1. The Core Model:
Getting to business
while making friends
Ida Aalen @idaaa
Audun Rundberg @audunru
Confab Intensive 2015

2. Confab
Intensive
Oslo,
Norway

3. Ida Aalen
@idaaa
UX Designer
Audun Rundberg
@audunru
Content Strategist
#ConfabINT
How come our
annual report isn’t on
the home page?
Why isn’t my
department in the
main menu?
We need a button
on the home page
that takes you to our
Facebook profile.
I need a banner
for our latest
product launch.
Somebody called
me last week and
couldn’t find vacant
positions!
You should
make more
room for news.
I don’t like
purple!!
My son could
have made a
better website.

6. Multinational
telecommunications company
Non-governmental organization
Scandinavian
construction company
Non-governmental organization

7. Agenda
09.00 The Core Model
09.45 Get down to business
(and make friends)
12.00 Finished

8. Say hello!
• What’s your name?
• Where do you work?
• Pair up!
• (Or ‘three’ up if you can’t make pairs)

9. Make cores
- not wars

10. Home page

11. Googled
Clicked a link on Facebook
Many users
will never see
any other page

12. Business
goals
User
tasks
Cores
Forward paths

13. The Core Model
• The Core is where your users solve
their tasks and you reach your
objectives
• Paths, not hierarchy
• No dead ends
@AreGH

14. @AreGH

17. Do your
user
research

18. ...and establish
objectives!

19. What you need
• Handouts with the core model (A3)
• Handouts with objectives and user needs
• Markers and post-its
• Room with a projector
• 3-4 hours per workshop
• 1-3 participants from the digital/web team
• 6-14 stakeholders/people from the client
• Snacks and lots of coffee!

20. 6–14 participants
No web, design or content skills necessary!
• facilitator (you!)
• your team: design, UX, content, etc
• people with expert knowledge
• content owners
• people who should be collaborating, but aren’t
• people with strong opinions about the website

21. Core workshop
People work in pairs,
and present their work
after each step
1. Identify core pages
2. Inward paths
3. Core content
4. Forward paths
5. Prioritizing core elements

22. Inward paths Forward pathsCore content
Core page:
Business goals (achieve at least one) User tasks

24. Socionom
Lawyer
Cancer nurse
Design
Research
Cancer care
Prevention
Web editor
Fundraiser

25. Step #1
Identify your core pages
This is done by matching business goals
and user needs

26. The Norwegian Cancer
Society’s goals
1. Helping patients and their friends and family
2. Increasing knowledge about cancer and prevention
3. Increasing online self-service
4. Strengthening our position and increasing donations

27. Top task survey
«If you’re visiting The Cancer Society’s website,
which five tasks are the most important to you?»

28. Treatment of cancer
Symptoms of cancer
Preventing cancer
Cancer types
Latest research
Choosing a hospital
Patient rights
Next of kin advice
Waiting times
Dietary prevention
0 % 1 % 2 % 3 % 4 % 5 % 6 %
Top 25%
1) Helping patients and their friends & family
1) Helping patients and their friends & family
1) Helping patients and their friends & family
2) Increasing knowledge about cancer and prevention
2) Increasing knowledge about cancer and prevention
2) Increasing knowledge about cancer and prevention
2) Increasing knowledge about cancer and prevention
1) Helping patients and their friends & family
1) Helping patients and their friends & family
2) Increasing knowledge about cancer and prevention
6 out of
79 tasks got
25% of the
votes

29. Inward paths Forward pathsCore content
Core page:
Business goals (achieve at least one) User tasks

30. Step #2
Inward paths
How will the user get here? How will
they find this content?

31. Inward paths Forward pathsCore content
Core page:
Business goals (achieve at least one) User tasks
How will the
user find their
way to this core
page?

32. Inward paths Forward pathsCore content
Core page:
Business goals (achieve at least one) User tasks
How will the
user find their
way to this core
page?

