TECHNOLOGY ADVANCEMENT AND OUTREACH

1. TECHNOLOGY ADVANCEMENT AND OUTREACH Hosted by: Sarah Kirchen Drew Bittner March 18, 2010 Room 5E-081 Call In # 301-903-0754 Web Coordinators Meeting

2. Around the Room – Drew Bittner, DOE (15 min.) Earth Day – Chris Stewart, NREL (5 min.) New Program Template – Erica Augustine & Chris Stewart, NREL (20 min.) ITP Usability Training – (5 min.) Communication Standards Podcasts – Elizabeth Spencer, NREL (5 min.) DOE Web Group – Drew Bittner, DOE (5 min.) Wrap Up – Drew Bittner, DOE (5 min.) Agenda – March 18, 2010 EERE Web Coordinators Meeting

3. Updated eere.energy.gov/earthday Updated animation Various promotional activities Earth Day

4. Sample program home page New Program Template • Clean, simplified (no stratification) • Horizontal navigation

5. New Program Template Persistent links(to be determined) Site-specific search Color area is 100% screen width Breadcrumbs • Full-width banner, fixed-width content • Contemporary, clean design

6. New Program Template • Clean, removes complexity • Differentiates from full-color header page

7. New Program Template Space for print, share, etc. Quick links option in right sidebar One option for rotating Flash image Features given more prominence

8. New Program Template

9. New Program Template 1024 x 768 screen Wide screen

10. Sample program first-level page Sample program interior page (right-side navigation) Sample program interior page (no right-side navigation) Sample subsite home page Sample B program home page Sample B subsite home page New Program Template

11. ITP Usability Training (1) Purpose • Redesign: • Improve the usability of ITP’s Web site and align user’s goals with ITP’s goals • -Enhance the quality of a user’s experience, allowing them to • - Answer their questions • - Reach their goals • - Do their work productively and easily • Usability Training: • What we learned • - What usability is and why it is important for a successful Web site • - How to plan, prepare, and conduct a usability study • - How to analyze data and report the findings of a study • - Tips for integrating usability into your organization

12. ITP Usability Training • (2) A Few Interesting things we learned • User-Centered Design (UCD)−places users at the center of the development process • UCD saves team time, effort, and money; and increases use • Fewer phone calls • Customers get what they need successfully themselves • Satisfied customers • Enhanced reputation • Rework problems during development • UCD helps create products that are relevant to users and easy to use by focusing on user needs at every stage of development

13. ITP Usability Training • A Few Interesting things we learned continued… • Usability is a Balance−UCD helps you figure out what the right balance is for a specific Web site or application • The 5 Aspects (5 “Es”) of Usability: • - Effective • - Efficient • - Easy to Learn • - Error Tolerant • - Engaging

14. ITP Usability Training A Few Interesting things we learned continued… • Usability Testing: • Deciding who to include in your usability test: • Who you choose will impact how the system is designed and therefore evaluated • Can’t design for everyone • Users you choose must represent who actually uses the system • Prioritizing users – sample criteria • Which group can help the organization accomplish its business goals? • Which group has the most to lose if the system doesn’t work for them? • Which group has the most diverse set of tasks? • Which group is the largest? • Which group is the neediest or has the least knowledge? • What would you get if you tried to design a car that pleased every possible driver? • A car that no one would want to drive.

15. ITP Usability Training A Few Interesting things we learned continued… • Planning a Study: • Define usability issues • Define tasks to be performed • Determine data to collect • Create scenarios (stories that are given to participants)

16. ITP Usability Training Where we’re going from here… • March−June: • Analyze data we’ve collected on users • server and search logs; survey; EERE call center interviews • Create user profiles/personas that reflect target user groups • Recruit study participants • Define study scope, goals, research questions • Create scenarios that will be given to participants • Conduct user sessions • Data Analysis • Create report of results/recommendations • ITP home page mockup

17. Communication Standards Podcasts • http://www.eere.energy.gov/communicationstandards/training.html

18. DOE Web Group • Organizational meeting 3/11/10 • 18 attendees, seven offices represented • Two topics of discussion: a. DOE social media policy b. Open Government Directive • Action items: a. drafting charter b. organizing next meeting

19. DOE Web Group • Social media policy- 1. YouTube- DOE level; looking for 3-5 minute videos of broad interest 2. Flickr- DOE account, organized by “collections” with offices having “albums” for their content 3. Twitter- working on new Terms of Service (TOS), will be available at office level 4. Google Analytics- working on TOS 5. Facebook- check in with John Schueler regarding FB plans, can be approved immediately 6. MySpace- DOE page, using existing content 7. GovLoop- no plans yet 8. MixedInk- wiki-type tool for collaboration, currently in review 9. Ideascale- community “voting” and idea-pooling application, currently being used for Open Govt Directive, option to extend 10. Second Life- no plans

20. DOE Web Group Open Government Directive • Point of contact is Janice Ausby • DOE will file OGD compliance plan with OMB on 4/7 • DOE has already provided five “high value” data sets for uploading, per OGD requirements • Refer to energy.gov/open for information on OGD and DOE

21. Wrap Up • Next Meeting Thursday, April 15 1:30 – 3 p.m. Room 5E-081