National Archives and Records Administration

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1 National Archives and Records Administration INFORMATION SECURITY OVERSIGHT OFFICE Website Evaluation and Recommendations Messeret Gebre-Kristos University of Michigan School of Infromation March 2007

2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY A report on the usability evaluation of the website maintained by the Information Security Oversight Office (ISOO) is presented below. After a week of exploring the website, it is observed that the website has rich content. However, it needs to be organized better to improve the user s ability to find information easily. Some recommendations are provided to improve the website s organization and navigation schemes. Moreover, the following short-term recommendations are proposed: Fix outdated/inaccurate content Remove pop-up Surveys Make the list of annual and cost reports comprehensive Add MDR link to the footer The report concludes with a few suggestions for future work in improving the ISOO website. INTRODUCTION In the week of February 26 March 2, 2007, I was assigned to conduct usability evaluation of the Information Security Oversight Office (ISOO) website at the National Archives and Records Administration in Washington D.C. I utilized heuristic evaluation, log analysis and user interview in my exploration. This paper reports findings and some recommendations to enhance the experience of users who visit the website. MISSION & AUDIENCE OF THE WEBSITE The mission of the ISOO website is, as Deputy Director William Bosanko put it: to be a force multiplier. The ISOO staff is relatively small in number, considering the enormity of the task they are charged to undertake. A large part of their duty deals with informing various groups from the government, industry and the public with matters related to the federal government s process of classifying and declassifying information. The website is expected to ease the burden of the staff by putting much of the information online, so that they don t have to answer the same questions repeatedly. It is also meant to be a place for up-to-date information about security policies and guidelines, related reports and other instructional material. ISOO oversees classification programs in about 80 government agencies. These entities normally designate one or more officials to work closely with ISOO for the purpose of implementing the classification policies. The contact persons make up the major segment of users for the Government section of the website. As they gain experience in their capacity, they become more familiar with the ISOO website and normally come to the website with specific information need. Other government officials that visit the website include senior officials usually looking for trend reports and other officials that deal with matters of classification/declassification process looking for guidance on the process. 2

3 ISOO also oversees classification programs in industry. The security personnel in this sector are interested in getting current information on industry-related classification policies. However, the most frequent queries coming from industry personnel deal with clearance issues: (1) They want to know what steps to take to get agency or individual clearance, and (2) they seek alternative ways of resolution when their clearance is denied or delayed. Public users coming to ISOO website include academic researchers, family historians, and groups or individuals seeking FOIA-like instruments to challenge various classification decisions. ISOO s work should be extremely interesting to the public. A responsible security classification system and a committed declassification program are the cornerstones of an open and efficient government that serves to protect and inform its citizens (ISOO 2005 Annual Report). The ISOO website is a natural tool to educate the public about the rights and duties of citizens in this area. OBSERVATIONS The ISOO website has several strong points that help with navigating the site. For example, the link trails (bread crumbs) at the top of the pages ease navigation ( ). There is a consistent look with each page following the Inverted L template. The left menu bar is also maintained consistently in all pages. Another good practice is that the user is warned ahead of time when a certain page comes in pdf format. This is helpful because sudden changes of page format tend to be disruptive to the user experience. However, the best feature of the ISOO website it that it is rich in content. Valuable information is presented for all segments of the user base. Another great feature of the website is that it recognizes the three types of users (government, industry and the public). It has sections for each of the user types. The abundance of information that has to be tailored to diverse audiences comes with its challenges. Understandably, the website needs improvement in its organization scheme. Some of the content seems ready for update. More seriously, some pages contain inaccurate data for lack of updating (for example, some former staff members are still listed as contact persons). The following recommendations are intended to improve some of the problems. 3

For example, in the following pages, note contact info for Kristofer Johnson (inconsistent) and Pamela Carcirieri (obsolete).

