Founded in 1846, the Smithsonian is the world’s largest museum and research complex, consisting of 19 museums and galleries, the National Zoological Park and nine research facilities. While each unit has its own independent website, the Smithsonian maintains a primary site that acts as a “front door” or portal to all others. This site has millions of users across the world, but had not been updated since 2001.
A full rebuilding of Smithsonian’s technology infrastructure will take years. In late 2009, the Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) invited Interactive Knowledge to do a “refresh” of the primary Smithsonian site to update the design, organization, management and searchability of the site — within the parameters of existing technology and manpower.
IK made several trips to Washington, D.C., where we met with the representatives of Smithsonian units, the magazine, technology groups and other stake holders to understand their priorities and needs. Other research — including user surveys and site analytics — helped IK develop a content and technology strategy that would address a broad variety of goals.
