USDA.gov Project

CONTEXT

The Client

The department provides leadership on issues such as food, agricultural, natural resources, rural development, and nutrition.

The Challenge

USDA.gov needs to be more accessible and easier to navigate, have a refreshed look and feel, with relevant and timely content.

The Task

Redesign USDA.gov so it is optimized for performance and its array of users, from farmers to ranchers, researchers, press/media, and staff.

My Role on the Project (June 2022-current)

As the user researcher on this project, I collaborate on cross-functional teams (project/product management, design, content strategy, and development) to gather user feedback, develop and implement design solutions, and meet client needs. We created a research plan that measures user perceptions and attitudes pre- and post-launch of the new website using both qualitative and quantitative methods.

UX PROCESS

• We conducted card sorting using Optimal Workshop with key stakeholders from USDA.gov to determine the site’s information architecture and to evaluate category labels. This data was used to create the new sitemap.

• We conducted tree testing (quantitative) in Optimal Workshop with USDA.gov users to evaluate navigation hierarchy and findability of topics on USDA.gov.
• We conducted contextual inquiry studies, first-click tests, and surveys with USDA.gov users to identify their pain points and perceptions of the current site.
• We triangulated findings from qualitative and quantitative research to develop guidelines for redesign. For example, we learned from the survey, tree testing, and first-click tests that veterans assistance is a topic that is difficult to find. We recommended for it to be featured on the new homepage.

• Based on the content models provided by content strategy, I worked collaboratively with the team to create wireframes, pulling the research we conducted together and giving shape to the reimagined website. These were used to create a low-fidelity prototype allowing the team and client to start to get a feel for how the site would work.

OUTCOME & INSIGHTS

The redesigned site is being built by the development team now. The new site is scheduled to be launched later this year (2023). We expected user satisfaction to increase with the new site, which will be measured using post-launch UX research.

These discovery and implementation phases provided two key lessons:

• We developed useful recommendations for redesigning/restructuring the website by triangulating findings from qualitative and quantitative research. For example, we identified a user group (veterans) that was not apparent to us at the beginning of the discovery phase. We then recommended for veterans assistance information to be featured on the homepage.
• We needed to balance the department needs and the user needs. For example, USDA needs to feature the four priorities for the department, and users wanted the homepage to feature sections that are useful for them (e.g., SNAP or food stamps benefits).

KUDOS

Here is what my teammates said about working with me: