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New website for the Parole Board for England and Wales

Following a competitive tender process the Parole Board commissioned web design agency Ecru to build their new website and this huge project was delivered on time and within budget in February 2008.

Jack Straw, Christine Glenn and Matt Williams

Parole Board Chief Executive Christine Glenn and Ecru Managing Director Matt Williams proudly presented the new website to Justice Minister and Lord Chancellor Jack Straw MP at the annual Parole Board lecture in Whitehall in 2008.

During his lecture Jack Straw said "a terrific site, very accessible"

The main aim of the new Parole Board website was: “To promote the independence of and public confidence in the work of the Board, while effectively managing change.”

Other objectives included:

  1. Using appropriate content to explain the aims, operations and workings of the Parole Board to its stakeholders and customers.
  2. To have user friendly navigation and design.
  3. A password protected Members area.
  4. Deliver the message that the Parole Board is 'an independent, open, fair and forward thinking organisation that strives to protect the public in its decision making'.

 
The website development project

Ecru started with an in depth assessment of the needs to the target audience which was defined as:

  • Parole Board members and staff
  • Legal representatives of prisoners
  • Prisoners
  • Criminal justice stakeholders
  • Victims of crime
  • Media
  • Academics and researchers
  • General public

Ecru familiarised themselves with the role and culture of the Parole board, the information needs of the target audience and their reading and information processing ability:

  • Low average reading age combined with poor information processing skills and high rates of dyslexia in the Prison population
  • Advanced reading age and information processing capability combined with increasing rates of age related visual impairment in the professional audience.

The website needed to achieve WC3 Priority AA accessibility or above. To achieve this, Ecru approached the design and build from several angles:

  1. Accessible Code: The XHTML code that is delivered by the Ecru content management system is semantically structured and validates in accordance with the target DOCTYPE in order to be standards compliant and is therefore usable within the widest possible range of web browsers, by the widest range of visitors.
  2. Design: Clean clear design that includes the use of icons to aid navigation.
  3. Structure: Intuitive usable structure and navigation delivering key information within a maximum of three mouse clicks. User channelling ensures that specific user groups have fast access to essential information structured in a way that is sensitive to the user's needs (victims of crime for example) and the culture of the Parole Board.
  4. Consistency: Consistent use of menus, page headings, breadcrumb and meta titles ensure the user is always grounded as to their relative position within the site.
  5. Language: Use of Plain English, simple introductions for victims and families, prisoners and families and the general public, combined with easy access to more detailed information. All acronyms appear in full the first time they are used on the page. The use of case studies illustrates situations and provides a people focus in order to help individuals understand the parole process better.
  6. Feedback and ongoing development: 'Have Your Say' email links on each page. Ongoing feedback and user testing will ensure the site remains as useful as possible.

 
User testing and feedback

Ecru worked closely with the Parole Board performing two phases of user testing:

  1. Initial consultation - The initial consultation gauged the usability of various home page and inner page layouts and measured design preferences. It targeted Parole Board members and stakeholders and directly influenced the end design.
  2. End user testing - End user testing involved videoing participants using the old and new websites, comparing the time taken to complete specific information gathering tasks and gauging user's feelings. Ecru tested stakeholders, members of the Board, members of staff and members of prisoner's families at Wandsworth prison visitor centre.

The results of end user testing showed a spectacular improvement in the access of information.

  • New site demonstrably fulfils the criteria established for the new Parole Board website, which is demonstrably more usable and accessible than the old site.
  • Demonstrable evidence that perception of the Parole Board is changed positively by new website.
  • Prisoners families gave new site 10 out of 10 for ease with which they could find information.
  • All users liked the new website. Members and staff gave it an average score of 8.4 out of 10 and prisoners' families gave it an average of 9 out of 10.

www.paroleboard.gov.uk

Talk to Ecru about your website project now. Email us or call us on 01702 475 170 for a friendly chat.