Case Study: NIH Office of Extramural Research Intranet Design

Project Title: Intranet Redesign

Client: Office of Extramural Research, National Institutes of Health

Ripple Effect Contact: Isabelle Tilghman

Challenge

The National Institutes of Health’s Office of Extramural Research (OER) provides the leadership, oversight, tools and guidance needed to administer and manage NIH extramural grants policies and operations. Ripple Effect worked with OER to redesign its grants and policy intranet.  This redesign combined two pre-existing sites – one for grants management and a larger intranet that housed policy documents, staff training and committee and grant information.  At the time of the redesign, both sites were nearly 20 years old. With limited search capabilities and no archive, the pages were laundry lists of resources and links.  The sites lacked uniformity because content managers developed and maintained content in disparate ways.  While some pages contained cross-links, the fragmented feel and inconsistent posting made it difficult to understand.  Seasoned users could navigate the information quite easily, but inexperienced users tended to be lost  – especially when outdated and current information appeared simultaneously with no way of knowing the difference.

Solution

Partnering with OER’s communication and web team, we decided to focus on usability and held a number of focus groups with various NIH stakeholders. We discussed the sites’ successes and shortcomings and listened to ideas for the redesigned site.  Many frustrated users told us they had turned away from the intranet and relied on Google searches, word-of-mouth and bookmarks. Due to their comments, we learned that they wanted:

• A comprehensive one-stop shop
• Intuitive organization
• Ability to customize sections
• Access to current information and information specific to their business areas
• Access to internal and public information

Achievements

• Design has an improved look and feel and is based on an intuitive grouping of elements
• New page templates make the display of information standard
• Standard operating procedures will ensure future consistency
• Users may customize their home pages and take advantage of improved search functions
• Users may also find current information in a variety of ways and easily identify and link to NIH public pages
• New employees have dedicated training pages

The redesign has received accolades, one user even said it was “the most user-friendly, helpful thing that I’ve seen at NIH yet!”