This is my first post, since I have been an avid reader of ALL the advices and comments from intellectual people over here. But a small question popped in my mind when I came across a website that was redesigned and I was completely lost. Pardon me if this query has been answered before.
It's an employee intranet portal which had been operational for around a decade. The UI wasn't changed one bit in all this time. Later the organization decided it was time to move on and did the best they could with the UI design. For a few weeks the new (completely overhauled) design lived beside its older cousin and the users had the choice to peek in while still continuing in the old mode. One day they launched the new avatar. Now this overhauled UI has a new information architecture - complex if one is accustomed working in the order scheme of things. Links that were easily spotted previously had been moved around and/or hidden under heaps of fancy labels. When I went looking for one frequently visited section, it took me a good 10 minutes to find it!! That's unacceptable and a waste of employee time. My question is, how does one accomplish the difficult task of introducing a new design? how does the organization shift seamlessly from the older version UI to the new one without any surprises for the user? how can the user begin using a new system starting from where he left it earlier? Thanks in advance for all your help. ________________________________________________________________ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ....... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe ................ http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines ............ http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .................. http://www.ixda.org/help
