Seattle Public Schools Website Redesign Project 2020-21 Public District and School Websites User Experience Plan November 2020 - July 2021

Purpose

Create opportunities for community participation website redesign project through user experience (UX) research and studies. The insights through the UX discovery and testing will synthesize community recommendations for website design and priorities.

The priorities of the SPS strategic plan are the cornerstone of our website redesign project. The web team is employing Targeted Universalism throughout the research and user experience testing of our new design. The web experience and needs of students and families who are furthest from educational justice are prioritized.

Summary

The district and school websites are the Public Schools’ largest communication platform. The SPS websites service as a hub and first stop for students, families, educators, and staff as they connect with digital tools, such as our LMS for collaboration and learning.

The SPS website redesign offer an opportunity to improve user experience for our web readers. Our district and school websites must be accessible for people with disabilities, provide translation for English learners, offer a consistent experience, effective search, and a mobile-first design.

User experience research and testing are critical to the success of this project. Throughout this project— from selecting the CMS to redesigning and reorganizing our websites—we are focused on user engagement and user experience testing through usability testing and studies. These user experience conversations and studies happen throughout the project.

UX Phases

1. Discovery and End User Research (What do our users need?) 2. Information Architecture and Navigation (How is content structured? How do we find it?) 3. Design, Development, Usability Testing (Does the design work for end users?) 4. Ongoing Research and Improvement; Website Style and Content Standards (How do we maintain a great experience?)

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Website Redesign Project | User Experience Planning and Strategy

UX Timeline and Tasks District and School Websites November 2020 – June 2021

User experience research with stakeholders—listening to and observing users—provides requirements and priorities. Engagement is focused on students and families furthest from educational justice.

Discovery and End User Research November - January • Interviews and focus groups with stakeholder groups • Survey for all SPS website users; translated in top 5 languages; shared email, social media, website, and in-person collected by SPS staff at food and tech hubs and with stakeholder groups • Web analytics review • Create personas representing behavior and requirements of focused stakeholder groups Information Architecture and Navigation January – February • Card sorting to discover logical navigation grouping • Tree testing to discover logical information architecture and navigation structure Design Usability Testing February • First click wireframe study with stakeholder groups to test and refine the redesign layout

Stakeholder Groups

Youth Leaders African American and Black Families Native Families English Learner Families Family Organizations CBO Staff SEA, PASS, and SPS staff

Stakeholder Meetings and Outreach November – June

Potentially 10-15 Groups of approximately 6-8 people each; two 30-60 minute meetings First meeting • Purpose, Project Overview • Asking series of structured and open-ended questions to find needs and requirements Outreach between meetings, invite stakeholder groups to participate in survey, card sorting, tree testing. Second meeting • Share how their voice was incorporated in design • Conduct usability study with wireframe first click study for top tasks Outreach March-April to share how their voices where heard and led the design. Outreach after launch to collect feedback for continuous improvement. Stakeholder Contacts to help Recruit Family and Students

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Website Redesign Project | User Experience Planning and Strategy

Youth Leaders CBO Staff • AAMA Student Leadership Council • Chinese Information and Service Center • Asian Counseling and Referral Service • City Year Youth Leaders • El Centro de la Raza • Kingmakers • Equity in Education Coalition • NAACP Youth Coalition • Kandelia • Native Education Advisory Committee • Mary’s Place Youth Leaders • Schools Out • SHA Youth Engagement Program • Seattle Housing Authority • • Solid Ground African American and Black Families • TAF • Black Lives Matter King County • Treehouse • Families of Color Seattle • NAACP Education SEA, PASS, and SPS staff

Native Families • Native Education Advisory Committee • Seattle Indian Health Board • United Indians

English Learner Families (language specific meetings) • Amharic, Tigrigna: Horn of Africa, East African Community Services • Chinese (Cantonese): Chinese Information Service Center, Asian Counseling Referral Service • Somali: Somali, Education Somali Moms • Spanish: El Centro de la Raza • Vietnamese: Kandelia

Family Organizations • Lake City Collective • ReWA • Seattle Council PTSA • SPED PTSA

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Website Redesign Project | User Experience Planning and Strategy