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Handelsblatt.com redesign: more ups than downs

Posted in: by: Mario Garcia

Nov 03, 2009
01:48 PM

What if you entered a tall building, walked to the elevator and noticed it had no doors and was just moving continuously and you had to just jump on, then jump off on your desired floor? Would you try it? Or would you opt for the stairs? This is exactly what I encountered on one of my visits to Handelsblatt in Dusseldorf, Germany.

Catch it if you can! from Mario Garcia on Vimeo.

I was completely in awe of this hundred year old elevator known as a paternoster. Maybe it was the daredevil in me, except there is no daredevil in me. More likely, I was impressed by the level of planning that went into this original system of transporting people up and down tall buildings. It’s incredible how the elevators have evolved from this, but it was great to see how this often overlooked efficiency started.

It seemed for every question I had (like how do you not lose a limb?) there was a logical explanation for it. In short, it was well thought out, properly engineered and extremely useful for its time. And so it makes sense that I was equally in awe from a similar process employed 100 years later on the redesign of Handelsblatt.com.

A redesign project in a large organization (or even a small one) is a huge undertaking with many parts to it. Having worked on over 200 projects over the last 15 years I’ve had my share of experiences and it’s safe to say the success of any project like this is directly related to certain key factors on the client-side. Here are the lessons to be learned from the successful redesign launch of Handelsblatt.com and why online editor Sven Scheffler and the digital team at Handelsblatt got it right.

Planning

The plan doesn’t have to be more complicated than “this is where we want to go” or “this is what we need to accomplish.” But the important thing is to be firm with this plan. Believe in your decision to undertake the project and the reasons for doing it, then police the plan to make sure you stay on course.

Project driven, not deadline driven

I’ve seen great ideas put aside, or worse, bad ideas implemented, all to make sure a deadline was met. This is NOT the way to undertake a redesign project. Your users will give you one chance. Better to impress them a little later than planned, than disappoint them on time. Give yourself the time necessary to think through the best solutions to your problems, not just the easy ones.

Decision-making

Poor decision-making can be caused by poor leadership or bad planning, but mostly it’s a result of too many people with an equal say being involved in the project. Every project needs to have a supreme decision-maker. Could be the person at the highest level, or even the project manager, but it should be ONE person who has the ability to gather important opinions and make the decision quickly and with authority.

Personalities

Having a team with diverse talents and NO EGOS may be the most critical factor in ensuring a smooth process in a redesign project. When there’s a mutual respect for the talent in the room and an understanding that it’s not about our own personal agendas, then the project becomes about the end-users and the end-result.

The Handelsblatt redesign team, Philip Busse, Frank Niebisch, Sven Scheffler, Robert Becker (from L. to R.), during one our coffee breaks. Not pictured: the Penolope Cruz look-a-like server.

Focus

A redesign project is a full-time endeavor. You can’t work on a redesign while doing your day-to-day job. Dedicate the time, effort, resources and talent to create a better end-result.  Easier said than done in these times with smaller staffs and budgets, but if you can’t dedicate a staff full time for it, then dedicate chunks of time in week increments and make sure the team is focused for those weeks on the redesign.

Leadership

Good leaders are able to manage expectations with economic realities and still get the best results. Good leaders are able to put together the right team and stay out the way of the people that do what they do best. Good leaders understand the audience evolves faster than ever, and do what it takes to stay ahead of them.

Conclusion

While users will point to the improved navigation, better labeling and more interactive features as the keys to the Handelsblatt redesign’s success it’s important to note that the team behind all of it is what really made it work...and maybe a really cool elevator.