6/2005

This is a project I worked on for my employer - ORC Macro.

Client
Center for Substance Abuse Prevention- Centers for the Application of Prevention Technologies (CAPT)

Challenge
ORC Macro was tasked with combining five large separate Web sites into one cohesive Web presence. Combining these autonomous regional CAPT sites presented a significant and unique challenge for us. The regional sites needed to maintain their own distinct "piece of the Web", but the combined sites needed to present a unified brand and user experience. Additionally, each CAPT would have their own set off staff tasked with remotely populating and maintaining site content. Most of these staff members had little to no experience developing content for the Web.

Solution
To begin, we performed an in-depth analysis of the existing content, functionality, and structure of the individual sites. We then worked with the staff of the various CAPTs to gain additional insight into their requirements. A new information architecture framework was designed to accommodate the needs of the previous sites, while at the same time presenting a usable, attractive, and consistent user experience. Unique designs and color schemes were then created for each CAPT region.

We created a database interface that allows CAPT staff to control the navigation menu on their portion of the site. The site was developed in ColdFusion using a series of includes and Dreamweaver templates. Together these elements allow content developers to automatically replicate changes across the entire site.

A CAPT Staff section was developed to be used by all CAPT employees. This area functions as a private Extranet and offers them functionality such as Calendar, File Storage, Chat, and other project management features.

The new public site consists of a combination of uniquely designed subsections, previously the separate regional sites, while preserving a uniform structure and hierarchy. The resulting site allows CAPTs to market their own sections of the Web site, and allows users to easily navigate between other regions.

http://captus.samhsa.gov