10 September 2008
Improvement and Development Agency launches new website following usability testing by Webcredible
Local government agency will improve communication to councillors and local government workers and reduce web management costs.
The Improvement and Development Agency for local government (IDeA) has re-launched its website following a period of user testing and consultancy from user experience experts, Webcredible. The new site was launched in 2008, five years since its last major refresh. Webcredible was brought in during the latter stages of development to verify and test the new site before it went live.
Webcredible conducted lab based testing with a sample of 12 key local government workers who regularly use the site - this testing included eye tracking and an accessibility/HTML audit. The testing will enable IDeA users to access information quickly and easily, ensuring a better user experience on the site. The amendments to the site should also ensure lower support and site maintenance costs in the future.
The IDeA performs an important role working for local government improvement. The agency, as part of the Local Government Association, has the role of driving improvement within local authorities. This covers local government priorities such as health, children's services and economic development. The agency enables councils to share good practice through the national 'Beacon Scheme' and regional local government networks.
Andrew Georgiou, Acting Web Projects Manager, IDeA comments, “The re-launch of the IDeA website has been a major project for the organisation. The website provides a vital role in the work that we do and in communicating with our stakeholders.”
Georgiou continues, “As a significant part of the design and testing was conducted internally, it was essential that we introduced a consultancy towards the end of the project. This brought us an invaluable external perspective and offered independent validation of the work that we had already done. Engaging with Webcredible has helped us to deliver a site which will offer an improved service to our customers as well as implementing a methodology which should mean lower support costs in the future.”
Webcredible was selected by the IDeA as the result of a competitive tender process. The success of previous projects in which the two organisations had worked together demonstrated a track record.
About Webcredible
Webcredible is a user experience consultancy, offering a range of usability, accessibility and design services for websites, intranets, mobile devices and applications. The UK-based consultancy researches, designs and builds interfaces to support user requirements & business goals.
With a long list of global clients in the private and public sector, including Airmiles, BBC, eBay, Laura Ashley, Lloyds TSB, T-Mobile and World Health Organisation, Webcredible is widely regarded as one of the most respected consultancies in the user experience industry.
