Posts in Announcements

The past two days we've held sessions to present the process of the website redesign. At the start of the redesign we had two internal goals. First, ensure the redesign was a process, not a one-time project. Second, involve the community along the way.

During the meetings we unpacked five parts of the process that have brought us to where we are:

Partner:

We knew from the start one of the biggest decisions would be to select the right partner. Several nationally recognized firms sent us proposals, and we brought three firm on campus to present their proposals in person. From these presentations mStoner stood out from the rest. The team we're working from their firm has proven to be a valuable partner.

Strategy:

Strategy included three key parts: stakeholder intake, competitor analysis, and testing. We spoke into how each of these three areas informed both the scope of the project and the design of each concept.

Concepts:

Based off the information collected in the strategy phase, three separate concepts were created by three different designers—each taking a different look at a potential Bethel website. During the meetings, we walked through each of these concepts to dig a bit deeper into the process that went into their development.

Feedback:

Lastly, we presented results from the survey that was released to four main groups: prospective students, current students, faculty/staff, and alumni/parents. Based on the feedback from each of these groups, the steering committee selected concept two as the new face to Bethel's website.

There were a lot of great questions and comments discussed during the meetings. If you were unable to attend, scan through some of our past posts for information about where we've been. If you have additional comments or questions, feel free to send me an email (vedmic@bethel.edu).

After sending 35,000 surveys and receiving a record number of responses, the results are in:

Concept two resonated with the Bethel community as the best fit for the new website. High Res

Concept two will be the face of Bethel's new website.

The survey revealed great information about messages, designs, and how they fit together. Plus, you provided helpful feedback on how the concepts spoke to you and how well you felt they represented our community.

Record-setting survey

In the survey process, our community (prospective students, current students, employees, parents, and alumni) set two records for redesign firm mStoner.

First, we hit a record number for survey responses—mStoner has never seen so many people give feedback on a redesign survey. Second, they have never seen there be such a clear consensus—across all groups. 

Some of your general comments about concept two include:

• "It's about the student, the community, and the transformation of a student as a partner of the community."
• "It feels like there is a plan and a place for me."
• "It tells me that Bethel is a process... I really get a sense of the transformation journey."
• "Bethel helps you become who you are meant to be."

A winning combination

When asking questions about messages separately from design, our community had a range of preferences. But when asking about design and messaging paired together, mStoner has never seen a concept score so highly.

The combination of message and design on concept two seemed to have a powerful effect that resonated across our community.

Learn more about our survey results.

What's next

Web Services will work with mStoner to refine and improve concept two until it will serve as the best foundation for the new site.

We'll continue to keep you posted, so check back soon. Finally, a big thank you to all of you who took the record-setting survey—it just shows what an awesome community we have here at Bethel.

One of the things I enjoy about my job as the director of web technology is getting to dream up solutions to peoples problems. Occasionally we get to implement some of those solutions for our team.

Last week we launched two new widgets. The first, a visual timeline that displays our progress throughout the redesign. The second is an email subscription to our blog that delivers blog posts directly to your email.  Check them out and let us know if they are helpful by commenting on this post.

In an attempt to communicate the status of the web redesign project, we wanted to spend some time recapping where we've been and where we are headed. 

Where we've come from

The past month has been very busy for our team. On top of managing the day to day tasks that come our way we've also worked on several redesign projects. The past month and a half looked something like this:

• 4/14 - 4/16 Onsite stakeholder interviews
• 4/28 Intake with steering committee
• 5/7 - 5/8 Wireframing with mStoner in Chicago
• 5/15 Wishlist meeting with CAS admissions and academic departments
  
• 5/17- 5/20 Strategy document work
• 5/20 Wishlist meeting with SEM admissions and academic departments
  
• 5/21 Intake with Web Services and presentation of strategy document to the presidents strategy team
• 5/28 Wishlist meeting with CAPS/GS admissions
• 6/3 Worked with the library on possible internal and external templates
  

Where we are headed

We have a lot of things to do. In the weeks to come we will be focused on:

• 6/8 - 6/15 Creating a collective wishlist
  
• 6/10 Launching new technical infrastructure
• 6/8 - 6/23 Working on the internal architecture of the new site
• 6/23 -6/24 Onsite user testing with mStoner
• 6/30 Second draft of the strategy document prepped for presentation
  

Mark and I will be heading off to Chicago this week to work with mStoner on the outline document that was created after the stakeholder interview sessions.

