We have just launched a platform designed to encourage and organize social dialogue between social partners at the departmental level. Led by Anact, the project has taken shape as a Drupal platform aimed at pooling resources and tools for those involved in social dialogue. On the agenda: UX and UI design, development, integration of the DSFR, maintenance, hosting, and a few adventures to share with you!
The National Agency for the Improvement of Working Conditions (ANACT) is a public institution dedicated to improving working conditions. It provides methods and support tools for social dialogue actors and management teams. The Anact oversees a network of 16 regional agencies (ARACT) as well as departmental structures (ODDS).
The ODDS, observatories for analysis and support for social dialogue and negotiation, are tasked with encouraging the development of social dialogue and collective bargaining within companies with fewer than 50 employees in the department.
A Drupal document platform to connect departmental initiatives
While the presence of ODDS in the département makes it possible to cover the territory more effectively and reach a larger audience, their compartmentalization was an obstacle. In particular, it prevented capitalizing on the work carried out by various parties. Naturally, the following question arose: how can we pool the tools, content, and initiatives produced by the ODDS to benefit from wider dissemination?
To address this issue, ANACT, the ARACT, and the ODDS together launched a call for tenders to create a resource-sharing tool. A web platform common to all ODDS and intended for their audience: https://espace-odds.fr/
Our mission: provide UX and UI design, development, maintenance, and hosting for the project.
A large-scale project with its share of challenges
It was in June 2022 that we took on the project. Very quickly, we identified the challenges we were about to face:
- Creating a web platform from scratch — not a first for us, but one that greatly mobilized the design team.
- Working with a project team that was largely inexperienced in managing a web project of this scale.
- Managing a project involving a large number of stakeholders, including a steering committee made up of representatives from social partners.
- Complying with the ergonomics and accessibility standards defined by the French State's Design System (DSFR).
Start from scratch
This Drupal site project was completely new for the ODDS. It was not a question of redesigning an existing site, but of imagining everything from scratch to create a platform that meets the needs of its users.
After consideration and several UX workshops, we decided, together with the main users, on a simple navigation system made up of 4 tabs:
- Who we are
- News
- Resources (all the social dialogue tools produced by the ODDS)
- Territory (to find information and tools by geographical area or structure)
Support
Each project brings its own particularities. Here, we had to adapt to the project team’s composition, which was not very familiar with web project management methodologies. Our contacts, partly made up of representatives from social partners, required us to simplify our methods, with patience and active listening.
For example, we created a comprehensive guide for using the back office so our client would have a turnkey project with which they could be fully independent.
How can you ensure the success of a project with so many stakeholders involved? Rely on the agility of a seasoned project manager!
To manage this project, our client put together a mixed team composed of representatives from different entities: from ANACT at the national level, ARACT at the regional level, and ODDS at the departmental level.
Given the involvement of numerous stakeholders with differing viewpoints, as we know, the main challenge is often to get decisions made at each stage so that the project can be completed on time.
Our strategy: a two-step approach.
- Progress through the work stages with a small committee of 8 people.
- Present the work completed during full committee meetings with all stakeholders—an opportunity to gather constructive feedback and additional ideas.
And there certainly were ideas! As good as they were, our project manager had to skillfully juggle taking these ideas into account and closing debates as necessary. As the schedule arbiter and guarantor of the proper execution of the work stages, he had to mediate negotiations and win everyone over by presenting the results from engaged user feedback.
To do this, he made sure to share clear instructions with everyone ahead of time regarding the project’s technical, time, and budget constraints. This effective communication between stakeholders was also made possible thanks to the quick responsiveness of all participants.
Reconciling client wishes and DSFR during UX and UI design
In terms of UX and UI design, we conducted several workshops in order to:
- Define personas (to better understand the target audiences and their needs);
- Define page templates;
- Create wireframes and user journeys;
- Design website mockups on Figma;
- Carry out user testing to validate our mockups based on actual usage and needs.
DSFR, Drupal and accessibility
As a public entity, the ODDS information system was required to comply with the French State Design System (DSFR).
The DSFR is a library of ready-to-use graphic components, available to designers and developers, enabling the creation of a common interface for all sites associated with the State.
It therefore imposes specific graphic, ergonomic, and accessibility standards which we have followed. In this regard, we paid great attention to the site's accessibility. Our accessibility audit awarded us a score of 96 out of 100 for compliance with the RGAA (General Accessibility Improvement Framework).
DSFR Drupal Starter Theme
Drawing on our past experience with DSFR and Drupal, we decided to pool our work by using our own DSFR Drupal starter theme, while also meeting the project team’s graphical aspirations for UI design.
For example, the project team had clearly expressed a desire for a rather colorful site with illustrations. However, DSFR’s main colors are limited to blue, white, red, and their respective nuances. With this in mind, we chose the most colorful DSFR shade and created illustrations in the DSFR style, giving the site a unique, strong identity closely aligned with the State’s design system.
We would like to thank all the teams at ANACT, ARACT, and ODDS for their hard work and cooperation.
For more information, you can consult our case study on the subject.
Website URL: https://espace-odds.fr/
Production launch date: October 2023
The feedback from Anact
"A project that meets the initial objectives. This site serves both as an engagement tool and as a resource hub. The complexity of having many contributors and accommodating evolving needs throughout the project were challenges tackled in the various design and development phases. The support tools put in place were also very helpful. Thank you to the whole team for their availability and efficiency."