4 RECOMMENDATIONS SHORT TERM The following recommendations should be quick fixes to improve the website with modest effort: 1. Fix outdated/inaccurate content. A quick walk through of the web pages reveals several parts where the content needs to be updated. For example, in the following pages, note contact info for Kristofer Johnson (inconsistent) and Pamela Carcirieri (obsolete). Figure 1: /isoo/contact/general.html Figure 2: /isoo/oversight-groups/iscap/iscap-team.html Another example: the link under the so-called Most Recent Updates in ISOO for the Public leads to information from

2. Remove pop-up Surveys: Users don t respond well to pop-ups: they tend to eliminate them. These low-response survey tools are generally ineffectual; yet, they end up annoying users.

5 2. Remove pop-up Surveys: Users don t respond well to pop-ups: they tend to eliminate them. These low-response survey tools are generally ineffectual; yet, they end up annoying users. It may be worth investigating if useful data is being collected from these surveys. 3. Make the list of annual and cost reports comprehensive. Currently, the website contains annual reports dating back to 1993, and cost reports back to If there are reports in hard-copy, they could be digitized (scanned) and added to the website for comprehensive coverage. As it stands now, the list gives the impression that ISOO started writing annual reports in

6 4. Add MDR link to the footer. The 2005 Annual Report states that ISOO will request other government agencies to develop MDR program information on their public websites similar to the section devoted to FOIA. ISOO would set a good example by developing such a section and putting a link near the FOIA link in the footer. 6

RECOMMENDATIONS LONG TERM The website has a good start in organizing

However, this organization scheme is not followed rigorously.

unnecessary redundancy. There should be an area for common content.

The redundant links in the left menu bar undermine the

7 RECOMMENDATIONS LONG TERM The website has a good start in organizing its content along the lines of government, industry and public users. However, this organization scheme is not followed rigorously. Moreover, repeating common content in each category creates unnecessary redundancy. There should be an area for common content. The figures below show juxtaposed left menu bars. The redundant links in the left menu bar undermine the distinctiveness of each segment. It is difficult for users to know which section they are currently navigating. 7

8 1. Recommended Organization Scheme Here is a suggestion to organize the content. The common content is consolidated under one section (Explore ISOO). The rest of the content falls under the rest of the specialized sections. ISOO Main Page Explore ISOO Gov t Industry Public About Us News Documents Oversight Groups NISPPAC ISPAC NISP PIDB 8

9 2. Recommended Navigation Scheme Homepage: It is generally a good idea to have a homepage that looks different from the rest of the website. It serves as the anchor in navigation. If users drift too far off while wandering around the website, returning to a home page with a distinctive look and feel is a quick way to recover orientation. As suggested in the following wire-frame, the homepage should be free of clutter. It is to be used only to set the tone and serve as gateway to the website. 9

10 EXPLORE ISOO About Us News Documents Oversight Groups For Government Brief Description Highlight For Industry Brief Description Put information you want To highlight (Not necessarily news) Also a good place to Put graphics For the Public Brief Description 10

11 Sub Sites: In its current state, the website doesn t seem to present a clear distinction among the three sub sites: government, industry and public. The blurring among the sections is mainly because the common content is repeated in each of them. If the suggestion is followed to organize the common content separately, it would make sense to confine the content under each section only to what is directly applicable to that section. The following wireframe takes the government section as an example. It demonstrates how the content included in the government section is pertinent only to the specific section. 11

12 Declassification Info Agency Liaisons Security Managers FAQ Highlights Text description of ISOO s work related to government Graphics or text content for highlight 12

13 CONCLUSION FUTURE WORK: The ISOO website has a wealth of information about the government s work of classifying and declassifying program. The rich content should be organized to maximize ease of finding important information. This paper has presented several short-term recommendations to improve the website with small effort. Additionally, long-term recommendations that focus on organization and navigation schemes are provided. In the future, more attention could be given to improving the aesthetic appeal of the website. Such work would be valuable especially in supporting ISOO s purpose of educating the public about its work. Adding graphics, using text narrative with warm, personal tenor, and highlighting bits of information that grab the attention of first-time visitors are some areas that could be explored further to improve the website s retention rates. 13

DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS GOVERNANCE

UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA OMAHA DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS GOVERNANCE REVISED: MARCH 2016 CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 3 INTRODUCTION 3 I. CORE VALUES 4 1.1 Audience First 4 1.2 Consistent Brand 5 1.3 Accessibility