Team Includes
  • UX Researcher
  • Marketing team
Year

2015

My Role
    • UX Researcher
Disciplines
  • Market Analysis
  • User Research

Using card sorting and tree testing to inform the navigation and content strategy for RSPB.org.uk

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is the largest wildlife conservation charity in Europe, with more than a million members. They run public awareness and fundraising campaigns, lobby governments and operate nature reserves.

As part of a wider digital transformation, RSPB was undergoing a content migration to Episerver with help of the agency Zone. There were only two UX Designers working in-house on the RSPB website and I was the sole UX Designer researching information architecture, navigation and content strategy.

Process

What I did:

• I planned and conducted 33 interviews with existing and potential users.
• I revised and simplified the site’s information architecture by conducting an open card-sorting workshop.
• I investigated navigation issues flagged by the Digital team by conducting tree testing workshops to assess the difficulties by users.
• Revised the taxonomy of content categories on the Event page using card sorting

Stakeholders Interviews

Tested areas of the site navigation that was highlighted as problem areas by Digital Team.

Participants recruitment and scheduling

RSPB headquarters is based on the outskirts of Cambridge in the middle of a nature reserve which meant it was hard to recruit participants to do research and usability testing onsite.
I overcame this problem by recruiting participants who worked at RSPB (from the e.g catering team, finance department, volunteers and etc) but not within the Digital Team and related departments, making sure I picked the right people by using a screener. I also recruited participants from people who were visiting the nature reserve.

Discussion guide

I structured my discussion guides with allocated times for each section, this ensure my workshops ran on time and questions were focused. Below is a photo showing examples of my open card sorting discussion guide, workshop materials for the tree testing and notes.

Card sorting & Tree testing

I used open card sorting and tree testing methods to solve information and content strategy issues. Below is are photos from the open card sorting workshops and interviews. In my content card sorting workshops, I conducted the sessions in pairs to save time and to encourage more of a discussion between two participants.

Analysing data to discover insights to inform new information architecture

I used excel to collect the participant's data and analysed the data with Optimal Workshop.

Outcomes

• A revised and simplified information architecture and site map
• Reports summarising findings and providing recommendations for new navigation
• Monthly infographics detailing individual page performances
• Recommendations for content editors and writers on how to publish and organise content on the website’s events section