders and Business Units - focussed on the
business. You’re focussed on the project.
 How to reconcile business reality with User-Centred Design?
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5. Perceptions of Value
 Measures of success.
 Project is a manifestation of an organisational need.
 Value of the project vests outside the project - in the
business.
 But.. How do you manage User-Centred Design vs.
Organisational Issues?
– Who is the audience?
– Don’t presume to know what they want before you ask
them.
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6. Stakeholders
 Representatives of the business.
 Contribution “buys influence”
– Resources, finances, platforms, expertise, priorities
 Have decisional power, but lack domain expertise
 “They just don’t understand…”
“Brokerage role”
– Informed trade-off decisions c.f. User Centred Design
– Communicate meaningfully to different audiences
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7. Brokerage Role
 Manage Expectations - intelligent stakeholder
engagement.
– Be clear on mode (concept vs. design vs. delivery)
– Communications plan (different audiences, different
needs, different styles) - be careful not to confuse or
mislead.
 Scope is not a dirty word.
 User engagement
– User Research
– User Testing
– Change Management - What’s in it for me?
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8. Organisational Issues
 Issues and “impurities” are the reality of achieving strategic
User Centred Design projects.
 Ultimate project value is always vested in the business.
 Stakeholders are not “the enemy” of User-Centred Design.
Brokerage role vs. “dictatorial” expertise role.
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9. Operational Issues
 Project launched - now what?
 Again, where is the value of the operating system? In the
system? In the users? In the business?
 World Time
 In the business - improve measures by identifying
organisational need.
 Issue: Operational seen as “expense” - often poorly funded.
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10. Operational
 Operational team “meshes” with the business. Best placed
to observe benefits acting in the business, and to gather
subsequent requirements.
 Not about “keeping the lights on”.
Extend. Not just functional or design, but business value.
How do we make this even better? Deliver even more to
the business - incremental value.
 But… How to not redesign again?
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11. An Approach to Operational Team User-Centred Design
 Involvement in Design
– Transition skills, plans, documents… and ALSO rationale,
and relationships.
 Ongoing Governance Model
– Might be separate stakeholders from Design - can’t
deliver all business requirements at once:
– Dependent projects, budget, time, resource
– Organisational focus
Avoids ad-hoc growth - ensure remains true to business
objectives.
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12. Questions
Summary
 Key: The value to be realised by the project is vested in the
business.
 Stakeholder engagement isn’t just about getting budget.
 Brokerage Role - seek informed trade-offs rather that
purity.
 Extending vs. redesigning:
– Involvement by operational team in Design
– Seek emerging Business requirements - deliver
incremental value.
– Effective Governance Group
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13. Questions
Page 13