Edward StullNovant Health: UX and IA
The challenge
How might a regional hospital system become simultaneously more unified and more flexible?
About the Project
This project created a unified information architecture (IA) for Novant Health, a hospital system spanning North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia. Prior to the project, Novant Health had managed 20+ separate hospital and medical center websites. The new IA maximized the efficiencies of a single website, while still addressing the unique needs of the various properties.
We established common, practical methods to handle content and functionality across the sites while still allowing for variance when necessary. When a hospital wished to leverage a common component, it was deployed; when a hospital did not, the underlying architecture was still maintained. This strategy created consistencies between the sites as well as provided administrative personnel a pragmatic means to maintain the sites.
Prior websites
Locations
Unified architecture
Improved findability
“Prior to the project ... 20+ separate hospital and medical center websites.”
Taking account of every section of every hospital site, the team created a hierarchical taxonomy (i.e. an index of categorized content). Upon completion of the taxonomy, we created a detailed set of supporting wireframes.
Wireframe of homepage ( View image )
Top-level pages differentiate themselves through a consistent, higher production value layout than subsequent deeper pages.
Wireframe of Services landing screen ( View image )
Many users primarily seek information about services (e.g. Radiology, Emergency Services, etc.) along a "service path."
Unified Information Architecture (IA)
The new site's IA provided users an effortless and frictionless user experience, promoting discovery across Novant Health's wide range of health content and service offerings.
- Directly addressed user needs of patients, visitors, doctors, employees, job seekers, investors, and members of the media.
- Increased the opportunities to market and merchandise content across the website, opening avenues for increased event and social marketing efforts.
- Improved the user experience of key functional areas, including Maps & Directions, Find a Doctor, Send a Message, ER Wait Times, Pre-Registration, Contact Us, and Events.
Enterprise-wide map describing how users navigate various domains ( View image )
The website has continued to evolve since launch, as Novant Health introduces new facilities, services and content. The comprehensive IA has served as its armature, furthering both systemization and versatility.
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