Internal structure & sign-off process
Due to its nature, the university has a hierarchical, pyramid structure. Such structure is not overly compatible with modern day digital processes such as agile which presented extra complications, adding multiple layers of approvals to deliverables. We had to define a clear sign off process from early on to prevent delays in said deliverables.
Site structure
One of the biggest issues we had to explore with a unified site was the relationships of the individual colleges and the university. Brand architecture techniques were employed to help define the college/university boundaries. Three models were offered as options along with all their implications: Monolithic, Endorsed and Free-standing.
The monolithic model, as its name implies, consists of a single branded element with everything under it conforming in style and structure.
The endorsed model offers a balanced approach between structure, style and individual visual differentiation.
The free standing model offers maximum visual differentiation with unique site structures.
After much deliberation and due to resource limitations for maintenance, the endorsed model was selected to inform the site structure as the most efficient and future proof model.
Benchmarking
High level IA stakeholder brainstorm
Given the nature of the organization and the devolved content ownership structure, we had to consult with a large number of stakeholders and content owners for a number of things, including the information architecture. At the previous site set up, most content owners had full control of their content along with full access to the CMS including the ability to make changes to the architecture. That resulted in a convoluted and nonsensical IA that created complicated user journeys. With the new site we tried to minimize this as much as possible by talking to the stakeholders and offering solutions to any perceived structure problems.
