Design Strategies for
Need-Based Internet Web Sites
in Counseling and Career Services:
Technical Report Number 28
James P. Sampson, Jr.
Darrin L. Carr
Julia Panke
Scott Arkin
Meagan Minvielle
Stacie
H. Vernick
July 15, 2003
Copyright 2003 by Florida State University
All Rights Reserved
Center for the Study of Technology in Counseling and
Career Development
University Center, Suite A4100, The Florida State University
Tallahassee, FL 32306-2490
(850) 644-6431 (voice) (850) 644-3273 (FAX)
http://www.career.fsu.edu/techcenter
James
P. Sampson, Jr. is Professor in the Department of Human Services and Studies
and co-director of the Center for the Study of Technology in Counseling and
Career Development at The Florida State University. Darrin L. Carr, Julia
Panke, and Stacie Vernick, are Career Advisors and Research Assistants at The
Career Center and doctoral students in the Department of Human Services and
Studies at The Florida State University. Meagan Minvielle is a Career Advisor
and Research Assistant at The Career Center and a graduate student in the
Department of Human Services and Studies at The Florida State University. Scott
Arkin is a Research Assistant and graduate student in the School of Information
Studies at The Florida State University. Funding for the development of this
paper has been provided by the State of Florida Division of Blind Services.
Appreciation is expressed to Janet G. Lenz, Gary W. Peterson, and Robert C.
Reardon for their reviews of preliminary drafts of this report.
Dedication
This report is dedicated to the many practitioners and support staff in counseling and career service organizations who are working to make quality resources and services available to clients on the World Wide Web.
How to Use this Document
This document is designed to be accessed in three ways. First, the sections can be read in order as the report moves from general to specific topics. Second, specific sections of the document can be reviewed that meet identified needs which are described below. Third, individual topics can be accessed through the Table of Contents. A companion piece A Process for Developing the Structure of Need-Based Web Sites: Technical Report 29 (Panke, Carr, Arkin, & Sampson, 2001) is also available at http://www.career.fsu.edu/techcenter.
I am interested in:
Table of Contents |
|
||
|
5 |
|||
|
5 |
|||
|
5 |
|||
|
5 |
|||
|
Web Site Design Options: Resource-Based vs. Need-Based Sites |
6 |
||
|
6 |
|||
|
7 |
|||
|
8 |
|||
|
8 |
|||
|
9 |
|||
|
9 |
|||
|
9 |
|||
|
Select Information Required to Meet
Needs from the Options |
10 |
||
|
11 |
|||
|
11 |
|||
|
11 |
|||
|
11 |
|||
|
Using Staff Collaboration in Organizations to Promote Learning |
11 |
||
|
11 |
|||
|
12 |
|||
|
12 |
|||
|
13 |
|||
|
13 |
|||
|
13 |
|||
|
15 |
|||
|
15 |
|||
|
16 |
|||
|
16 |
|||
|
16 |
|||
|
16 |
|||
|
18 |
|||
|
19 |
|||
|
19 |
|||
|
19 |
|||
|
19 |
|||
|
20 |
|||
|
20 |
|||
|
20 |
|||
|
21 |
|||
|
21 |
|||
|
21 |
|||
|
21 |
|||
|
21 |
|||
|
22 |
|||
|
22 |
|||
|
22 |
|||
|
22 |
|||
|
23 |
|||
|
An Implementation Model for Web Site Design and Use in Counseling and Career Services |
23 |
||
|
23 |
|||
|
23 |
|||
|
23 |
|||
|
23 |
|||
|
23 |
|||
|
24 |
|||
|
25 |
|||
|
25 |
|||
|
25 |
|||
|
25 |
|||
|
25 |
|||
|
27 |
|||
|
27 |
|||
|
28 |
|||
|
28 |
|||
|
28 |
|||
|
29 |
|||
Design Strategies for Need-Based Internet Web Sites in Counseling and Career Services
Abstract
This report reviews and discusses Web site design strategies for organizations providing counseling and career services. The authors put forth a model of Web site development based on fulfilling the information needs of specific users. A distinction is drawn between need-based and resource-based Web sites and their advantages and disadvantages are reviewed. It is stated that Web sites designed around user needs and learning principles may be able to promote more efficient and effective user outcomes. The authors also provide a six step process for information use to provide a context for Web site development. Furthermore, the role of an organization’s social and political environment in Web site development is discussed and an integrated team approach to site design is encouraged. The report also provides guidelines for the development of site content, design, and navigation, and reviews site evaluation issues. A brief discussion of technical, ethical, budgeting, and staffing issues is included. The paper then concludes with a 7-step model for implementing Web sites within counseling and career service organizations.
