American Sociological Association (ASA)
Project Summary: Led a comprehensive redesign of the ASA website, culminating in the successful launch of a mobile-responsive, sociology-focused platform in June 2016.
Core Skills: Project scoping and requirements definition, RFP development, vendor selection and management, digital project leadership, web content strategy, information architecture, taxonomy creation, Drupal CMS migration, content auditing, user research, and content curation.
Role Overview
As the Product Manager, I led the end-to-end redesign of the American Sociological Association’s (ASA) website, addressing long-standing challenges in accessibility, usability, and content discoverability. From planning through launch, I guided the adoption of a new content architecture and Drupal CMS to enhance navigation, improve user experiences, and ensure mobile responsiveness.
Key Project Contributions
Project Strategy and Vendor Management
Defining Scope and Requirements: Conducted a comprehensive review of ASA’s digital challenges and defined a clear, actionable product roadmap that aligned organizational goals with user needs.
RFP Development and Vendor Selection: Crafted a detailed RFP, led a competitive vendor selection process, and partnered with a digital agency that met budget and technical specifications.
Stakeholder and Vendor Coordination: Acted as the primary liaison between ASA leadership, a task force of sociologists, and the digital agency, ensuring alignment throughout all project phases.
Content Strategy and Taxonomy Development
Content Audit and Inventory: Audited ASA’s digital assets to identify high-value content and reorganize it for improved accessibility.
Taxonomy Development: Designed a dynamic taxonomy in collaboration with ASA members, optimizing content discoverability and creating intuitive navigation across sociology-related topics.
User Research and Testing: Conducted interviews, surveys, and card sorting exercises to understand user needs, leveraging insights to design a user-focused information architecture.
Content Curation and Editorial Strategy
Homepage Strategy: Implemented an editorial calendar to feature timely and relevant sociology content, including journal articles, member insights, and news.
Design Collaboration: Partnered with the digital agency to refine wireframes, information architecture, and visual design, delivering a cohesive and engaging user interface.
Impact
The ASA website redesign launched successfully, delivering measurable improvements in user engagement and organizational alignment. Key outcomes included:
Enhanced User Experience: The new taxonomy-driven structure and mobile-friendly design streamlined navigation, enabling users to quickly find and explore ASA’s rich resources.
Increased Content Visibility: The updated homepage regularly highlights key sociology publications, news, and member-generated content, establishing the site as a vital resource for the field.
Sustainable Content Management: Collaboration with the digital agency established efficient workflows for content updates, ensuring the site remains relevant and aligned with ASA’s mission.
This project not only modernized ASA’s digital presence but also positioned the website as a central hub for the sociology community.