33. Step #3
Core content
What content elements do we need to
make sure the user solves their task
(while respecting our objectives)

34. Inward paths Forward pathsCore content
Core page:
Business goals (achieve at least one) User tasks
What’s the
optimal
solution, for the
user and for
us?

35. Inward paths Forward pathsCore content
Core page:
Business goals (achieve at least one) User tasks
What’s the
optimal
solution, for the
user and for
us?

36. Inward paths Forward pathsCore content
Core page:
Business goals (achieve at least one) User tasks

37. Step #4
Forward paths
After the user has solved their task,
where do we want to send them next?

38. Inward paths Forward pathsCore content
Core page:
Business goals (achieve at least one) User tasks
Where should we
send the user, after
they’ve solved their
primary task?

39. Inward paths Forward pathsCore content
Core page:
Business goals (achieve at least one) User tasks
Where should we
send the user, after
they’ve solved their
primary task?

40. Inward paths Forward pathsCore content
Core page:
Business goals (achieve at least one) User tasks

42. Step #5
Prioritizing core elements
How would you place these elements if
you only had a mobile screen
available?

45. Updated
template!

46. The core is the same on all
devices

47. Example
Breast cancer

48. Warning!

53. Time on page
3m57s
3m48s

56. – More people contact the
cancer line now than before,
but now they’re more
informed when they contact
us
Anine Wiig Dagestad
Oncology nurse

57. 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Cancer line
conversations Launch
+58%
+43%

58. Unique visitors
10 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Launch

59. Work with the
core model

61. Rainforest Foundation
Norway supports
indigenous people and
traditional populations of
the world's rainforests in
their efforts to protect their
environment and secure
their customary land rights.

62. With our goal of preserving
the rainforest, we
advocate for the rights of
its indigenous inhabitants.

63. Our operations are funded
by public authorities, as
well as private donors and
sponsors.

64. Step #1
Identify your core pages
This is done by matching business goals
and user needs

65. Business goals
1. Increase financial support
2. Engage more people in the work to protect the rainforest
3. Increase the knowledge about the rainforest and about
our work

66. User tasks
1. Find out how I as a consumer can
reduce the pressure on the rainforest
2. Learn more about the work of the
Rainforest Foundation
3. Results of the work of the Rainforest
foundation
4. Learn more about the rainforest
(including animals, plants, climate
and indiginous people)
5. Find out if a product contains palm
oil
6. Supporting the work of the Rainforest
Foundation
7. See what threats the rainforest is
facing
8. What is the current state of the
rainforest?
9. Find out what kind of woods that are
categorized as tropical timber
10. Become a sponsor
11. Contacting the Rainforest Foundation
12. Read the latest news/current subjects

67. Core pages
1. Support the Rainforest Foundation
2. Threats to the rainforest
3. Palm oil
4. Our work in the Amazon

68. Inward paths Forward pathsCore content
Core page:
Business goals (achieve at least one) User tasks
Write down the
goals and user
tasks for your core
page
Don’t fill out the rest
of the sheet

69. Step #2
Inward paths
How will the user get here? How will
they find this content?

70. Inward paths Forward pathsCore content
Core page:
Business goals (achieve at least one) User tasks
How will
the user find
their way to
this core
page?
Keep the user
tasks in mind
7minutes

71. Share with your
table
• Each pair tells the rest of the table what
they came up with
• Steal ideas!!!

72. Break

73. Step #3
Core content
What content elements do we need to
make sure the user solves their task
(while respecting our objectives)

74. Increasing sales of
mobile broad band

75. Pageviews
0
10000
20000
30000
40000
1 7 13 19 25 31 37 43 49 55 61 67 73 79 85 91 97 103 109 115 121 127 133 139 145 151 157 163
Everyone agrees
these pages are
important
«But my pages are
important too!»
Pages (ranked)

76. What are the different subscriptions?
What’s the price?
Coverage
My
connection
isn’t
working!

77. Reorganizing the
content using the
core model

78. Why
doesn’t it
work?
Coverage
What’s the
price?
What are the
different
subscriptions?

79. +80%
Sales of mobile
broad band
Customer support
emails
Number of
pages
-35%-80%

