Web Site Design Document
Catherine Hernandez
Web Site Design, Q360-32
Oct 12, 2001

Purpose:

The Desktop and End User Support Group is one of three divisions within the Computer Support Group (CSG) at the School of Computer Science (SCS) at Florida International University (FIU).  The Desktop Group is the "frontline" for user support and customer service for the technical and computing needs of the SCS user base. The Desktop group requires a web site that will serve three purposes: 

The site must describe the Desktop Group, its purpose, mission and location. To achieve the overarching purpose of improving our quality of service, the Desktop group will improve communications with users through this site by defining the group, framing expectations and providing information about key resources and feedback tools.

This site must provide users with vital information about the state of the SCS computing systems, how to locate staff for assistance and where they can get anti-virus and other utility programs.  The Desktop Group needs to clearly communicate policies and methods, so that users will have a realistic understanding of the level of service they can expect.

This site will also assist the staff members of the Desktop group by providing easy access to resources needed to complete work that keeps user computers running smoothly.  The site will provide a central location where staff can obtain essential information, resources and utilities to assist them in doing their work.

In providing this site to staff and users, the overall objective is to improve the quality of service that the Desktop Group provides the user. By defining ourselves, we can clarify our goals.  By providing information to users, they can obtain solutions quickly and smoothly.  And, by providing a centralized resource location for staff, quality is improved when the staff is able to perform their job more easily.

Needs Assessment:

The Director has requested that this site be created, based on feedback he has received from faculty and other users.  In addition, the Desktop staff has requested a central location where key, frequently needed resources can be found.  The development of this site will allow us to immediately pull together, several repositories of information thereby streamlining communications and improving service.

Audience:

In general terms, the audience will be all people who are associated with the School of Computer Science.  More specifically, the audience will be principally the Desktop Group staff and the user base of the school.  The user base is comprised of administrative staff, faculty, undergraduate and graduate students, and research groups. Since the audience is so diverse, the site will be carefully organized so that information can be easily found and services can be optimally used or requested. 

Content and how it fits with web site goals:

General content:
Mission statement for the group
Methods for contacting Desktop Group staff
Posting of various lab usage policies
Posting of lab hours and availability
Posting of hot topics and Desktop Group News

User related content:
Documentation of user Service Level Agreement
Documentation of user account acquisition procedures
Feedback link
Anti-Virus download link

Staff related content:
Link to application installation procedures
Link to standards of conduct document
Links to installation resources
Media database link
Documentation collection tool

By presenting this information, tools and references, I will be meeting the needs of the user and the staff as set out in the purpose statement.

Presentation of information and rationale for organization:

This site will have a predominately hierarchical structure.  It will be comprised of three main areas of information:  A main page, a staff page and a users page. There will be ancillary pages branching from these main pages, some will be shared and others will be exclusive.  The audience for this site is widely diverse, but with two main groups:  users and staff.  It is the audience that dictates the structure in this case. 

There will be navigation tools at the top of the page as well as at the bottom.  While many links will be referencing pages within the site, several will point outside of the site to other references and resources.

Media, acquisition or development, and rationale for using:

The use of media for this site will be minimal.  Most of the information will be presented as links and text.  On all pages I will place a simple banner with the CSG logo.  This logo will serve as a graphical link to “home” which will be in addition to a text link. I will also place a photo image of the Desktop Group on the first page to increase interest and help the visitor to identify the “subject”.  This feature can be changed periodically to match events and happenings in the group.  The final graphical feature I will include will be the university logo on the first page.  This will serve to identify the page as part of the FIU community and will be a link to the FIU home page.

These few graphics will offer interest to the page and build in a sense of continuity.  They will also serve to identify the site with SCS and FIU. The rationale for using minimal graphical content will be to enhance load time, (as users maybe accessing from slow modems), and to leave the page clean and easy to navigate.

Color scheme and rationale:

The colors of the university are blue and gold, and the school site (http://www.cs.fiu.edu) uses predominantly blue.  To maintain an association with the university, and to be consistent with the SCS site, I will work with the blue and gold color scheme.  For ease of readability and navigability, text will be black and links will be blue.  I plan to have visited links appear in an alternate color, possibly magenta.  I will make the final selection of text color for visited link once the background is pinned down.

Outline of web site organization:

Main page:
Banner and CSG logo
Address of SCS and the Desktop Group
Mission statement
Group introduction
Table containing news and hot topics
Link to FIU home page and SCS home page
Mailto link for feedback
Link to lab schedules page
Link to download anti-virus update 
Link to group contact page 
Site map

Staff page: 
	Group internal goal and standards 
	Link to work queue
	Links to individual staff pages
	Link to group contact page
	Link to CD/media database
	Link to group policies and procedures page
Links to frequently access application download

Users page:
Service level agreements
		Where to find help
Description of student account acquisition procedures
Mailto link for feedback 
Link to download anti-virus update 
Specific lab links
		Undergraduate Lab
General lab specifications /schedules
	Undergraduate Lab
		Instructional Lab
	Graduate Lab
	Electronic Classroom