Comparative Site Survey

The Mission of the Marine Metadata Interoperability Web site (MMI) is to promote the exchange, integration and use of marine data through enhanced data publishing, discovery, documentation and accessibility. The goals of MMI are to provide information and guidance on trends, tools, and standards in oceanographic data and metadata; build community among people interested in collection, archiving and dissemination of marine science data and metadata; provide value-added reviews and documentation of tools, standards, and projects related to management and use of marine science data and metadata; and provide tools to solve specific problems in marine metadata interoperability.

To reach the mission and goals of MMI, and to facilitate the redesign efforts, four web sites with comparable mission and content to the MMI site were evaluated in detail. Several other sites were also examined, but not reported on here. The scope of the comparable sites ranged from describing and promoting metadata practices (FGDC) to providing a directory of data sets for exchange (GCMD). Several themes relating to strengths and weaknesses of the comparable sites were found relevant to development of the MMI site. A list of the principal themes and how they relate to MMI site development are given below.

1. Identity is important. Sites with a distinct purpose or “niche” and a concise mission statement, supplemented by appealing graphical and design elements, provided a sense of identity. MMI should reaffirm its purpose, review its mission statement to ensure that it encapsulates this purpose, and re-enforce its identity or “branding” with graphical elements.

2. Organization is essential. Once users understand the site’s mission and identity, they will encounter the high-level organization of the site, as reflected in the navigation scheme. Sites with well thought out organization, and navigation tabs using specific but non-technical terms, were the simplest to understand and navigate. The organization of the MMI site should be revised based on a clear understanding of the site’s purpose, along with results of statistics and user testing, to determine how the present site is being used.

4. Content is critical. Ultimately, the usefulness of a site comes down to the content. “Evenness” of content at comparable navigation levels helps the user to anticipate what they will find and where to look for it. Producing and organizing “even” content is likely to be a challenge for a user-contributed site such as MMI. An editorial strategy should be considered to help keep the site well organized.

5. Participation builds community. Several sites provide examples of techniques to keep a site vibrant (e.g. “News,” “Upcoming Events,” “Users Choice”) and encourage participation (Message Board, User Forum, “Guides” to adding content). These techniques arguably work best when they are part of a well laid out home page. MMI should adapt some of these ideas to serve its mission and incorporate them on the MMI site.

6. Details matter. Attention to seemingly minor issues such as font size, broken links, web design conventions (e.g. “Home,” “About Us”) and self-consistency among navigation tabs can minimize annoyances that detract from the appeal of a site. MMI is in an excellent position to address many of these details in the re-design process.