The IEEE-SA is happy to announce the launch of our new Website.  The redesign represents the first phase in an ongoing effort to strategically extend the IEEE-SA on the web and social channels, and compliments the our blog, presence on Facebook and Twitter.

When we set out to redesign the site, we had a number of clear objectives. In addition to making the site’s visual design more pleasing, we invested extensive time and energy into crafting a solid information architecture that would dramatically organize content to make it easier for people to find the things they need.

With thousands of projects, standards and interrelated working groups, our biggest challenge was rethinking the way we viewed and organized information for public consumption.  Our old site had outgrown its original structure, it was overwhelming and difficult to find information.   While working on the redesign, we knew our own, internal thinking and organization of messages, content and interactivity might be counter intuitive to everyday site users.  So, to escape our own comfort zone, and get inside the minds of the site visitors and volunteers that use the site, we kicked off the the effort by conducting objective research with site users and volunteers.  We then developed user profiles and prioritized user needs.  What we learned through this effort established the basis for our web transformation.

The new IEEE-SA website features an entirely new interface and informational structure.  We created individual “landing pages” for standards, standards in development and working groups, which interconnect with each other to maximize the way people find information about standards and those in development.  New areas were established to help  find standards, learn about the standards development process, programs, governance and policies of the IEEE-SA.  The new site also makes it easier for people to engage by encouraging interaction and participation at key points in the user experience.  It’s now easier than ever to find key contacts, Staff Liaisons and reach out to the IEEE-SA for support.

While we are still fine-tuning, we’re thrilled about the launch of this ambitious project, as well as the positive feedback we’ve heard. We recognize the change may be an adjustment for some, and believe the new design will prove to be a marked improvement over our past site experience.   These improvements are also the first of many, we have a new team focused exclusively on the iterative improvement of the digital channel.  Beyond maintaining a clean, usable site — we’ll soon add a number of “Innovation Spaces” which will highlight emerging areas of standards development.  In the future, we plan to feature additional “rich media” content (webinars, slide shows, video), and better greater integrate social and networking functionality.  Stay tuned for more!

Check out the new site design, and please don’t hesitate to send us your feedback!