When NatureServe needed to deliver a new, easy-to-use global Biodiversity Indicators Program dashboard, they came to GreenInfo for help leading a user-centered design process. The goal was ambitious: A new, working dashboard designed for users and launched in time for a global meeting of the Convention on Biological Diversity in Egypt in November 2018.
Starting in August, we conducted interviews with a range of users on four continents, developed a radically simpler interface based on our findings, and then developed a detailed technical roadmap to guide NatureServe's in-house developers through an iterative build process. The new dashboard launched in mid-November, on the eve of the international meeting.
The original dashboard was essentially a "traditional" global map with country-level data and an overly complex left-hand menu that tried serve for navigation, explanation, and legend. We quickly discovered that the intended core users cared almost exclusively about their own countries, and some accessed the site from difficult satellite internet connections. As a result, we designed a flow that starts simple, with searchable text lists of countries and only later reveals the heavier-loading map.
We conducted user interviews via Skype, Zoom, and phone. We developed early wireframes base don user input, then tested interactive prototypes built in Adobe Xd.
We then did several rounds of drafting and iteration on our final design recommendation and technical roadmap, leading to a meeting with NatureServe's software development team to ensure that our suggested approach in fact aligned with their skills and preferred methods. Since they had been involved in several project checkins along the way, the final recommendations document simply confirmed the shared understanding we'd developed over the previous two months.
Results: Rapid two-month design process, delivery of actionable recommendations in 8 weeks, and live site by mid-November.
Focus: Conservation
Services: Interactive Solutions, Communications, Strategy, Website Design
Project Years: 2018