Over the past five years, the number of Internet Web sites has increased dramatically. Service delivery organizations, such as counseling centers and career centers, are developing Internet Web sites to deliver information to prospective and current clients. The design, size, and currency of these Web sites varies considerably. While many general resources on Web site design exist, few resources are available to assist staff in designing Internet Web sites in counseling centers and career centers. This paper is intended to help staff members in counseling centers and career centers select design strategies for proposed or existing Web sites that will help organizations to best serve their clients. Although this paper emphasizes a particular "need-based" design strategy, readers are encouraged to select the portions of this paper that are most useful for the requirements of their particular organizations. Rather than providing a single, lock-step approach to design, this paper aims to stimulate critical thinking and provide help in initiating or continuing Web site design. The paper begins with a brief review of general principles of Web site design, followed by a description of resource-based and need-based Web-site designs, the use of instructional design strategies, the use of staff collaboration in Web-site design, the selection of Web-site design features, and conclusion.
Goals and Outcomes of Web Site Design
Two goals of a good Web site include providing easy access to relevant, high quality links that users understand how to use, and promoting the effective use of relevant resources and services (rather than promoting comprehensive access to all possible resources and services). When these two goals are met, specific outcomes become apparent. These outcomes are summarized in Table 1.
Outcomes of Effective Web Site Design
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As a result of good Web site design, the user should be able to quickly:
§ perceive who would potentially benefit from using the Web site.
§ develop a mental model (or schema) for site navigation.
§ locate resources and services that meet their needs.
§ understand what to do with resources and services they receive.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Web Site Design Strategies to Avoid
There are several design strategies that are best avoided in Web site design. It is best to avoid long lists of resources, external links and Frequently Asked Questions, as these can often be overwhelming and hard to remember for users. Instead, links should be organized around a need-based approach or intuitively categorized. Home pages with organizational information and slow-loading graphics should also be avoided. While this may be good information, it is being presented at the wrong time (Sampson, 1999). Busy pages with little empty space should also be avoided, as this creates visual clutter which is likely to also be overwhelming to the user. While the above strategies are helpful for good design, more explicit strategies and the specific implications of resource- and need-based approaches are discussed in the following section.
Web Site Design Options: Resource-Based vs. Need-Based Sites
Resource-based Web sites are organized on the basis of the content provided (e.g., assessments, information, or instruction) or the structure of the organization sponsoring the Web site. This kind of site comprises the vast majority of Web sites in existence today. A resource-based site usually contains lists of resources and/or external links, with or without accompanying descriptive statements, which users must match without assistance to their self-perceived needs. Resource-based Web sites are most appropriate for expert or experienced users.
