The Content Distribution Platform (CDP) is a centralised system which allows for articles to be created following the Jacobs branding guidelines and distributed through various internal and external channels.

An interactive high fidelity prototype of Content Distribution Platform for desktop created in Adobe XD

Client
Jacobs Enforcement - Birkenhead, Merseyside
Jacobs Enforcement is one of the leading enforcement agencies in the UK.
Roles
Jason Cham - UX Research & Design and UI Design
Results
• Vast reduction in the time it takes for news to reach both internal staff and external prospects and clients;
• Improved engagement from the staff from regular updates and information published by Jacobs; and
• Freed up time for the media development team to work on other projects without having to create newsletters or update news articles online.
Project Background
At the time at Jacobs, there were only 2 designers, myself and Chris. We did everything media related in the company which included web/app design, designing and organising conference and events, video production, marketing and graphic design. Within graphic design we were essentially the quality gate for anything that needed branding which included news and articles which were released to both staff as well as prospects and clients.
Different departments within Jacobs would send us news, updates and articles in order to align them with brand guidelines and publish through the relevant channels, whether it was internal newsletters, the website news feed or client newsletters.
The problem was that we were overwhelmed with the workload we had on at the time, which meant that the company updates, news and articles along with other tasks and projects were getting delayed.
Project Goal
The goal was to remove the bottleneck caused by having to pass all content and material through the media department before they can be published.
The brief was to create a system which would allow any employee to create and post articles to the relevant channels without the need for intervention by the media department. The published articles still had to be consistent in the way they looked by following Jacobs brand guidelines.
The project was to be completed within 3 months.
Execution
The project was kicked off by the head of technology, where the requirements were defined and explained. I was the sole designer to work on this project alongside a sole developer.
Research
As Chris and I were the only designers at the time, we already had a good idea of the workflow involved in the creation of articles from the content that we were given. We also created the brand guidelines for Jacobs so we knew how the articles should appear once published.
However, in order to gain more information about what type of content might be published in the future and what other features may be required, I interviewed a number of staff members who currently create the content. The interviews identified that different departments had slightly different requirements so the design of the app had to accommodate them all.
Design
From the research and previous knowledge, I mapped out various user flows for creating, amending and managing articles. I then designed wireframes of the interface in Adobe XD and created working prototypes.
The prototypes were tested with the content creators who were given a few main tasks to carry out:
• Create and publish a new article;
• Save a draft article; and
• Amend a publish a draft article.
From the qualitative and quantitative data analysed from the testing sessions, the prototype was improved. This cycle was then repeated for few iterations until the process was error free. 
Development
Once the prototype had been approved, I then worked closely with the developer to develop the product. 
During this phase I had some resistance from the developer, on occasions I would be advocating for a better user experience and in contrast the developer would be looking for ways to make coding easier at the expense of good design. I found the most diplomatic way to deal with the friction was to carry out quick usability tests where he would also observe and I would let the results determine the outcome. On most occasions the testing was there just to verify my designs.
I would also carry out multiple Quality Assurance (QA) checks on the product to ensure it matched the design as closely as possible.
Release
The app was released in early 2018 and is still currently being used by staff from all departments within Jacobs.
Evaluation
Overall the project followed the waterfall development process which worked quite well as it was a small project with minimal requirements. 
The conflict I had with the developer made me realise the importance of involving them at a much earlier stage in the project. This would also reduce the feeling of the design just being essentially thrown over the fence to developers. 
For future projects at Jacobs I made sure to include all the relevant design and development team as early as possible in the design process. This would get them invested early into the users and the project whist also giving them a voice to add input towards the design. Everyone is a designer.
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