Web Manager University – Fall 2006 One-Day Workshop Schedule

September 19, 2006
Catholic University, Washington, DC - Directions to Catholic

Trends in Web User Behavior and Search Services: What Web Users Want from their Government

John Lewis Needham will provide Google’s perspective on what Web users want from government publishers, presenting trends in user behavior as well as recent developments in Google’s services and the search industry relevant to government web managers. In particular, JL will highlight best practices in web publishing, including use of Google Sitemaps, that ensure Web users can find the information they’re seeking from government sources and services.

Scent, Search, and the Pursuit of User Happiness

Happy Users are the brass ring of web site design. The designers of every site have making users happy as their primary objective. However, many designs end up frustrating instead. Since 1996, User Interface Engineering's main research objective is to understand how to achieve designs that produce Happy Users. UIE's research has found that user happiness is directly tied to whether users accomplish their goals on the site. What prevents users from accomplishing their goals? Almost always, it's poor design caused by a design team that doesn't have all the information they need to make the right decisions.

In this entertaining and insightful presentation, Jared M. Spool will share practical design strategies of highly-effective web sites, including how to focus on the most important content; proven design techniques such as Personas; why effective sites never re-launch yet stay fresh; and how to use the “scent of information” and the knowledge of how people search to give your site a huge advantage.

You'll learn from a wide range of examples, from the web sites of the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Netflix, and Wells Fargo, to Google, the Washington State Attorney General's Office, and Amtrak.

Cheer for Your Peers as we announce winners of the 2006 Web Managers Best Practice Awards.

You’ll also hear quick updates from the various task groups of the Web Managers Forum and how you can get involved in our growing community of government web managers. Read more about the task groups and the Forum's strategic plan.

1-A: Why Your Intranet is Critical: Intranets sometimes don't get the attention they deserve and can be overshadowed by an agency's public-facing website. But, as we'll hear in this interactive panel session, that doesn't have to be the case. Come hear from three agencies that have built a strong Intranet presence within their agencies, and how their Intranet sites have become a critical means of keeping their employees informed. This session will focus in particular on how these agencies' Intranet sites have served as critical internal communications vehicles during recent emergencies, including Hurricane Katrina.

Presenters: Janet Stevens, USDA; Chris Testa, Library of Congress, Bill Thomas, Library of Congress; Peter Rhee, USDA

1-B: Developing a Content Review Process: How do you decide what gets posted, and what does not? Who "owns" the content on your website? How do you know if it's current and accurate? How do you make sure old content is removed in a timely manner? We all know it can be a nightmare to manage hundreds (sometimes thousands) of web pages, especially if you're not the subject matter expert. Come hear from your peers at HUD and EPA, who've developed content review processes that work. You'll learn new strategies and see real-life examples of how to effectively review and manage the content on your website.

Presenters: Rachel Flagg, HUD; Jeffrey Levy, EPA

1-C: Web Analytics: Measuring the Value and Effectivenss of Your Website
What metrics should you collect to measure the effectiveness and value of your website? Do you sometimes feel like you're collecting data for the sake of collecting data? If so, you're not alone. As web managers, we're all faced with a variety of choices and challenges in developing meaningful web analytics programs. Come learn what the challenges are and hear how other agencies have established effective analytics strategies for their websites. The session will cover such topics as: integrating data from a variety of metrics tools, evaluating web site value, and determining how well your website is helping achieve agency mission. Come prepared to share your experiences and lessons learned!

Presenters: Joe Pagano, Library of Congress; Richard Huffine, GSA/FirstGov; Tim Evans, SSA; Kit Fuller, USGS; Terry Davis, Dept. of Defense

2-A: Using Innovative Technology and Strategies to Drive Content to Your People: Are you posting your content and expecting people to find it? That “old school” approach doesn't work anymore as web users become inundated with information. In this session, you'll learn about new technologies and strategies that will help deliver content to where your audience happens to be -- not just encourage people to come to your website. We'll hear how the White House has adapted to meet the needs of their visitors by using RSS feeds, podcasting, and other strategies to communicate the President's message to a growing online audience.

Presenters: David Almacy, The White House; Steve Fleckenstein, Unisys

2-B: Planning for Emergencies: Whether a flood in your building, an outbreak of flu, or a national disaster--federal web sites are an important communication vehicle to citizens as well as our employees. In this lively panel discussion, we'll hear what other agencies have done to prepare for emergencies and discuss ways for you to prepare for whatever happens.

Presenters: Gwynne Kostin, Homeland Security; Serenety Hanley, EPA; and Dick Stapleton, HHS.

2-C: Card Sorting: Creating Clear Categories for Your Content: We all know we need to organize content from our users' perspective. But how do we do that? Come learn about card sorting, a simple, inexpensive, and effective user-centered design technique that will help you uncover users’ mental models of information and labeling. By asking users to group and label the features of a website, you'll discover how users organize the content on your site. In this interactive, hands-on workshop, you'll learn how to conduct your own effective card sorting sessions, including how to recruit users, conduct open and close card-sorting sessions, analyze data, and create effective information architectures and navigational categories.

Presenter: Cari Wolfson, Focus on U!