There are potential advantages associated with resource-based designs (see Table 2). First, expert or experienced users who are familiar with resource or external link titles or accompanying descriptions can quickly find needed resources or external links. Second, development costs are lower and completion times are shorter given the reduced staff time required to conceptualize and organize site content. However, potential disadvantages are also associated with resource-based designs. The first potential difficulty is with users locating and selecting the correct resources and external links to meet their needs. A resource-based site assumes that a resource’s title provides adequate information for users to determine if their needs will be met by that resource. Furthermore, this title is assumed to communicate to users the potential outcome of following the link and using the resource. The process of assessing and matching user needs to resources in order to maximize learning potential often takes a skilled counselor several years of training and practice to develop. However, Web site users are often expected to master this practice in a matter of seconds. If users do not find the resource or link which matches their needs in a short period of time, they may become frustrated. This frustration can lead to random linking through a Web site or to a premature exit from a site that could have delivered beneficial resources.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Resource and Needs Based Web Sites
Web
Site Design
|
Advantages |
Disadvantages |
Resource-Based |
Fast access for experienced users Lower development costs Shorter time required for development |
Difficulty for novice users in selecting resources, services, and links that meet their needs Assumes the ability of the user to link resources with needs Difficult to predict outcomes of following links Uncertainty
about when help is needed May lead to random linking and site hopping Becoming overwhelmed with options |
Need-Based |
Users only view resources and services related to their needs Web site appears smaller and easier to navigate Users are less likely to be overwhelmed with information Users better understand how to use resources available Users better understand when assistance is needed |
Higher development costs Longer time required for development Difficulty in applying the expert knowledge of counselors to linking resources with learning outcomes and recommendations for effective resource use Absence of a sitemap or index may frustrate experienced users. |
Given the limited contextual information that accompanies resource or link descriptions, users are less likely to accurately predict the outcomes of using a resource or external link, to understand how to use and sequence the resource or link they find, or to know when difficulty in using a resource necessitates assistance from a practitioner. Furthermore, resource-based sites often provide a long list of external links. This can quickly present an overwhelming amount of information making, it difficult for users to identify which external links will meet their needs. Using a schema to organize external links into conceptually related categories can minimize this limitation. However, the user is then confronted with the possibility of learning an often new, and potentially complex, classification system.
A need-based Web site is organized on the basis of a three-part hierarchy where resources and external links are related to identified needs for specific categories of users (Sampson, 1999). In this paper, a need is defined as the gap between what individuals know and what is necessary for them to know to solve a problem. Another way of conceptualizing the need-based approach is to term the approach “user-centered,” focusing on the perceptions of the user about themselves and the appropriateness of the resources to meet their needs. The top level of the site, the index, is a list of potential kinds of users (level 1). For each type of user (or audience member), there is a link to potential needs associated with the type of user specified (level 2). For each user need there are one or more resources (assessments, information, or instruction) identified to potentially meet the need (level 3). For the purposes of this paper, an audience is defined as a group of users with similar set of needs who may potentially benefit from related information or services.
For each resource identified (and in some cases, external links as well) a description is provided along with a statement of the potential outcome associated with using the resource or following the external link. In a fully-developed need-based site, the user can access a description of how to use and sequence the information obtained, as well as identify the circumstances where the user may need assistance from a practitioner in order to meet their needs. The number of external links available is limited in order to decrease the possibility that users are overwhelmed with information. Furthermore, links are prescreened by the design team for quality, to further enhance the user experience. Need-based Web sites are most appropriate for novice users and are thus more appropriate for clients and individuals seeking self-help resources, or resources assigned as homework in counseling.
Potential advantages and disadvantages of need-based Web sites are also summarized in Table 2. One potential advantage associated with need-based designs is that users view only those resources that conceptually relate to their needs. This creates a site which appears smaller and more easily navigable. Thus, users are more likely to quickly find needed resources and are less likely to be overwhelmed by extraneous information (e.g., external links or frequently asked questions [FAQ's]) not related to their needs. User success in navigating the site and clarifying needs should motivate continued site use to obtain resources and services. The intention of this design is to provide well-supported access to carefully selected, high-quality external links as opposed to providing “every” resource or external link the designers could locate on various topics. Otherwise stated, effective use is valued more highly than comprehensive access. Furthermore, the design seeks to create an environment, through the proactive prompting provided, which will encourage users to seek help from a practitioner when needed.
