AKO Homepage Gets New Look, Easy Features

FORT BELVOIR, Va. (Army News Service, Aug. 30, 2006) – Computer users landing on the Army Knowledge Online homepage are finding a new format.

AKO launched a new homepage Aug. 26 to help users easily navigate the site and find information quickly.

“We received a lot of feedback from our customer base stating that the old AKO homepage was overwhelming and had too much information,” said Col. Taylor Chasteen, project director, AKO. “We thought that better organization and a more elegant design would facilitate the user experience.”

Users now see a new design; easier navigation tools like scrolling tabs, drop-down menus and picture icons; important news items on the top of the page and a change in how information is organized. The left navigation bar on the former homepage was also removed to allow additional space for content from administrators.

The AKO homepage was last revised two years ago, but the AKO team says users can expect to see more frequent updates.

“We tried to focus on the concept of continuous improvement and increase usability,” said Diane Bartley, leader of the AKO team. “We wanted to make things cleaner and easier to find, and we tried to eliminate the number of clicks and scrolling the users would have to utilize.”

Users have responded positively to the new look, according to Bartley.

“We have a very vocal user community and we have received so many positive comments,” she said.

Users visiting AKO for the first time since the modification can click on the “AKO Homepage Upgrade Page” link for more information on all the changes. Users can also take an interactive tour of the new homepage and look at a cheat sheet which gives a before and after version of the homepage.

With the current upgrade complete, the team is now working to improve the search function, according to Lt. Col. Kenneth Fritzsche, chief of operations.

“We have only just begun. We are still going to continue to improve the homepage,” Nallo said. “The goal is to always strive to modify things and make them better.”