Updated: How a Website Redesign Drives Organizational Change

(Presented at Confab Higher Ed with examples from our most recent project.)

Few people set out to change an organization when revamping a website, yet this process can reveal gaps in business strategies and approaches. To create an effective site, your job will extend beyond project management and content outlines: You must sit at the table where business decisions are being made. Come hear the lessons the web team learned from a massive, just-completed, multi-year effort to transform the digital footprint of Stanford Graduate School of Business. Sorel will demonstrate why organizational change is inevitable during a site redesign, and provide the tools, tips, and frameworks we used. Learn how you can become a strategic change agent.

Transcript

1. how a web redesign project drives organizational change Sorel Husbands Denholtz @sorel | soreld@stanford.edu
2. 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
3. Once upon a time… @sorel
4. 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
5. The path looked clear ahead. @sorel
6. Chapter 1 In which they define their approach @sorel
7. 
 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
8. Our heroes worked hard. @sorel
9. A new information architecture! Beautiful layouts! Responsive designs! @sorel
10. Unbeknownst to them, the journey was fraught with danger @sorel
11. Chapter 2 In which they share their work with others @sorel
12. Internal presentations were arranged. Approval was anticipated. Soon, their vision would be reality. @sorel
13. They presented the smartly reorganized sitemap. @sorel
14. There were outcries! They presented the smartly reorganized sitemap. @sorel
15. “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
16. 
 The marketing team was shocked. Their work had been thought through so carefully. Surely the visual design presentation would go better. @sorel
17. More outcries!! And yet, when they shared the designs… @sorel
18. 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
19. 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
20. Chapter 3 In which they seek help from above @sorel
21. 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
22. …the CMO spoke to other leaders in the organization, and heard the complaints, questions, and concerns. @sorel
23. Others didn’t feel heard. These weren’t their changes. They weren’t at all sure these were the right changes. @sorel
24. The obstacles were overwhelming @sorel
25. They could no longer 
 move forward @sorel
26. Our heroes had neglected to consider the impact of the changes on their stakeholders @sorel
27. The moral is… @sorel
28. they who underestimate the consequences of change will be sorely disappointed. The moral is… @sorel
29. @sorel
30. It Was a Tragic Tale @sorel
31. why does a web redesign lead to organizational change? isn’t it the other way around? ? @sorel
32. content may need to be rewritten 
 when look and feel change visual redesign
 shifts your perspective @sorel
33. structured content affects content creation new processes or workflows 
 may be required to publish in a CMS @sorel
34. an audience-centric site differs from the organizational structure internal practices may have to shift
 to support the new structure @sorel
35. organizational change is rarely avoidable @sorel
36. you must think beyond project management @sorel
37. you must think 
 like a leader @sorel
38. “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
39. “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
40. “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
41. “…you only win when your customer says you win.” leaders care –Mary Barra, CEO, General Motors @sorel
42. you must 
 lead change @sorel
43. earn t"#st within the organization transition stakeholders 
 from anxiety to EXCITEMENT @sorel
44. rolled out 2013-2016 our journey @sorel
45. rolled out 2013-2016 our journey @sorel
46. 4.5 years 6 major launches ~1100 pages ~20,000 structured content items 1 fully integrated website rolled out 2013-2016 our journey @sorel
47. earning t"#st within the organization @sorel
48. @sorel
49. @sorel
50. credibility gap your agenda is not
 my agenda you don’t understand my audience or my business we need outside expertise @sorel
51. 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
52. what is discovery? gathering data 
 and
 seeking input @sorel
53. also engaging stakeholders @sorel
54. discovery prepares stakeholders for change the goal: an agreed-upon objective for the project, addressing business and user needs @sorel
55. it doesn’t matter if you have the best solution if stakeholders don’t agree with you 
 what the problem is leaders listen @sorel
56. begin by defining stakeholder roles project ownership involvement in the project decision-makers advisory council domain experts leadership/ steering committee team members @sorel
57. team members people who will be affected by the changes project ownership involvement in the project keep them informed @sorel
58. domain experts team members people who hold key knowledge project ownership involvement in the project interview them @sorel
59. 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
60. 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
61. 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
62. 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
63. question your stakeholders’ assumptions — AND your own be willing to be wrong @sorel
64. 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
65. 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
66. use inquiry get to the root of each problem leaders listen @sorel
67. @sorel
68. @sorel
69. @sorel
70. leaders listen @sorel
71. we want to keep the left-hand navigation why? leaders listen @sorel
72. people might think that this is a single program, not part of a suite of offerings leaders listen why? @sorel
