Client: MIT Sloan Management Review, a research-based magazine and digital platform for business executives published at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Project: Quantitative and qualitative research to inform navigation menu restructuring.
The purpose of this project was to set the goals and priorities for updating MIT Sloan Management Review’s (SMR’s) global site navigation, which included determining areas of focus and guiding the reorganization structure. MIT SMR’s reasons for restructuring the navigation included a desire to improve the user experience, incorporate usability best practices, as well as meet the business goals of the magazine while communicating the dynamism of the website.
Methodology: Mixed method research that included quantitative data collection (with upwards of 1,000 research participants) and qualitative interviews (with current MIT Sloan Management Review readers across the globe).
Work for this project:
- Met with the team to review and confirm project goals.
- Reviewed existing research and documentation.
- Provided guidance on appropriate research methods to address project goals.
- Coordinated a data driven approach towards navigation menu restructuring which included planning and conducting: a stakeholder survey, site survey, open card sort test, closed card sort test/qualitative interviews, and tree testing.
- Synthesized research data and presented recommendations to key stakeholders.
- Provided complete documentation of research data findings and wirefames of the proposed site navigation.
Outcomes: Recommendations and best practices for global, utility, and footer navigation menu restructuring that was based on behavioral research and usability test sessions. Special emphasis was placed on identifying where the existing site structure was effective and where it could be improved, while providing objective guidance on best practices for optimum user experience.