At the end of September 2012, the CHUM (Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal) launched the new version of its website: www.chumontreal.qc.ca , a joint creation of TP1 and Adviso . Our two agencies combined their skills in order to carry out this redesign project, which took place over several months of intense collaboration and frank camaraderie.
THE STRAT
After several meetings with key people from the various CHUM departments, we were able to establish an order of priority for the work to be done and the efforts to be made over the long term. These meetings also made it possible to learn about all the assets that needed to be standardized under the same banner.
Following the analysis of the market and of internal and external needs, we have refocused the site on patients and visitors to the hospital while, at the same time, promoting the tertiary and quaternary specialties of the establishment. After all, the 432,000 or so patients that the CHUM sees every year should not be overlooked.
To do this, it proved necessary to reorganize and simplify the architecture of the site in order to direct the various personas quickly to the information that best meets their expectations. A complete revision of the contents was carried out and a tree structure taking into account the different phases of additions and modifications was established. The latter served as a beacon for the following stages: design and development.
Even after identifying the strategic directions and reorganizing the content, there was still a lot of work to be done to bring the project to fruition. Several iterations were necessary to determine the ideal navigation and prioritize the content elements. This step, supported by the wireframe models and the graphic models , could only be accomplished thanks to close collaboration between the two teams as well as rigorous project management, in order to obtain the necessary validations.
THE ARTISTIC DIRECTION
Patients and visitors being an extremely large target, we had to define an accessible and open graphic approach that favors fluid and intuitive navigation. We had to create a tool that everyone could use, from the first click: clear menu areas and sans serif fonts for optimal readability, supported by strong color areas.
The challenge was to offer a graphic identity with an irreproachable sanitized aspect, while giving back to the human its first place, as shown by the dedication and professionalism of the hospital staff. If the CHUM benefits from cutting-edge technologies, it is above all daily moral support and the lives saved that define it.
This is what we wanted to illustrate with images of complicity between patients and medical personnel.
DEVELOPMENT
The CHUM reminded us from the start, and throughout the project, that flexibility was the priority . In fact, given the number of stakeholders interacting with the business units and the high probability of changes in strategic direction, it was essential to offer a site that the CHUM could manage independently. In this context, Drupal has proven to be the technology that best meets the needs. All the content blocks have been designed accordingly: we cut out the models perfectly and almost geometrically to allow the CHUM team to manage each element once they have taken possession of the site.
If Drupal makes it possible to offer great flexibility, it does not come without a certain level of supervision. The development team worked together with the CHUM's internal communication department when integrating their content. The support and perseverance of both parties were key factors in the success of the project.
The project continues to evolve and new sections will be updated over the months. Next stop: human resources.
This post was written jointly by the two teams: it is also available in full on the TP1 blog . Prepared by: Jean-Frédéric Bergeron Poudrier, Jérome Pinel, Gray Recanati and Thomas Tixier.