Possible problems associated with need-based designs include the assumption that users are capable of accurately identifying their user category. Furthermore, if a site map or other resource-based navigation tool is unavailable, expert users may be frustrated by the time required to work through need-based dialogs in order to access resources. A greater amount of time is also required of counselors when developing a need-based site who must help conceptualize user categories and related user needs for the Web site. Development costs can also be higher and completion times longer given the increased staff time required to conceptualize site resource content to meet previously unmet needs. The process of operationalizing the expert knowledge of counselors is not an easy task. Disagreements (on theoretical or philosophical grounds) among staff about matching user needs to resources may occur. However, if handled properly, such disagreements can lead to growth not only for the Web site, but for the organization as well. As staff members increase their familiarity with the need-based design process, they may find that the work becomes less difficult. The operationalization of expert knowledge is a learning function and is influenced by the instructional design concepts described in the following section.
An outcome of the need-based approach is that users perceive that the Web site has face validity as they are able to successfully relate themselves to an audience and subsequently find information which fits their needs. By viewing a smaller list of needs predetermined on the basis of expert knowledge and related resources, the user should conclude that the site is appropriate for continued use. The design and content should further encourage the user to engage the site.
However, merely creating a subjective impression of validity within the user is not sufficient. The designers must also explicitly establish the content validity of both the need-based dialogue and the resources they include in their Web sites. Designers should ask themselves questions such as, “What evidence is available that shows the right audiences are identified on the home page? What evidence exists that the needs are appropriate for the audiences identified? And what evidence is available that the resources are appropriate for the needs identified?” The answers to these questions form the basis of policy by which the design team chooses to grow and maintain site resources and need-based dialogues. It is important that this policy is explicitly documented on the Web site in a manner that is understandable to the users.
It is also possible to combine the need-based and resource-based models through the use of resource based tools, such as a site map, index and search mechanism, within a need-based Web site. Combining these models helps address some of the disadvantages that each model holds individually, and provides users with the option to choose methods that support their needs and level of Web site expertise. This idea will be further explored in the section concerning selecting Web-site design features.
Promoting Learning Using Instructional Design
The presentation of Web sites will rapidly evolve as the underlying technology becomes more sophisticated and more widely available to a broader consumer audience. In order to avoid becoming as out of date as last year’s computer, it is important not to focus on the hard technologies but on the soft technologies that underlie the creation of the successful Web sites. Specifically, Web site designs should be based upon principles of learning rather than chasing the most recent technological feature on the horizon. Instead of just asking “Can it be done?”, Web-site designers should also ask themselves “Should it be done?” The analogy of the cart and horse is relevant here. Permitting Web site design to be driven by the most recent technological innovation is "putting the cart before the horse." We can put the horse before the cart by focusing initially on the needs of the learner being served by the Web site and then attending to technological issues. Technology is not unimportant, just subordinate to the needs of the learner. The first step to creating a learning-based Web site is to understand the relationship between learning and navigation processes.
When users first engage a Web site they are more aware of the process of moving through (i.e. navigating) the site than at later times. Thus, the task of navigation initially consumes the majority of the user’s attentional space. As can be seen in Figure 1, this impacts the amount of attentional space accessible to the user to learn new content. As they become more familiar with the structure and controls of the site, users gain confidence in their ability to navigate the site successfully. Therefore, more attentional space will be available for the user to learn (i.e., deciding which resources to select and how to use them). It is the goal of the Web site designer to make Web site navigation as simple a possible, thereby reducing the learning curve for site navigation and increasing the time available for learning.
Figure 1. Attentional space needed in relation to user experience.
While using the Web site, the user also develops an increasingly differentiated mental representation (i.e., schema) of site content. As this schema grows, users become more confident in their knowledge of what is available and where it can be found. A consistent congruence between the user’s mental model and the actual functioning of the Web site leads to confidence that the user can locate what is available on the site. As a result, user success in navigating the site motivates continued site use to obtain resources and services. The next section asks some key questions about the individuals who will be using the Web site.
