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how a web redesign project drives organizational change Sorel Husbands Denholtz @sorel | soreld@stanford.edu

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A Cautionary Tale In Which Our Heroes Attempt to Redesign a Web Site, 
 and Discover Quagmires of Conflict, Overgrown Timelines, Creeping Scope, and Swamps of Despair @sorel @sorel

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Once upon a time… @sorel

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The marketing team (our heroes) wanted to bring their site into the 21st century. Audience-centric User-friendly Responsive And bound to be award-winning! @sorel

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The path looked clear ahead. @sorel

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Chapter 1 In which they define their approach @sorel

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 2. Make the site audience-centric Organize information for audiences, rather than by departments 
 1. Improve look & feel New design with compelling visual elements. 
 Use existing copy to streamline the effort. @sorel

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Our heroes worked hard. @sorel

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A new information architecture! Beautiful layouts! Responsive designs! @sorel

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Unbeknownst to them, the journey was fraught with danger @sorel

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Chapter 2 In which they share their work with others @sorel

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Internal presentations were arranged. Approval was anticipated. Soon, their vision would be reality. @sorel

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They presented the smartly reorganized sitemap. @sorel

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There were outcries! They presented the smartly reorganized sitemap. @sorel

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“Where is MY section? Why is my content in three different places. Why is another group’s content here with mine?!?” “How will I edit this? Who owns this content???” “Why did you do this to us?!?!?” @sorel

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 The marketing team was shocked. Their work had been thought through so carefully. Surely the visual design presentation would go better. @sorel

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More outcries!! And yet, when they shared the designs… @sorel

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There are too many pictures! We won’t have enough good ones! Why is there so much copy? Who wrote it? 
 Why is it so long? Why is it so out of date? This is unacceptable!! @sorel

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They were stunned. It was so beautiful. Highly visual, like everyone wanted. The parallax scrolling was fresh and new. They had used existing copy — and everyone had been fine with it before. @sorel

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Chapter 3 In which they seek help from above @sorel

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In desperation, they reached out to the chief marketing officer, the visionary who had initially requested a web redesign. The CMO loved the site, and was on board with their execution. Until… @sorel

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…the CMO spoke to other leaders in the organization, and heard the complaints, questions, and concerns. @sorel

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Others didn’t feel heard. These weren’t their changes. They weren’t at all sure these were the right changes. @sorel

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The obstacles were overwhelming @sorel

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They could no longer 
 move forward @sorel

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Our heroes had neglected to consider the impact of the changes on their stakeholders @sorel

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The moral is… @sorel

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they who underestimate the consequences of change will be sorely disappointed. The moral is… @sorel

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@sorel

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It Was a Tragic Tale @sorel

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why does a web redesign lead to organizational change? isn’t it the other way around? ? @sorel

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content may need to be rewritten 
 when look and feel change visual redesign
 shifts your perspective @sorel

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structured content affects content creation new processes or workflows 
 may be required to publish in a CMS @sorel

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an audience-centric site differs from the organizational structure internal practices may have to shift
 to support the new structure @sorel

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organizational change is rarely avoidable @sorel

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you must think beyond project management @sorel

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you must think 
 like a leader @sorel

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“It’s OK to admit what you don’t know. It’s OK to ask for help. And it’s more than OK to listen to the people you lead. In fact, it’s essential.” leaders listen –Mary Barra, CEO, General Motors @sorel

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“We… [build lasting relationships]… by holding ourselves accountable, by doing what we say we are going to do, and by inspiring others to strive for something bigger than themselves.” leaders inspire –Mary Barra, CEO, General Motors @sorel

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“Education will open doors. Talent will open worlds. But it is hard work that will enable you to accomplish more than you ever imagined.” leaders work –Mary Barra, CEO, General Motors @sorel

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“…you only win when your customer says you win.” leaders care –Mary Barra, CEO, General Motors @sorel

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you must 
 lead change @sorel

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earn t"#st within the organization transition stakeholders 
 from anxiety to EXCITEMENT @sorel

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rolled out 2013-2016 our journey @sorel

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rolled out 2013-2016 our journey @sorel

