Recent, Current and Future

Recently, February 24, the Citizen Advisory Group met to discuss results of the last usability test and identify new pain points. Thanks to those who could attend. Most of the conversation centered around the Parks information on the site and ways to improve it ranging from content organization to presentation. RTN content was also discussed briefly and that content is currently being reviewed and enhanced. It was noted that any major City project should be displayed on the site, so the current traffic signal upgrade should be posted. The common look among the department pages could even be taken a step farther by standardizing the imagery to be more graphical than pictorial.
The Citizen Advisory Group will continue to meet on a quarterly basis, just after the usability studies are conducted and evaluated. These meetings are open to anyone, check back in April for the next scheduled meeting.


Currently, City staff is conducting search testing. While still using the Google Search Appliance (GSA), we have a test site that utilizes a web crawl method to search. This method is most like the algorithms used on the google.com site. The current portal search method is file based. Staff will be comparing the two methods over the next two weeks to determine if a change should be implemented. Check this blog for results from the testing and the next steps.

Looking ahead to the near future, April, we will be conducting our next usability test. The subject matter for the next test will be Parks and Recreation information. If you would like to participate in the test, which will require about an hour of your time and physical presence, email us. Or, if you would like to suggest a usability test case concerning the Parks and Recreation information, email us as well. The Parks and Recreation information is by far one of the most popular and frequently accessed.

Did You Notice?

We released some small changes today, did you notice? The changes were a result of the Usability Tests and should be fairly subtle in nature. If you like a challenge, see if you can find the 17 changes, but stop reading now because they will be mentioned later in this post. The goal is to make small changes to enhance the user experience frequently. Some changes may be more noticeable than others.

Behind the Scenes Changes
Some changes were substantial but hopefully you won't notice these at all. The initial launch had far too many CSS stylesheets. While making some of the other changes, we used this opportunity to collapse all the CSS styles into one file. This was a very tedious task, but one that needed to be done to move forward.

Using the Data
When we outlined the I Want To lists for the main and landing pages before the launch, we relied on staff's working knowledge of content people request. The design called for a consistent look across the landing pages, but we have realized if items look too consistent, the changes may go unnoticed. We are using the site analytic data and user feedback to customize the I Want To lists. The first landing pages to get revised I Want To lists are Arts & Parks and Public Safety. The others will be revised soon.

Finally...the Changes

1. Calendar, Maps and Directory moved to upper left for increased visibility
2. Department dropdown list moved to upper left for increased visibility
3. Search moved to upper right, a typical search field location
4. Alerts background image removed for visual clarity
5. Alerts icon added to draw attention
6. Alerts text color changed to match other hyperlinks on site for visual association
7. Most Popular moved to bottom right to balance other changes
8. Most Popular defaults to searches
9. City of Raleigh News items list is one column rather than two columns to make titles more readable
10. Blue background color removed from landing page secondary articles
11. Removed survey from content pages to reduce visual clutter
12. Removed Connect With Us from content pages to reduce visual clutter
13. Moved Alerts above Related Info on content pages to keep Alerts prominent
14. Text changed to black/bold on Related Information headers to improve readability
15. Calendar enlarged
16. Calendar uses more Google Calendar native functions like clickable entries, map addresses, copy to my calendar
17. Employment listings are alphabetized for readability

Web Usability Group Meeting

The Web Usability Group is meeting Thursday Feb. 24, 2011 from 4:00pm to 5:30pm.
The meeting will be held in the Raleigh Municipal Building (222 W. Hargett St) in Room 305. If you are interested in sharing your opinions and ideas about the City's portal, please join us. If you have questions, please email.

Survey says...

Now you can know what the survey says. The first version of the online user survey just accepted your selection. The second version displayed the text results of the survey after you cast your vote. The latest rendition displays the results in graph and text format. The online survey provides an insight into public opinion on various topics facing the City. We have used the survey to gather public views on some of the recent decisions facing staff and Council like the smoking ban in City parks and the results of the Crabtree Valley Transportation Study. Take the survey and each time you return you will see the latest results. It does rely on cookies to keep track, so if you clear your cookies, you won't see the results. Share you opinions...and see what others think!