Key Questions in Developing a Need-Based Web Site
One method of helping users find information and services is to employ a Web site development process that is focused more on specific user needs and content than on technology and resources. This approach is achieved when site designers ask themselves three key questions, “Who does (or should) the Web site serve? What are the needs of users? What resources are available (or should be available) to meet user needs?”
The first question to be addressed is, “Who does (or should) the Web site serve?” Users vary greatly by expectations, capabilities, cultures, and personalities. However, organizations have a tendency, for the sake of efficient service delivery, to lump their users together (e.g., students, parents, professionals, etc.) based upon some similar characteristic (e.g., age, income, occupation, etc.). Therefore, the organization may not focus on the specific learning needs of specific user groups (e.g., parents who want to support their children’s academic success). Sometimes an organization is unaware of the process by which it distills the complexity of the population they serve into simple categories. Thus, these user categories and the characteristics they have in common are not always explicitly stated.
The second question to be answered is, “What are the needs of users?” Methods of identifying user needs include: 1) browsing theory, research, and practice literature, 2) soliciting client perceptions via a focus group or survey, and 3) obtaining the expert judgments of staff via surveys, interviews, or focus groups. It is critical to include front-line personnel (e.g., counselors or receptionists) in this last method, as they are often the most aware of the content and form of questions submitted to an organization by its constituents. These staff members also usually respond with additional statements to clarify user needs and act to connect users to appropriate resources and services. This process of incorporating staff expertise makes the Web site an “intelligent” mechanism for delivering resources.
The third question which organizations should ask is “What
resources exist (or should be created) that would meet each of the identified
needs?” To answer this question, a quick inventory of print, audio/video,
and computer resources used to work with customers should be taken by the
organization. This list of resources then becomes the menu from which resources
can be selected. To meet the specific needs of an audience, the most typical
combination and sequence of resources can be selected from the menu. For
example, students beginning a job campaign may require the reviewing of a
resume writing pamphlet before reading a guide to interviewing. This strategy
of matching resources to needs directly influences the presentation of
information on the Web site. After
having identified an organization’s users, their needs, and the organizational
resources that would meet them, the designer’s attention must shift to actually
delivering this information via the World Wide Web. To help designers make this
shift in attention, the following model of effective information use is
presented.
Process for Effective Information Use
Using information to solve problems follows a generic six-step sequence (Sampson, 1999) that has been clarified and adapted in Figure 2 to include serendipitous aspects of learning that are facilitated on the Web. This six-step model can be used to help designers focus on how users acquire and use Web-based information to meet needs.
Recognize Information is Needed to Solve Problems
When creating a Web site, a designer must first consider the users’ level of awareness of their needs. Some users explicitly recognize their needs and that these needs will be met by information from a particular Web site. However, some users may visit a Web site looking for one kind of information and serendipitously find other information that leads them to discover new needs. Still other users may stumble across a Web site, sense value, and have their curiosity stimulated by the information provided. Only after they have been exposed to the information do they recognize that they have a need. This access of information in a planned or unplanned way initiates a six-step process by which users make use of information.
Figure 2. Six step process for effective information use.
Web-site designers can use this six-step process for effective information use to support users as they identify their needs and move through a Web site (Sampson, 1999). This process is aligned with the events of instruction described by (Gagné, 1988). These events and how they support the process of information use by the user are described in the succeeding paragraphs.
Select Information Required to Meet Needs from the Options Available
To help users select information which meets their needs, the Web designer must first gain the users attention (Gagné,1988). The learning process can be initiated by providing a simple greeting, such as “What brings you here today?” This focuses users on their needs and engages them in a process of dialogue with the Web site by requiring a verbal response. Once attention is focused, providing the user with a simple list of user types and associated needs to choose from (e.g., “I am a student who needs help with choosing a major”) informs the user of the possible learning objectives (Gagné, 1988). Also, including a bright, meaningful and inclusive image on the first page of a Web site serves to activate motivation and encourage users to see this Web site as being applicable to their needs (Gagné, 1988). Good visuals also provide a professional look for the Web site, thereby enhancing the credibility of an organization’s message. In short, users should be able to see themselves as potential benefactors of the site and its information.
