Eeva Hietanen, Communications Manager at Port of Helsinki :
What was the starting point and objective of the project?
The idea was to get a professional and objective view on how well the Port of Helsinki website works from the viewpoint of the target group. We had realised that we needed to renew the website - you have to keep up with state-of-the art developments at all times.
How did Etnoteam help you to resolve the situation?
We asked Etnoteam to initially conduct a user inquiry. We wanted both a professional opinion about our website and an understanding of how well it serves our users. Feedback from actual end-users on what should be improved was most welcome. It had crossed my mind that what is clear to me may not be that self-evident for others.
When we realised that more changes were needed than we had envisaged, we asked Etnoteam to create a user interface design for us. Workshops for going through the plans with us and end-users were useful: it is always possible that you have an idea that does not work from the point of view of an end-user, so a dialogue is really important.
Both phases of the project required someone who understands the structures of information flows, web architecture, and who could highlight the concerns of the "man in the street" and issues that we could not identify ourselves.
What was the outcome of the project?
Etnoteam created a user interface design for us that has served as a very good guideline for the renewal. The significant volume of documentation on how the renewal was to be carried out has proved most useful.
No man is a prophet in his own land: an outsider can often see and explain what is happening and what could be done to improve things. It also helps avoid arguments - even if you have a good team, an outsider's view can make you focus on the work itself and not on whose opinion carries the most weight.
Etnoteam participated in defining the tender invitation for the implementation of the website renewal. We received a reasonable tender some time ago and chose a service provider to implement the service. The new website is due to go live at the beginning of July.
Port of Helsinki is the main port for international trade and the busiest passenger port in Finland. It caters for the Finnish business community and for the transport needs of the whole country. As an active developer of the business environment, Port of Helsinki enhances and coordinates operations in the port. The most important collaboration partners include shipping lines and harbour operators, haulage and forwarding companies along with various authorities.
Etnoteam conducted an expert evaluation and usability test for the Port of Helsinki website to find out how well it served the needs of professional target group users. The results indicated that the website structure needed to be redesigned. Consequently, Port of Helsinki also ordered a user interface design plan from Etnoteam.
Etnoteam created a description of the new user interface as well as graphic guidelines for the website based on the conducted evaluation and material provided by Port of Helsinki. The feasibility of the user interface was verified by arranging workshops during the project where real work flows were simulated with end-users and customers. At the end of the project, Etnoteam also provided consultation on defining the contents of a tender invitation for the implementation of the website renewal.