81. Inward paths Forward pathsCore content
Core page:
Business goals (achieve at least one) User tasks
What’s
the optimal
solution, for
the user and
for us?
Keep in
mind your
goals and the
user tasks
15minutes

82. Share with your
table
• Each pair tells the rest of the table what
they came up with
• Steal ideas!!!

83. Step #4
Forward paths
After the user has solved their task,
where do we want to send them next?

84. Example
Increasing donations

85. Treatment of cancer
Symptoms of cancer
Preventing cancer
Cancer types
Latest research
Choosing a hospital
Patient rights
Next of kin advice
Waiting times
Dietary prevention
0 % 1 % 2 % 3 % 4 % 5 % 6 %
Top 25%
6 out of
79 tasks got
25% of the
votes

86. Treatment of cancer
Symptoms of cancer
Preventing cancer
Cancer types
Latest research
Choosing a hospital
Donate
Volunteer
Memory gift
Legacy gift
0 % 1 % 2 % 3 % 4 % 5 % 6 %
Top 25%
Fundraising
-tasks were on
the bottom of
the list!
6 out of
79 tasks got
25% of the
votes

87. Goals
1. Helping patients and their friends and family ✔
2. Increasing knowledge about cancer and prevention ✔
3. Increasing online self-service ✔
4. Strengthening our position and increasing donations ✖

88. Make a
donation
Research
project
User task Forward path
Increase
donations
Objective

89. Portable
donation forms!

91. Portable
donation
form

92. Treatment of cancer
Symptoms of cancer
Preventing cancer
Cancer types
Latest research
Choosing a hospital
Donate
Volunteer
Memory gift
Legacy gift
0 % 1 % 2 % 3 % 4 % 5 % 6 %
Top 25%
But some
people are
actually
coming to
donate

93. Recurring
donation
Make a
donation
User task Forward path
Increase
donations
Objective

95. Regular
donors
+704%
One time
donations
+602%
Regular
donors sum
+847%

96. Regular
donors
x8
One time
donations
x7
Regular
donors sum
x9

97. 2011 2012 2013 2014
Annual income, regular
donors (web)
Launch
Improved forms

98. Example
Increasing membership

99. How do you increase
membership when the
idea of membership can
be frightening?

100. Rehabilitation
IT
Fundraising
Webmaster
Member services

104. Call us for
advice
Living with
loss of vision
User task Forward path
Increase
member-
ship
Objective

105. Inward paths Forward pathsCore content
Core page:
Business goals (achieve at least one) User tasks
Where
should we send
the user, after
they’ve solved
their primary
task?
Keep your
goals in mind
7minutes

106. Share with your
table
• Each pair tells the rest of the table what
they came up with
• Steal ideas!!!

107. Step #5
Prioritizing core elements
How would you place these elements if
you only had a mobile screen
available?

108. Prioritizing
core elements Inward paths
Core contents &
forward paths
Core page:
Business goals
(achieve at least one) User tasks

109. Share with your
table
• Each pair tells the rest of the table what
they came up with
• Steal ideas!!!

110. Example
From workshop to
website

111. How do you get from
core pages to design
and content creation?

114. Core page

115. Transport
page

116. Example
Gaining leads for
construction projects

117. Add to cart
1
Bridge (18.000 tonnes)
Portable
“buy a bridge”
forms!

118. Contact
project
manager
Key people
in projects
User task Forward path
Increase
project
leads
Objective

120. Web manager
East
Web manager
East
North
South
West

121. Each pair writes
their text in
Google Docs

123. Did you
notice we
never showed
you the home
pages?

124. Takeaways
• Objectives and user tasks first
• Start with the core
• Get rid of dead ends
• Be creative about your forward
paths
• Home page last, not first

125. Ida Aalen / @idaaa
ida@netliferesearch.com
Audun Rundberg / @audunru
audun@netliferesearch.com
Thank you!