Talk on engaging with stakeholders on Drupal nonprofit projects from 11/15/11 TriDUG meeting.

1. Effectively Engaging Stakeholders in Drupal Projects
(aka: How to make your Executive Director happy)
Julia Kulla-Mader
http://www.juliakm.com
@JuliaKM

2. Julia Kulla-Mader
Project Manager/Web Developer
5 Years of Drupal Experience
2

3. Why am I qualified to give this talk?
• Nonprofit website redesign alumna
• Relaunched AASHE.ORG twice
• Involved in redesigning many other Drupal sites
• Long-time Drupal user/developer
3

4. How to make your stakeholders happy today and
tomorrow
• Rely on objectives, not hunches
• Design and implement a user-driven redesign process
• Plan for support after the launch
4

5. Three Things I Want You to Remember
• Rely on objectives, not hunches
• Design and implement a user-driven redesign process
• The fourth trimester: plan for support after the launch
Section: Rely on objectives, not hunches. 5

6. Start By Identifying Stakeholders
Sandra Bob
Section: Rely on objectives, not hunches. 6

7. How do we meet Sandra and Bob’s needs?
• Doesn’t see a need for change
• No familiarity with HTML, comfortable to send edits to IT
• Wants to be able to quickly point members to website
information
• Prefers to spend as little money as possible Sandra
Staff Member
Section: Rely on objectives, not hunches. 7

8. How do we meet Sandra and Bob’s needs?
• Thinks the current site is “cluttered”
• Heard about a great new CMS from his nephew
last week
• Wants the site to look professional
• Loves lots of pictures and movies Bob
Board Member
Section: Rely on objectives, not hunches. 8

9. Before You Begin: Gather Background Information
• What is the problem we want to solve? Why are we doing this?
• Has this been attempted before? Why did it fail or succeed?
• Is anything at my organization in flux that might change this project?
Section: Rely on objectives, not hunches. 9

10. Develop Objectives with Sandra and Bob
• How will we measure whether the project is successful?
• Each person on the team needs to agree to the project objectives
Section: Rely on objectives, not hunches. 10

11. Example - from AASHE.ORG
Section: Rely on objectives, not hunches. 11

12. Plan to engage stakeholders throughout the process
• What phases of the decision process would benefit from involvement by
various stakeholder groups? {What phase would not?}
• Should Bob participate in every decision? What about Sandra?
Core Team Extended Team
Section: Rely on objectives, not hunches. 12

13. Example - Engaging Stakeholders
Core Team
Sandra - Program representative
You* - IT Manager/Web developer
Matt - Web developer
Paul - Exec. Dir
* Project Manager
Extended Team
Board member
Member representative
Representative from Team A
Representative from Team B
Representative from Team C
Core Team

14. Objectives: Rinse and Repeat
• Throughout the process, when questions or suggestions arise, measure
against your objectives
Section: Rely on objectives, not hunches. 14

15. Three Things I Want You to Remember
• Rely on objectives, not hunches
• Design and implement a user-driven redesign process
• The fourth trimester: plan for support after the launch
Section: Design and implement a user-driven redesign process 15

16. What does a user-driven process look like?
Before you launch
Develop clear, Use card sorting to Wireframe Again and
test with
universally accepted develop your Again While Testing
stakeholders and
objectives navigation Against Objectives
non-stakeholders
Section: Design and implement a user-driven redesign process 16

17. Start with Navigation
• Navigation visually defines your organizations priorities
• Navigation helps people from veering off track
• Navigation keeps people on your website
Section: Design and implement a user-driven redesign process 17

18. Navigation: Card Sorting Is Your Best Friend
Section: Design and implement a user-driven redesign process 18

19. Card Sorting Tools
• Paper-based: Index cards, Post-it notes
• Web Based: OptimalSort, Websort
• Mac: Xsort
• Windows: UXSort, CardZort
• Analysis Tools SynCaps (Windows), Card Sort Analysis Spreadsheet
Section: Design and implement a user-driven redesign process 19

20. Wireframe Everything Major
• You can go through iterative wireframes and data migration at the same time
• All pages where people are likely to have strong opinions should be
wireframed
The homepage
should only have 2
columns!
Section: Design and implement a user-driven redesign process 20

21. Wireframing Tools
• Balsamiq, Omnigraffle, Visio, Photoshop, Word
Section: Design and implement a user-driven redesign process 21

22. Test Wireframes
• Test wireframes with your stakeholders through questions against your
objectives
Section: Design and implement a user-driven redesign process 22

23. Wireframe and Test Again Until You Feel Good
• Making changes to a wireframe is easier than making changes to a live site
design
Section: Design and implement a user-driven redesign process 23

24. Go Through The Same Process for Designs
• Create a survey for gathering design feedback
• Make improvements using an iterative approach
Green isn’t
the color
of sustainability!

25. Reflect Before Moving On
• Does something not seem right? It’s easier to change things before you
launch.
• Feedback Army is a good resource for quick tests
Section: Design and implement a user-driven redesign process 25

26. Test and Test Again
• Develop personas to test your site
Claire - Grant Officer Shironda - Student
Section: Design and implement a user-driven redesign process 26

27. Engage Stakeholders Again at the End
• Let your stakeholders evaluate whether you have met your objectives
Section: Design and implement a user-driven redesign process 27

28. Launch!
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29. Three Things I Want You to Remember
• Rely on objectives, not hunches
• Design and implement a user-driven redesign process
• Plan for support after the launch
29

30. Support after the launch
• Monitor feedback to your revised site
• Monitoring Tools: Contact Form (Webform module), Feedback Tab, User
Voice
• Have a plan in place for responding to questions and concerns
Section: Plan for support after the launch 30

31. Think Carefully About Permissions
• As you give staff access to the website, think about who should have what
editing privileges carefully
• How will the Executive Director feel about an intern editing her bio?
Section: Plan for support after the launch

32. Educate and Support Your Content Editors
• Provide a knowledge base for answering frequently asked questions
• Have one line of communication for questions (ticketing system, email
address, etc.)
Section: Plan for support after the launch

33. Don’t Forget to Update Your Site’s Code
• Update code when needed
• Have a plan in place for how you will find out about and implement code
updates
Section: Plan for support after the launch

34. Summary: Three Things I Want You to Remember
• Rely on objectives, not hunches
• Design and implement a user-driven redesign process
• Plan for support after the launch
34

35. Thanks for listening!