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4.5 years 6 major launches ~1100 pages ~20,000 structured content items 1 fully integrated website rolled out 2013-2016 our journey @sorel

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earning t"#st within the organization @sorel

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@sorel

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@sorel

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credibility gap your agenda is not
 my agenda you don’t understand my audience or my business we need outside expertise @sorel

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your agenda is not
 my agenda you don’t understand my audience or my business we need outside expertise use a discovery process 
 to build trust @sorel

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what is discovery? gathering data 
 and
 seeking input @sorel

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also engaging stakeholders @sorel

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discovery prepares stakeholders for change the goal: an agreed-upon objective for the project, addressing business and user needs @sorel

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it doesn’t matter if you have the best solution if stakeholders don’t agree with you 
 what the problem is leaders listen @sorel

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begin by defining stakeholder roles project ownership involvement in the project decision-makers advisory council domain experts leadership/ steering committee team members @sorel

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team members people who will be affected by the changes project ownership involvement in the project keep them informed @sorel

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domain experts team members people who hold key knowledge project ownership involvement in the project interview them @sorel

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advisory council domain experts team members influencers need to provide input and hear others’ concerns project ownership involvement in the project convene as a group @sorel

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advisory council domain experts leadership/ steering committee team members leaders provide strategic oversight, may help make decisions project ownership involvement in the project meet individually or convene as a group @sorel

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decision-makers advisory council domain experts leadership/ steering committee team members must participate in key decisions project ownership involvement in the project meet individually or convene as a group @sorel

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gather data & share findings with stakeholders stakeholder interviews — what do we think? content audit — what do we have now? analytics review — what does our traffic show? competitive analysis — what are our peers currently doing? end-user interviews — what do users want? @sorel

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question your stakeholders’ assumptions — AND your own be willing to be wrong @sorel

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your agenda is not
 my agenda you don’t understand my audience or my business we need outside expertise discovery helps close the credibility gap as you become an expert in their business, stakeholders are given permission to see you as a trusted partner @sorel

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your agenda is not
 my agenda you don’t understand my audience or my business we need outside expertise inquiry can be used throughout the project to build trust @sorel

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use inquiry get to the root of each problem leaders listen @sorel

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@sorel

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@sorel

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@sorel

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leaders listen @sorel

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we want to keep the left-hand navigation why? leaders listen @sorel

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people might think that this is a single program, not part of a suite of offerings leaders listen why? @sorel

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without the left-hand navigation, it’s not obvious that there are any other programs leaders listen why? @sorel

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my eye only goes to the program title. I don’t really notice that it says “executive education” leaders listen why? @sorel

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the program title is so much bigger than everything else on the page! aha! leaders listen @sorel

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@sorel

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we improved the 
 visual hierarchy of information and added white space @sorel

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we validated our work in-house usability testing of the new design
 showed that newcomers to the site easily saw 
 that there were other programs to explore @sorel

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your agenda is not
 my agenda you don’t understand my audience or my business we need outside expertise inquiry continues to close the credibility gap when you make it clear that you have heard your stakeholders, they are more open to new ideas testing reassures them that they have made the right decision @sorel

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listening is a mindset, not a task we are redesigning our homepage (launched in 2013) so we are starting with discovery again @sorel

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transitioning stakeholders 
 from anxiety to EXCITEMENT @sorel

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x-framework leaders care @sorel

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x-framework @sorel

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calm & comfortable anxious neutral, even bored EXCITED! neuroscience in action @sorel

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@sorel

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start by shifting stakeholders from anxious to comfortable @sorel

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cultivate executive sponsorship if you suspect you will be driving change, be sure someone in a position of influence has your back @sorel

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OVERcommunicate make sure everyone is informed, from the top to the bottom of the org chart use every channel available to you @sorel

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OVERcommunicate presentations, large and small weekly check-ins blog updates email updates optional brown-bag lunch sessions drop-ins & dining hall conversations @sorel

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shrink the change step-by-step approach divide your project into incremental working sessions and presentations: goals, target audience, content, design don’t rush. one topic per session @sorel

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align stakeholders discovery helped you build trust and define the problem now partner with stakeholders to define the solution @sorel

