MEC Websites Migration

Since 2019 I have been working with a group of developers, contractors and managers improving the user experience of 150+ websites for internal and end-users.
Role
UI Designer
Brand Designer
Research Support
Content and Project Manager
team
ALPA IT and Communications
Celerity Research Consultant
Time
Research and establishing new platform: 24 months.
Websites Migration: Since there are more than 65 MEC's the work is still in progress.
The Problem
-The current management system (Sitecore) has poor authoring and user experience.
-There are 150+ websites across 5+ platforms.
-Websites are not responsive, don't follow branding standards and are outdated.
-Pilots don't want to go to their MEC websites because they are poorly structured and difficult to navigate.
-Websites are not intuitive to the communication specialist or pilots that need to upload information on a daily basis.
Goals
Overall
-Streamlined technology and website structure to reduce the overall burden of 150+ member sites.
-Implement content management and administrative practices and tools that are easy for volunteer web administrators to mantain. 
-Drive consistent brand standards, messages, and policies.
-Create collaborative process for building and maintaining websites.
For end users
-Provide pilots a quick and easy way to get answers by providing links to DART, their MEC, and committee contacts.
-Provide a document management system with robust search capabilities.
For web admins (defined as anyone creating and maintaining websites, mainly pilots and alpa staff.)
-Include several visual design options to easily modify the design when needed and quickly create campaign microsites.
-Provide a user-friendly interface for creating and editing sites.
-Provide an easy way to enter metadata for assets and articles to optimize Google search results.
Research and Findings
Audit data provided by Celerity
15 Stakeholder Interviews
7 with IT | 6 with Comms | 2 with ALPA Members 
17 Staff Survey Responses  with 81% completion rate
70% Comms | 5% IT | 25% “Other”
24 Member Survey Responses with 63% completion rate
36% Comms Chairs | 28% Web Admins | 41% “Other”
“Other” = ALPA National ASO Communications Coordinator, Committee, Committee Chair, Executive Administrator, First VP, IT Chairman, ITAC, MEC Communications Vice Chair, MEC IT Committee Vice Chairman, MEC Scheduling Chairman, National Committee Chair, National Resource Coordinator, President, UAL MEC Communications Vice Chair

Q: Overall, how effective is your current ALPA web presence? How effectively does it address your needs, engage your members, and encourage participation in membership activities? (n=27)

Q: What would cause you to use services or systems beyond what ALPA provides for websites and content management? (n=22)

Q: What website and content management functionality would be most useful to you? Rank the following functions in order of priority by placing the most useful at the top of the list. If there is something missing from the list, please note it in the comments along with the relative ranking. (n=24)

Q: What content is most important to your organization and members? Rank the following functions in order of priority by placing the most useful at the top of the list. If there is something missing from the list, please note it in the comments along with the relative ranking. (n=24)

-Move to a new and single platform.
-Enable rapid creation and deployment of site templates and building blocks for authors to create their own content pages.
-Serve as a middle ground between boiler-plating and custom page development.
-Introduce standard terminology and functionality across sites, which will aid support and maintenance efforts.
-Build an optimum team structure: (Product Owner / Business Analyst (current Manager role),Technical Architect (Back End), CMS Developer, Front End Developer, Content Strategist / Information Architect, UX / UI

Solutions
-Selection of Evoq CMS as the platform for all websites moving forward.
-Proactive education of webmasters on the standard functionality of the new platform.
-The creation of new positions on the digital team to help add content, train webmasters and fix errors
-Gather feedback to incorporate into future sprints or increments.
-The addition of Google search to make content easier to find.
-The creation of mega-menus that allow for better hierarchy.
-Design branding guidelines and responsive proposals.
Benefits of evoq CMS
-Search
-Easier Uploads
-Fully Responsive
-Lots of customization options
-Connection to other ALPA tools
-Toolbox of components
-Connection to App
-Email Integration
Lo-fi Global Modules

Keeping in mind the website structure, we proposed a toolkit with a variety of modules, including but not limited to navigation, communications,committees, main topics, hero images, and leadership profiles.

Check Out the Full Project
Final Product
piedmont MEC WEBSITE

Before

After

SPIRIT MEC WEBSITE

Before

After