Portfolio
Information Architecture for a Collaborative B2B Platform
A subscription platform for distributors and their manufacturer partners – cooperatively organised, with many equal voices. The challenge was not only to structure a complex product world at macro and micro level, but to guide stakeholders with partly opposing visions towards a shared outcome.
Process
Phase 01
Preparation
Understanding the problem space, stakeholder mapping, workshop design
Phase 02
Book Cover Workshops
6 sessions with over 20 participants from a dozen companies. Clustering the product world at macro and micro level, prioritising information hierarchically.
Phase 03
Synthesis
Consolidating workshop results, deriving information architecture, navigation structure and page structure.
Phase 04
Tree Test
Developing scenarios and tasks together with stakeholders. 20 participants testing the structure for findability and comprehensibility.
Phase 05
Validation & Handover
Evaluating results, deriving implications for the architecture, presenting to stakeholders, finalising structure.
Methods
Card Sorting
Grouping content and products through the eyes of users – without predefined categories.
Book Cover Method
Spine = eye-catcher. Cover = indispensable essence. Back cover = overview. Making priorities tangible without remaining abstract.
Tree Test
Testing the finished structure against mental models – can you find what you are looking for, and where do you expect it?
Stakeholder Facilitation
Guiding divergent perspectives from a dozen companies into a shared process – and ultimately to an outcome that everyone can stand behind.
Outcome
An information architecture, navigation structure and page structure that convinced stakeholders and users alike. And a process in which all participants felt heard – which is by no means a given in a cooperative context.