Decide How to Use Information to Meet Needs
Next, users should be provided with learning guidance which supports users as they select and locate resources that meet their needs (Gagné,1988). Unique learning outcome statements associated with each link elaborate what the user can expect by following that link. These statements help the user create an expectation about the information on the next page and provide a context for future learning. For example, a learning outcome for a “Choose or change my major” link at a university career center might be “Learn what's involved in choosing a major and what resources are available in The Career Center.”
Once the user reaches a specific resource that they want to use, additional learning guidance can be provided through the use of “how to” information. As discussed later, “how to” information provides user-specific, expert advice about the resource to be accessed. This advice may include information about additional resources that should be used, suggested methods for maximizing resource use, questions that may facilitate deeper learning, and circumstances where assistance may be needed. In short, “how to” information embeds in the Web site a portion of the expertise that an organization’s staff would provided to users in a “face to face” conversation.
Use the Required Information Resources
Once the user accesses a specific information resource, the designer must consider how presenting the stimulus material will impact the learner (Gagné, 1988). The designer should pay special attention to the content and visual design of the presented information. The careful and consistent use of cues such as advance organizers, bullets, bold face, underlines, and graphics can lead to enhanced user learning. Content and visual design issues are discussed in depth later in this paper.
Evaluate If Needs Have Been Met
Having
viewed a resource, users compare its content to their initial expectations.
These expectations have been influenced by a learning outcome statement
provided with the previous link. If they received what was described in the
learning outcome statement, they may be satisfied and exit the site, or
continue browsing to identify additional needs. Users may learn that their
needs are different than originally perceived and seek out different resources
on the Web site.
Seek Help or Other Resources as Needed
If users do not achieve the desired learning outcome, another possible course of action is to seek the assistance of a practitioner. Web sites should provide sufficient information to users about when and how to seek assistance. Users should seek help when they feel confused or anxious after using a resource, or if they require assistance in applying a specific part of the information to their life (e.g., refining an employment objective). Users should also be provided with information about how to contact an organization’s staff.
User learning is also influenced by the social environment of the organization that is presenting the Web site. In addition to considering learning variables, an organization should also optimize staff contributions to Web site design. The role of social and staff variables are discussed in the section that follows.
Using Staff Collaboration in Organizations to Promote Learning
Our experience in developing Web sites suggest that hree additional factors must be considered when developing a Web site. First, most successful Web sites are developed through teamwork, which itself raises complex management issues. Second, the sociopolitical context of the organization can dramatically impact all aspects of Web site development. Third, the type of content and services being delivered through the Web site can also influence site development and outcomes.
According to Holtz (1998), teams composed of members from throughout the organization are more effective than those from individual departments in achieving Web-site management goals. Such teams can benefit from the diverse strengths of each member. In such a situation, the team can effectively establish objectives and generate methods for achieving them, after which information technology professionals can offer technical solutions to problems identified. Thus, the success of an organization’s Web site is largely dependent upon the involvement of individuals with different functions and from different disciplines (Marken, 1995).
This approach is contrary to that taken by some organizations. By virtue of what they deem relevant, organizations prescribe specific skills and expertise (e.g., computer programming) as important, helping to privilege those within organizations who hold such expertise and skills. Sometimes individual “system champions,” often at a high level in the organization, shepherd a project throughout its development process (Beath & Ives, 1988; Beath, 1991). These forces result in an implicit bias in system development that reflects the champion’s expertise and training as well as what they perceive to be important or not important. This leads to a narrow design with limited integration of organization functions.
