Transforming a Website from Transactional to Experiential

Bridges Horizon played a key role in the management and delivery of a large, national loyalty program’s scenario-based website, featuring component based architecture and automated content management.

Situation

The Loyalty Management website was designed to provide functional access to the various informational and transactional aspects of the membership program.  The former website was designed based on a model organized around functional areas resulting in complex navigation requiring multiple clicks through low value content.  In addition to the less than optimal member usability issues, the former site was cumbersome to maintain due to its traditional web architecture.

The key aspects of the mandate included: Managing a multi-disciplinary team consisting of User Interface Design Specialists, Usability Experts, IT Architects, Web Developers and Business Owners to deliver a fully integrated and intuitive member experience.

Solution

By applying advanced usability design and prototyping techniques, the client was able to create customer-based experience scenarios to define a more intuitive flow to the website navigation.  During a very intense design phase, the project focus was exclusively on the organizational, content and visual aspects of the website allowing for a technology independent design.

On the more technical aspects of the website, the team developed a modular approach to building a website by isolating the various functional layers into distinct components.  Modules were created to develop the user interface, content management, business logic and finally the web services layer.  Transactional functionality was leveraged using XML messaging techniques.  This modern strategy for creating transactional websites was challenging and required a very methodical and integrated plan in order to ensure that all of the pieces came together. 

Results

Through our Project Management and Web Development experience, our team was able to help deliver this high profile website and help provide the client with a web platform that they could build on for the future. This web development project used the most modern technology (XML, CMS), coupled with the automation of web content using a sophisticated content management system (Interwoven CMS) to deliver a user experience that is efficient and tailored towards a positive member experience.

For more information on this business case or other Bridges Horizon work, please contact us.