Tackling fragmentation and streamlining DTP's Intranet

Tackling fragmentation and streamlining DTP's Intranet

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DTP, Victoria’s central transport agency, faced challenges with its fragmented intranet built from four legacy systems. Digital Garden was hired to redesign the structure, improving support and usability for all employees.

What we did:
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From assumptions to understanding

From assumptions to understanding

Digital Garden kicked off the project with a workshop to understand the background of the department and vision for the project. The workshop was also an opportunity for DG to meet the working group at the department and hear experiences from various stakeholders. Key learnings from the workshop included:

  • The intranet is built on four legacy systems, resulting in content and functionality gaps
  • The BMS was intended as a central repository but doesn’t meet long-term needs and sits outside the intranet
  • Site structure reflects changing teams rather than stable, core functions
  • Users have inconsistent understanding of departmental business functions
  • Planning and delivery content is lacking, leading to unofficial SharePoint sites
  • The project will deliver a standardised taxonomy and IA to guide future improvements

Digital Garden used this knowledge as a reference throughout the project and as a tool for planning the upcoming user interviews.

Voices across the department

Voices across the department

Digital Garden ran 19 user interviews—some as focus groups—alongside a short survey to understand how staff across DTP use the intranet. The goal was to capture behaviours, needs, and pain points across both corporate and operational roles.

Key insights included:

  • Operational teams (e.g. engineering, planning) are underrepresented on the intranet
  • Search is the most-used navigation method but often returns poor or outdated results
  • Menus are used more for browsing than targeted searching
  • Intranet proficiency varies widely; new staff find navigation overwhelming
  • Users struggle to understand how information is grouped
  • Metadata and content organisation need improvement to aid findability
  • Users want more tailored experiences, streamlined workflows, and better representation of their roles

These findings highlighted the need for a clearer taxonomy and IA to better support how DTP staff work and access information.

Defining a functional taxonomy

Defining a functional taxonomy

Using the data from card sorting and analysis of terms documentation provided by DTP, Digital Garden conceptualised a new functional taxonomy to improve the structure and organisation content on the intranet. This taxonomy would form a part of the metadata overlay for backend document libraries in the intranet. 

An initial functional taxonomy list was provided to DTP which underwent working group review and several revisions. The taxonomy was later updated to reflect language changes in the information architecture, based on tree testing. 

The final list of core functions comes to 31 terms and is structured around the following concepts:

  • Alignment to core functions of the department and not divisions or branches to ensure longevity and adaptability
  • A key focus on the currently lacking representation of operational functions, embodying the concept of “people who do”
  • Alignment to core life cycle models across the department (such as AMAF, ViTAL), reflecting how DTP manages and delivers transport and planning services 
  • A consistent and uniform set of terms that consolidates the varied nomenclature used across the department
Developing an information architecture

Developing an information architecture

A new information architecture was created to closely reflect the functional taxonomy. The information architecture structures and organises the intranet so that sites and content are easy to find and have good discoverability. 

Key concepts for the final information architecture include:

  • A logical grouping of functional taxonomies into five distinct areas plus a news and events section
  • Section labeled “Our Organisation” to house broader overview type information about the department and how it operates
  • Core operational areas “Planning and Design” and “Delivery and Operations” that reflect alignment to lifecycle models within DTP
  • Business Services area to house supporting functions of the department
  • People and Culture area reflecting corporate functions of the department
  • News and Events area to create a logical hub for this type of content 
Validation through tree testing

Validation through tree testing

Digital Garden conducted two rounds of tree testing to validate the information architecture (IA), using realistic tasks to assess how users navigate and interpret labels.

Findings from round 1 included:

  • Corporate sections (e.g. People and Culture, Business Services) performed well
  • Operational areas were less successful due to unclear labels and inconsistent navigation paths

The IA was revised to simplify structure and improve clarity.

Findings from round 2 included:

  • The new Our Organisation section was well understood
  • Updated labels for Planning and Design and Delivery and Operations improved usability
    "Transport" language resonated better than "Network"
  • Users correctly located content like Risk Management, even with deeper exploration
  • Planning tasks had mixed interpretations, but users still reached the right section

Combined results showed the revised IA aligns well with user expectations and mental models.

Mapping the IA

Mapping the IA

An information architecture mapping document was provided that demonstrates the changes being suggested to the existing sites on the intranet. The document also shows which new sites are to be built as part of the functional taxonomy. The document shows the following:

  • Which of the 45 sites are to remain the same
  • Which of the 45 sites are to be repurposed as another function (or renamed)
  • Which of the 45 sites are to absorbed by another function 
  • Which new sites are to be created
  • What the existing location of each site is in the IA and where the new location will be

This IA map was used in the handover to DTP’s SharePoint developers and serves as a reference for the outcomes of the project.
 

Result

A streamlined and standardised taxonomy for the department that aligns to their core functions and allows flexibility and adaptability in the future. The internet will be refreshed to accommodate the new underlying taxonomy and implement the refreshed information architecture.

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