[Sigia-l] top level navigation by user type

[stephanie hornung]

sorry dey, you're right.  i wasn't exactly thorough in my explanation.  i
guess because i was having a hard time putting into words why it was
making me uncomfortable.

so, in my case, i felt that the users weren't mutually exclusive -- people
who receive services from the agency were also members of the community;
community members are interested in the services the agency provides, even
if they're not receiving them; etc.  it seemed like i would be
stove-piping the information and forcing the user to identify themselves
the way *i* was identifying them, or the way the agency identifies them. 
not by the type of task they want to complete, but by how they relate to
the agency.  their ultimate goals might be different (receiving services
vs. understanding where tax dollars are going), but their task is still
the same (learning about available services).  but having topical entry
points is certainly a good way to do both.  i just have to decide with
should be primary and which supplementary.  i'd say using an
audience-based approach works well if they are obvious, don't really
overlap and their tasks (or pertinent information they should get) are
different.  in my case, i dont' think they are.

thanks for you're feedback!

stephanie

Dey Alexander said:
> Stephanie, you haven't mentioned why you don't think it's a good idea.
> I'd be interested to hear your views.
>
> We use audience-based entry points on our home page but supplement them
> with topical entry points (in a separate chunk of navigation) in case
> our audience groups don't resonate with users or don't have the same
> immediacy that the topics do.
>
> This seem to work well.  The usability testing we've done has shown
> positive results, and the feedback we get is also positive.
>
> Cheers,
> Dey
>
> stephanie hornung wrote:
>
>> hello,
>>
>> i'm doing a consulting project for a government agency, and am dealing
>> with several specific sets of user groups -- people who receive services
>> from the agency, community members, other gov't officials, etc.  i've
>> found that a lot of government websites are organized by these user
>> groups, and the person i'm working under at the agency wants to design
>> it
>> this way, but i'm not sure its the best idea.  does anyone have any
>> information/opinions regarding how well this type of navigation works?
>>
>> here's some examples:
>> http://www.myflorida.com/
>> http://www.ncgov.com/
>> http://portal.sfusd.edu/template/index.cfm?page=about
>>
>> thanks for your help!
>> stephanie hornung
>>
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