SPEC Kit 341: Digital Collections Assessment and Outreach · 101
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
U-M Library Public Web Presence Guiding Principles
U-M Library Public Web Presence — Guiding Principles
~DRAFT ~
The primary purpose of our web presence is to meet our users’ needs by providing
access to resources &services, instructional guidance, and support information – so it is
important that we treat it with the same respect and diligence as we do our physical collections.
Our web presence, which encompasses everything that falls under the U-M Library brand,
including Mirlyn, research guides, and other pages belonging to library services, advances the
library’s position as the university’s intellectual intersection for teaching, learning, and research.
To help us serve these needs in a thoughtful manner, the following principles will guide our
efforts and keep us focused on what matters most — helping our users get stuff done.
1) Start with user needs &build in assessment
There are many challenges to supporting research needs and engaging with the campus — but
there are also many solutions. Understanding users need is central. Our design, development,
and content efforts should be based on what real users need — what they need to do, their
obstacles, and their context. Decisions should be informed by these data alongside our own
expertise (remembering that what users ask for is not always what they need).
What this means:
● User needs (not the technology or the org chart) should be at the center of every discussion.
● Assessment should be done early and often. Projects should begin with user needs assessments.
Difficult decisions should be validated with feedback, usage statistics, and user testing. Results
should be measurable so we can evaluate, learn, and refine.
● When something (e.g., features, applications, tools, design elements) isn’t working (doesn’t meet
user needs or expectations), isn’t aligned with library goals, or isn’t worth ongoing maintenance, we
should let go of it to help make room for new and better things.
● Focus content on what users need to know.
2) First things first &do less, do it better
Our web presence is large and complex and developing and maintaining it requires prioritization.
To improve the search experience, the content, and the underlying structure to make it
accessible and responsive, we need to be more selective about what we choose to do and
focus our efforts on things that have high user impact. Deciding what not to do is as important as
deciding what to do. As a general rule ,80% of a product’s usage involves 20% of its 1
features/content — so we should focus more of our attention on the 20%. We should also
recognize that if something is worth doing, it’s worth doing well — and doing it well requires skill
and time.
1 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pareto_principle
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
U-M Library Public Web Presence Guiding Principles
U-M Library Public Web Presence — Guiding Principles
~DRAFT ~
The primary purpose of our web presence is to meet our users’ needs by providing
access to resources &services, instructional guidance, and support information – so it is
important that we treat it with the same respect and diligence as we do our physical collections.
Our web presence, which encompasses everything that falls under the U-M Library brand,
including Mirlyn, research guides, and other pages belonging to library services, advances the
library’s position as the university’s intellectual intersection for teaching, learning, and research.
To help us serve these needs in a thoughtful manner, the following principles will guide our
efforts and keep us focused on what matters most — helping our users get stuff done.
1) Start with user needs &build in assessment
There are many challenges to supporting research needs and engaging with the campus — but
there are also many solutions. Understanding users need is central. Our design, development,
and content efforts should be based on what real users need — what they need to do, their
obstacles, and their context. Decisions should be informed by these data alongside our own
expertise (remembering that what users ask for is not always what they need).
What this means:
● User needs (not the technology or the org chart) should be at the center of every discussion.
● Assessment should be done early and often. Projects should begin with user needs assessments.
Difficult decisions should be validated with feedback, usage statistics, and user testing. Results
should be measurable so we can evaluate, learn, and refine.
● When something (e.g., features, applications, tools, design elements) isn’t working (doesn’t meet
user needs or expectations), isn’t aligned with library goals, or isn’t worth ongoing maintenance, we
should let go of it to help make room for new and better things.
● Focus content on what users need to know.
2) First things first &do less, do it better
Our web presence is large and complex and developing and maintaining it requires prioritization.
To improve the search experience, the content, and the underlying structure to make it
accessible and responsive, we need to be more selective about what we choose to do and
focus our efforts on things that have high user impact. Deciding what not to do is as important as
deciding what to do. As a general rule ,80% of a product’s usage involves 20% of its 1
features/content — so we should focus more of our attention on the 20%. We should also
recognize that if something is worth doing, it’s worth doing well — and doing it well requires skill
and time.
1 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pareto_principle
