Creating an analysis document

An analysis document is used to record the information gathered from stakeholders that determines the design of the website, its content, and its features.

These are some examples of the analysis that can be undertaken when designing a web content system.

User analysis

To design a website that supports the needs of the company and the users, you must know who your audience is. It is important to determine your users at this early stage of the project. Some of the things you want to discover are:
  • Who they are?
  • Who are the most important groups?
  • What do they want to do on the site?
  • What will make them return to the site?
  • What is their level of experience with the web?
To help you understand your main user groups even further, you can develop personas and scenarios:
Personas
A persona is a fictional person who represents a major user group for your site. By using the information gathered about your users, create a person who represents each main user group. Give them:
  • A name and picture
  • Demographics, such as age, education, and family status
  • Job role and responsibilities
  • Their goals and tasks in relation to the site
  • A background on their computer and web usage
Scenarios
A scenario is a story of how users might experience the site. They help you visualize the site and its users. They can help you view the navigation process as a whole. Scenarios are also useful in validating the website design after it is finished and can be used in usability testing. Use your personas, and give them a task to accomplish on the site. Write a story about how the character uses the site to finish the given task. Be creative.

Competitive Analysis

If you are building a public website it is useful to look at what the competition is doing. Generate a list of competitors and document things you like and dislike about their Internet sites. For intranet sites where you cannot compare your site with those of competitors, you can instead ensure that your intranet meets current standards.

Website requirements

Website requirements describe the features and functions of a website. They document what the site must have and also what users can do. The requirements are not used to describe how to build the website, which is detailed in the design document.

For example:
General features:
  • Search
  • Contact details
Allow users to:
  • Purchase a product
  • Sign up for a newsletter
  • Fill out a time-sheet online
Include the following content and site areas:
  • Press releases
  • Policies and guides
  • Links to related articles

Content Inventory

It is useful to identify the types of content that make up the site. As your new website might be a redesign of an existing site, identify what content exists and what new content needs to be written. Create a content inventory, and add any existing web pages and potential types of content that you can think of. Types of content include:
  • Static content such as copyright notices and privacy statements
  • Dynamic content such as latest news and product campaigns
  • Transactional content such as logon pages and registration pages for email newsletters
When creating a content inventory you can collect the following information:
  • A brief description
  • Topic area or category
  • Priority
  • Format, such as a web page, a file, or on paper
  • Intended audience
  • Related content
  • Created date
  • Last modified date
  • Owner
  • Author
  • Expiration date