Where is the (Web Site) Kitchen?

Imagine, you are working for an architecture agency. A client comes and says I need a new restaurant. The interview process is starting. Understanding the branding, the needs of the clients, the type of food, the capacity, etc. A few kpis (Key performance indicators) are defined. And then the conceptual work will start, hopefully the content (the menu) is available.

The project is quite advanced, the blueprints have been created and we are almost ready to start working on building it. Then suddenly someone is raising his/her hand shyly and says:

“errr… sorry I may disrupt something… but where is the kitchen?”

The kitchen… The kitchen? The kitchen!!! Then everyone suddenly realize that the restaurant owner needs to cook to be able to deliver food on the tables of his/her customers and that this kitchen is very different depending on the type of food you are cooking. The restaurant owner also has specific habits, desires, tastes when managing his/her restaurants.

This story is happening too often in the Web industry business.

We spend a lot of time on the public UI of the Web site. We define the interactions (UX) in a way to maximize conversion ratio. We want the best possible user experience. And then we create a design. Later on, we realize that the design constraints are incompatible with the Content Management System which has been chosen.

The issue is that the CMS is often chosen too late by developers without keeping in mind very specific needs of the Web site owners. At best, the business rules will be customized for content catering, but not to the point where the UX of Web site kitchen (administration UI) will be part of the real work. All Drupal Web sites, WordPress, etc. will look the same on the kitchen side because we have forgotten about it.

Fuzzy?

Imagine you created a beautiful design where the first letter of the Web page is an initial and the requirement is that the owner of the Web site must be able to manage the content of the Web site.

• How do you handle the possibility of free text and the requirement of a specific html/css markup to create the initial?
• What is happening when the content editor is putting a space before the first letter in the form?
• Is the CMS hackable to do it?
• Will I have to modify the core of the CMS?
• How much will it cost to hack the CMS?

We often try to have a very pleasant Web site for the public. That’s fine. But we should not forget the kitchen of the Web site. It’s where the Web site owner will spend most of his/her time. If the UX is complex, doesn’t answer the basic needs of people in charge of making the site alive, the site will fail, create frustration from the Web site owners, and destroy the business relationship.

UX, design and development teams need to work together for the kitchen sink too.

This can sometimes goes as far as designing the UX of URIs. An example?

Take the CAPTCHA W3C specification, a simple and very dry document for most users who might read it. The URI is

http://www.w3.org/TR/turingtest/

Now add a ,tools at the end of the uri

http://www.w3.org/TR/turingtest/,tools

You access a list of tools to manage this content or do something with it. For example you can create a text version of the page.

http://www.w3.org/TR/turingtest/,text

or access the list of translations of this document

http://www.w3.org/TR/turingtest/,translations

It is very geeky in this context but it gives you an idea of where the UX can impact the design of your Web architecture.

Have you really thought about the kitchen sink? What are your techniques for designing the invisible? What are your tips for not missing the UX of Web site owners?