73. without the left-hand navigation, it’s not obvious that there are any other programs leaders listen why? @sorel
74. my eye only goes to the program title. I don’t really notice that it says “executive education” leaders listen why? @sorel
75. the program title is so much bigger than everything else on the page! aha! leaders listen @sorel
76. @sorel
77. we improved the 
 visual hierarchy of information and added white space @sorel
78. 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
79. 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
80. listening is a mindset, not a task we are redesigning our homepage (launched in 2013) so we are starting with discovery again @sorel
81. transitioning stakeholders 
 from anxiety to EXCITEMENT @sorel
82. x-framework leaders care @sorel
83. x-framework @sorel
84. calm & comfortable anxious neutral, even bored EXCITED! neuroscience in action @sorel
85. @sorel
86. start by shifting stakeholders from anxious to comfortable @sorel
87. cultivate executive sponsorship if you suspect you will be driving change, be sure someone in a position of influence has your back @sorel
88. OVERcommunicate make sure everyone is informed, from the top to the bottom of the org chart use every channel available to you @sorel
89. OVERcommunicate presentations, large and small weekly check-ins blog updates email updates optional brown-bag lunch sessions drop-ins & dining hall conversations @sorel
90. 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
91. align stakeholders discovery helped you build trust and define the problem now partner with stakeholders to define the solution @sorel
92. our program portfolio was difficult to understand or explore @sorel
93. 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
94. our internal departments are not always organized by audience for example, some programs for executives are not run by the executive education team @sorel
95. 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
96. leaders listen before presenting designs, architectures or wireframes, we conducted working sessions @sorel
97. as a team, we looked for commonalities between programs, from the audience perspective @sorel
98. we began by evaluating programs by career level @sorel
99. we found significant overlap junior career levels senior career levels @sorel
100. we evaluated topics @sorel
101. and locations @sorel
102. we found subsets programs on entrepreneurship programs held around the world @sorel
103. stakeholders heard each others’ concerns @sorel
104. we reached a shared understanding of the complexities @sorel
105. we were ready to explore new approaches @sorel
106. working sessions help everyone shift from theoretical to practical leaders listen @sorel
107. solution: a program finder with filters, listing all non-degree programs together @sorel
108. in the main site @sorel
109. and within executive education @sorel
110. why working sessions work so well @sorel
111. the ikea effect @sorel
112. when stakeholders take part in building the product, they become attached to and even proud of what was created @sorel
113. use working sessions to build alignment (use presentations to share results) leaders listen @sorel
114. invite stakeholders into your 
 decision-making process you will make better decisions and they will realize that you are on their side @sorel
115. once you have shifted stakeholders from anxious to comfortable… @sorel
116. it is time to 
 shift them to neutral @sorel
117. 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
118. repeating yourself is incredibly valuable, and 
 so easy to do @sorel
119. when they are nearly bored with the project… @sorel
120. now it’s time to get them excited! @sorel
121. deliver on your stakeholders’ dreams @sorel
122. wow them with visual designs @sorel
123. wow them with visual designs @sorel
124. show improved functionality @sorel
125. show improved functionality @sorel
126. @sorel
127. 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
128. faculty titles no longer need to be maintained @sorel
129. organizations can now be pre-screened when they request custom programs @sorel
130. program brochure list is always up-to-date @sorel
131. sadly, stakeholders won’t stay excited forever… @sorel
132. anticipate a slide back 
 to anxiety @sorel
133. actively manage change throughout the project @sorel
134. change management is an ongoing process, not a time-bound task leaders work @sorel
135. it rarely ends when the site launches leaders work @sorel
136. we are continuing to evaluate the new program finder leaders care @sorel
137. 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
138. but stakeholders are slipping back to anxiety leaders listen @sorel
139. they aren’t sure about 
 the simplified megamenu leaders listen @sorel
140. 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
141. before & after @sorel
142. before
143. after
144. before
145. after
146. after
147. after
148. after
149. before
150. after
151. before
152. after
153. before
154. after
155. after
156. before
157. after
158. becoming a 
 strategic change agent @sorel
159. the 50:50 rule spend 
 50%
 of your time on 
 project tasks spend 
 50% 
 of your time on
 stakeholders leaders work @sorel
160. expect your stakeholders to be anxious about change @sorel
161. use discovery 
 to begin to bridge the credibility gap leaders listen @sorel
162. earn trust by asking for input and by being willing to be wrong leaders inspire @sorel
163. don’t stop at the first or obvious solution leaders listen @sorel
164. take a measured and methodical path to excitement @sorel
165. the journey which seems so clear at the outset @sorel
166. is likely to bring surprises @sorel
167. “…you only win when your customer says you win.” leaders care @sorel
168. Sorel Husbands Denholtz @sorel | soreld@stanford.edu
169. https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/insights/baba-shiv-how-do-you-find-breakthrough-ideas