Having a Web site team allows for the control of a Web site to be diffused throughout the organization and limits the ability of any single person or department to dominate the site. A design team should include individuals representative of a variety of areas (e.g., information services, administration, and customer service). Staff members from the larger organization should actively take ownership of Web site content for which they are expert, while design team members should remember the old adage, “people support what they help create.”
The social context of an organization also strongly influences the outcome of the Web site design process. Social context is not determined by individual needs and wants but is determined by what people take for granted, and consider legitimate (Weick, 1996). As Scott (1987b) explained, the most powerful forces that can shape information systems do not result from rational pressures for more effective performance, but from social and cultural pressures to conform to conventional beliefs. Conformity with conventional beliefs is assumed to legitimate or justify organizational practices, in response to internal and external environments (Selznick, 1996). For this reason, Web site designs may be the product of the status quo in an organization (e.g., the delivery of paper-based registration forms) rather than a force for innovation (e.g., online completion of registration forms).
Web site designs are subjected to “big stick” forces (also labeled coercive isomorphism) placed on an organization to conform to rules and practices that are considered important within an industry. Often, there is the threat of sanctions if an organization does not comply with standard practices. For example, the government often mandates specific reporting requirements in regulated industries and in organizations fulfilling government contracts which can constrain Web site designs by prescribing data to be collected, methods of classification, and forms of reporting. One common (and beneficial) example of external pressure on Web site design is the requirement to follow the standards of the American with Disabilities Act.
Web site designs can also be influenced by a tendency to “follow the leader” (mimetic isomorphism). This is due to an organization’s desire to reduce uncertainty, minimize risk, ensure survival and gain legitimacy by selecting and implementing solutions used by the most prestigious and visible members of an industry. In system development, late adopters of a technology often mimic earlier implementations in order to both reduce uncertainty and enhance their conformity to an accepted type of system design.
Web sites can also be influenced by “learning” (normative isomorphism) that occurs by organizational staff members. An organization’s members learn standards of practice through both formal learning at educational institutions and interactions in professional associations. This learning becomes a powerful force that can influence organizational needs and determine expectations about information systems (DiMaggio & Powell, 1983, p. 152). Thus, the forces of coercive, mimetic, and normative isomorphism encourage Web sites of similarity and conformity which are based upon a shared interpretation of important values in the organizational and social context. However, these are not the only social forces that impact the development of an organization’s Web site. The type of systems being developed (e.g. a client appointment system) for delivery through the Web can also influence project outcomes.
Web sites, as with any type of information system, can be categorized by their function (Clemons, 1991). Those Web sites for specific new products and/or services (e.g., a Web site for a new book) often have clearer performance goals and are thus less subject to social controls. Reasons for this phenomenon may include the narrow focus of the project and lack of precedent within the organization. Those Web sites which are part of an organization’s strategic and support systems may also be more influenced by social pressures. Strategic systems, such as an on-line client orientation, are intended to make an organization more flexible, more responsive to customer needs, and more able to adapt to a competitive environment. Whereas support systems, such as email, usually fulfill an organization’s information reporting and decision-making needs which must be met to ensure survival. It is not uncommon for an organization’s Web site to integrate specific, strategic, and support systems which serve both organizational members and customers. To counteract the pressures of social control on Web sites, designers should try to clearly define the priorities in system development and refocus their activities toward the development of systems that not only support the status quo, but also create new markets, evaluate and redefine existing markets, and redesign current resources and services.
Often organizational pressures to meet the bottom line (whether in terms of profit or service delivery) promote information support systems. This focus, in turn, enhances the stature of those individuals who develop, advise on, and use these systems, such as accountants, production people and information systems specialists. Thus, social control is exerted through the tendency of “system champions” to develop and use “well established” information support systems which are more homogenous across organizations and their success can be more easily evaluated against similar referents.
Following the business environment, web sites are constantly in a state of flux as they grow to fit the needs of the organization and users. The question of what information and design features to include in a Web site depends on the needs of its users. The challenge for the Web site design team is to combine all the necessary pieces and present them in a manner helpful to the user. The next sec