Did we recommend that your team submit a Sitewide Content and IA intake request in the Collaboration Cycle Request ticket? If yes, follow these guidelines to get started.

Owner

Sitewide Content and IA Team

Timing

Submit this request as soon as you have early user flows or designs. This is usually around the time of the Design Intent meeting.

Format

Asynchronous, synchronous, or both, depending on needs. The Sitewide Content and IA team offers ongoing collaboration, guidance, and support as you develop your product. OCTO content leads hold regular office hours and can offer product-specific 1:1 collaboration sessions as needed. The team also provides asynchronous content support in tickets as capacity allows.

Objective

To create consistent, findable, accessible, plain language content and optimal user flows across VA products.

Request

VFS Product Manager submits a Sitewide Content and IA intake form ticket in GitHub.

Attendees

VFS team members:

  • Designer

  • Product Manager (optional)

Artifacts

VFS team provides:

  • Product outline

  • User flows

  • Low-fi wires (if available)

  • Prototype (if available)

Outcome

Before you take your product through usability research, the Sitewide Content and IA team will work with you to provide the following:

  • Content and IA strategy (based on complexity and size of effort)

  • IA design (including user flows, a site map, and primary entry points)

  • Editing for plain language and VA.gov content standards (as team capacity allows)

  • Guidance in advocating for plain language with SMEs (as needed)

After usability research, you’ll share research findings with the Sitewide Content and IA team in office hours or a separately scheduled meeting. The Sitewide Content and IA team will provide the following:

  • Final URLs

  • Content strategy guidance (as needed)

  • Editing for plain language and VA.gov content standards (as team capacity allows)

  • Guidance in advocating for plain language with SMEs (as needed)

  • Creation of new unauthenticated content or updates to existing unauthenticated pages in VA.gov benefit hubs or the resources and support section. This includes entry point implementation. Note that the Sitewide Content and IA team will directly manage and publish any unauthenticated content house in our Drupal CMS.

  • Redirects (as needed, coordinated with Public Websites team)

 

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