Information
thepeoplepartnership is increasingly being asked to conduct 'information reviews' in both the private and public sectors. These reviews often result from one or more of the following factors: the increasing emphasis put on information provision per se; the increased variety of channels via which information can be delivered, most particularly the internet; and the sheer volume of information that most organisations have accumulated over the years (and therefore want to reduce). The outputs often involve mapping client group against channel, information provider and information content/format.
A flavour of the kinds of projects we have conducted in this area....
a) Development of an information suite
Research objectives that need to be met in order to be able to develop an information suite effectively typically include
- Understanding client information journeys: what information do they require, via what channel, at what point in the journey
- Understanding client information expectations: who they expect information to be provided by at each point in the journey and why, how best to signpost information if it is beyond the remit of the provider in question
- Understanding information content: what information content is required in terms of level of detail and structure
- Understanding information format/style: what will optimise engagement with the information in terms of how it is presented.
Overall it is helpful to be able to develop an 'information framework' so that information can be easily added/changed at a later date rather than having to reinvent the wheel.
Common methodologies we use when tackling this kind of project include
- Stakeholder/expert/staff interviews to understand the bigger picture and overarching information needs (although stakeholders do not always correctly anticipate others' information needs); as well as how the information will need to work within the information journey from the perspective of those who may be providing/using it
- Groups and/or depths amongst specific target audiences to find out their information needs first hand. It is also often useful to pre-/post-task research participants in these instances in order to elicit a more thoughtful/longitudinal exploration of information needs
- Workshop(s) amongst stakeholders to develop an information model based on an understanding of needs
- Groups to test and refine the information solutions.
Outputs from these kinds of projects typically include
- An overall information architecture/structure
- Optimal channel delivery for each item of information
- Guidelines on content/format/style etc for each item of information
- Any variations by specific target audience
- Client service guidance for those distributing information (and any personal information needs these individuals may have).
b) Rationalisation/evolution of an information suite
The reality is that often the information task in question is not about developing a new information suite from scratch but rationalising/developing what is already there. This might be because the target audience, the range of products/services, the supplier of the products/services, the delivery channels available have changed and/or the amount of information available has simply become unwieldy/outdated and/or confusing.
Issues that frequently present challenges when running research projects focused on these kinds of issues include
- How to deal with what can be 100s (or more) of individual existing information items: it is impossible to get valid reactions to everything
- How to take account of individual information needs: it is often the case that there are a small number of 'favourite' information items, as indicated by order levels but, beyond this, there are often lots of items favoured by specific target audiences
- How to deal with complicated branding issues if individuals have become used to a brand that has changed and/or become amalgamated.
Carefully chosen stimulus material is critical to the success of these projects. Examples of materials we often find useful include
- The current information suite, items being carefully chosen to encompass as wide a range as possible of different kinds of content/styles/formats/channels
- Competitor information materials across a range of similar topic areas (here again ensuring a range of different content types/styles/formats/channels)
- Potential models/architecture/information guidelines that have been developed for the purposes of the research or have emerged during the research process
- Process models/conceptualisations of the customer journey/CRM models that have a bearing on information delivery (expressed in consumer-friendly form)
- Communication materials used by the organisation in conjunction with the information, eg campaign materials/trigger emails.
In addition materials that might be relevant when exploring telephone-orientated information/advice services include relevant call centre scripts and tapes of interaction with customers.
c) Web-based information
As more and more people are confident with, and have access to, the web so use of this channel as the main source of information becomes commoner.
We increasingly conduct projects in this area, looking at very niche/specialist through to broad-ranging sites, both in terms of content and target audiences.
Key research design issues in this area focus on how best to get a clear steer on content and usability, given the multi-faceted nature of the web as an information channel. This is particularly relevant for sites where the target audience is not particularly confident on the internet. In these instances we find that conducting the research in stages is particularly useful so that users have the opportunity to explore the offer over time.
The output from web-based information projects of this kind can be particularly hard to manage and a major challenge lies in providing a sense of the hierarchy of information needs combined with sufficient detail relating to specific information topics and journeys. We have found that the provision of structured information matrices, combined with the use of action point-focused workshops can be very useful in helping clients deal with the outputs.