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our program portfolio was difficult to understand or explore @sorel

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advisory council domain experts team members we needed to align stakeholders with a single vision — and with each other project ownership involvement in the project convene as a group @sorel

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our internal departments are not always organized by audience for example, some programs for executives are not run by the executive education team @sorel

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to present programs in an audience-centric way would require buy-in from multiple stakeholders Executive Education MBA Program MSx Program PhD Program Global Innovation Programs Stanford Seed @sorel

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leaders listen before presenting designs, architectures or wireframes, we conducted working sessions @sorel

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as a team, we looked for commonalities between programs, from the audience perspective @sorel

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we began by evaluating programs by career level @sorel

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we found significant overlap junior career levels senior career levels @sorel

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we evaluated topics @sorel

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and locations @sorel

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we found subsets programs on entrepreneurship programs held around the world @sorel

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stakeholders heard each others’ concerns @sorel

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we reached a shared understanding of the complexities @sorel

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we were ready to explore new approaches @sorel

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working sessions help everyone shift from theoretical to practical leaders listen @sorel

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solution: a program finder with filters, listing all non-degree programs together @sorel

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in the main site @sorel

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and within executive education @sorel

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why working sessions work so well @sorel

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the ikea effect @sorel

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when stakeholders take part in building the product, they become attached to and even proud of what was created @sorel

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use working sessions to build alignment (use presentations to share results) leaders listen @sorel

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invite stakeholders into your 
 decision-making process you will make better decisions and they will realize that you are on their side @sorel

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once you have shifted stakeholders from anxious to comfortable… @sorel

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it is time to 
 shift them to neutral @sorel

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repeat yourself at every presentation, restate the project objective, assumptions, benefits frequently share the timeline. where you’ve been, where you are going next. even if your dates are fuzzy! remind everyone what success will look like @sorel

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repeating yourself is incredibly valuable, and 
 so easy to do @sorel

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when they are nearly bored with the project… @sorel

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now it’s time to get them excited! @sorel

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deliver on your stakeholders’ dreams @sorel

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wow them with visual designs @sorel

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wow them with visual designs @sorel

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show improved functionality @sorel

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show improved functionality @sorel

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@sorel

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small dreams count too! look at the wish list (from discovery). what are the easy wins? what are the unexpected or undiscussed benefits of the project? what pain points have you addressed? @sorel

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faculty titles no longer need to be maintained @sorel

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organizations can now be pre-screened when they request custom programs @sorel

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program brochure list is always up-to-date @sorel

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sadly, stakeholders won’t stay excited forever… @sorel

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anticipate a slide back 
 to anxiety @sorel

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actively manage change throughout the project @sorel

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change management is an ongoing process, not a time-bound task leaders work @sorel

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it rarely ends when the site launches leaders work @sorel

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we are continuing to evaluate the new program finder leaders care @sorel

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there have been clear benefits people are successfully finding programs program teams are more aware of the similarities and differences between their products a much-needed strategic conversation has been accelerated @sorel

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but stakeholders are slipping back to anxiety leaders listen @sorel

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they aren’t sure about 
 the simplified megamenu leaders listen @sorel

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leaders care we will continue to evolve the site to best meet the organization’s needs the organization is also evolving to address the strategic gaps identified through this process @sorel

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before & after @sorel

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becoming a 
 strategic change agent @sorel

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the 50:50 rule spend 
 50%
 of your time on 
 project tasks spend 
 50% 
 of your time on
 stakeholders leaders work @sorel

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expect your stakeholders to be anxious about change @sorel

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use discovery 
 to begin to bridge the credibility gap leaders listen @sorel

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earn trust by asking for input and by being willing to be wrong leaders inspire @sorel

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don’t stop at the first or obvious solution leaders listen @sorel

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take a measured and methodical path to excitement @sorel

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the journey which seems so clear at the outset @sorel

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is likely to bring surprises @sorel

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“…you only win when your customer says you win.” leaders care @sorel

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Sorel Husbands Denholtz @sorel | soreld@stanford.edu

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https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/insights/baba-shiv-how-do-you-find-breakthrough-ideas