the details

The unique challenge of the project was the fact that the ideal system needed to be designed from two ends toward the middle. Helping member stations find and use the available tools and resources through a public interface was core to success, but creating a backend infrastructure that facilitated managing, launching and retiring of tools was equally critical. The major flaw in the existing system was that it was so complex and technical that launching a new tool -- or even changing basic site content -- might take weeks or even months due to the internal resources required. In order for the site to remain useful to it's core audience after a redesign, it also had to be supremely manageable by the PBS internal team. Fixing the front end alone would not be sufficient.

Our first task was to understand the context of the member stations using the site, define their goals and tasks, and develop relevant organizational principles for the content without taking away key labels and groupings with which they were already familiar. Employing user research and heuristic analysis, we restructured the content architecture to support quick, intuitive access to content through multiple paths, and refined the taxonomy without overturning the existing foundations. We also defined new interface components to meet needs currently not addressed by the existing repository to help stations integrate and manage the available tools on their local websites.

Our second task was to understand the internal system for managing the portal, including PBS Station Services staff capabilities and availability, and define the type and scope of a backend admin that would serve the immediate purpose and be well-positioned for growth and change.

The final stage of project strategy and specification involved coaxing the two components together to form a harmonious whole.

the public interface

We combined clean, minimal yet inviting visual design with a strong navigational architecture to transform the Station Remote Control site into a highly organized products and services portal. Redefined by user goals, the core site architecture was centered first around basic findability of tools and resources and supported by content-based groupings and other peripheral offerings.

We also highlighted station content in order to push the portal toward becoming more of a single hub for resource transaction, information gathering, sharing and collaboration. Integrated station blog content kicks off a two-way communication channel between stations and PBS staff, designed to lead to better collaboration in the management of exising tools and services, as well as the development of future resources for stations.

the admin interface

We designed and created a custom-built, configurable and extensible Zope3 CMS backend that allows both techical and non-technical PBS staff to configure and launch new tools and services quickly and easily, converting launch time for new tools from months to hours. The CMS also allows the team to manage the site content on a day-to-day basis, from editing and adding new content, to updating the configuration of data objects on the fly to support new site needs.

the services