Our object is to:

• define high level site structure
• discuss messaging
• create a preliminary features list
• and wireframe potential solutions

Once this is done we will be heading back to campus to continue stakeholder feedback and further flesh out the strategy with both the Web Services team and the University.

Many of you have inquired about our content management system, called Silva, asking if we'll be getting a new one during the redesign. For some of you, the prospect of a new system is exciting. For others, the prospect is terrifying.

In light of that, Web Services is working to create a win-win for both groups. We won't be getting rid of Silva during this redesign. However, we'll be making some drastic improvements—starting with a upgrade sometime this summer that will fix and improve a number of baseline features.

Later this year, we'll roll out larger changes to the core of Silva. Please check back for announcements about these upcoming changes. I think you'll find that in the end we'll have a much improved content management system.

Thanks to all who participated in our website redesign kick-off meeting marathon this past week!

As mentioned in previous posts, we scheduled and successfully conducted 23 meetings with over 130 representatives from across the University involving students, faculty, staff, and administration in our 3 day conversation.  In addition, we had representation from CAS, CAPS, GS, and SEM...including both coasts!

Granted, this is just the first of many opportunities that the Bethel community will have to participate in the redesign process.

Based upon discovery from online surveys, onsite stakeholder interviews, public Q&A sessions, technical assessments, and numerous conversations, mStoner will generate a strategy document that outlines and defines constituency expectations, preliminary information architecture, and a project plan. More about that in the coming weeks.

We welcome your questions and feedback.  Feel free to leave a comment.

Seems the iPhone has a software solution for everything.
Need to remember where you parked your car? There's an app for that.
Need to recognize what poison ivy looks like? There's an app for that.
Need to know if the bird you're looking at is a red-faced warbler?
There's an app for that, too.

Need to know exactly what to expect in the stakeholder intake meetings?
Sorry, there's no app for that. You'll want to arrive with an open mind, and be prepared for anything!

mStoner consultants will be on campus April 14,15, and 16 in order to begin the strategy phase of our redesign process. Meeting with over 130 individuals representing students, faculty, and administration, they'll discover what makes Bethel distinctive, better understand the complexities of our institution, and begin to assemble a strategy for moving us forward.

If you can make time, please come to the Q&A session for all Bethel community members on April 16 from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. (BC468). You’ll meet Patrick DiMichele, a senior strategist from mStoner, and learn a ton more about the project.

This week will be one of the most exciting weeks of the redesign process. Let’s get ready to welcome mStoner to Bethel and help them understand who we are, why we’re here, and where we’re going.

Here are some numbers to consider.  23 meetings involving approximately 130 participants over the course of 3 days.  Any way I do the math I'm reminded that Bethel is many things to many people.  We've done our best to include representatives from across the institution when scheduling our mid-April website redesign stakeholder meetings with mStoner consultants.

If you haven't received an invitation, or if you're unable to attend one of the scheduled sessions, please plan to join Patrick DeMichele from mStoner for a Q&A session on April 16, from 11a.m.-1p.m. in BC 468.  This event is open to the entire Bethel community.

We also invite you to complete our online survey.  At last count, we've received 130 responses.  Thanks to all for offering input and feedback!

Last week we launched our first online survey relating to the redesign.  We've received 65 responses to date from students, staff, faculty, and alumni! If you haven't yet provided your 2-cents worth, please do so. This information will assist mStoner consultants gain a perspective on what works and doesn't work with our existing website. We don't expect flattery or fanfare, just the facts. Visit: redesign.bethel.edu and click on the survey link to leave your comments.

Lao-Tzu (604 BC - 531 BC) likely didn't have a website. But I believe that he understood how daunting a task it would be to redesign one when he quipped, "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."

We're pleased to announce today that Bethel University will begin a website redesign!

Seems like an ominous undertaking. How does a university enter into a website redesign? How do we get started?  Who will guide us through the process? We've chosen an experienced partner to assist us as we begin the journey.  mStoner team members will be on campus in mid-April to kick-off the website redesign. They'll meet with representatives from across the institution, gather information, and offer Q&A sessions.  From this input, mStoner will help us map out a strategy plan, and determine next steps. Web Services will facilitate throughout the process.