DRT Strategies Leads SBA.gov Redesign and Creates SBA Direct

DRT Strategies Leads SBA.gov Redesign and Creates SBA Direct – The New App Delivering Personalized and Targeted Resources

IT management consulting firm brings SBA’s vision for a transformational web destination to life in less than nine months, providing small business owners with easy access to new tools and resources they need to succeed and create jobs.

Arlington, VA, December 24, 2010 – DRT Strategies, Inc. today announced that it has launched the first phase in a significant web redesign project to overhaul the U. S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) website, SBA.gov, meeting the agency’s mission to provide timely, accurate and relevant information to the nation’s more than 29 million small businesses. The new site also features the launch of SBA Direct, the dynamic and interactive new web application that serves up personalized information based on specific characteristics unique to each user.

The centerpiece application of the web redesign project is SBA Direct, which provides a personalized, interactive, and transactional experience for each user. SBA Direct allows visitors to personalize their experience according to their business type, geography and needs. SBA Direct then delivers, much like a “concierge service,” relevant and targeted information on all aspects of running a business such as the steps involved in getting started, business growth strategies, financial assistance, training, government contracting, and how to stay compliant with current laws and regulations.

SBA Direct’s unique search interface is in a beta-development stage and further enhancements are expected. No other government site has provided a service such as this, built on a completely new software platform, with the ultimate objective of helping small businesses start, grow, and prosper.

“This transformational project for SBA is another example of the breadth of experience and expertise at DRT Strategies,” said DRT Strategies President Susan Kidd. “Our IT, design, development, and project-management teams tackled SBA.gov as we do with all projects, by organizing each aspect into a set of deliverables for client review and approval at each step of the process. In the end, we delivered a world-class web solution within a very aggressive timetable, proving once again that DRT is a leader in creative IT solutions and project management, bringing in expert partner vendors to deliver a comprehensive solution.”

DRT’s project milestones included:

• Creating Content Strategy, Delivering the RIGHT Content: Reviewing and indexing 40,000 pages of existing content representing thousands of disparate URLs from the legacy website. DRT simplified this content to approximately 8,000 pages that were migrated to the new website, along with new content as needed. The restructuring and reorganization of the site delivered on the single objective to create simple and immediate paths to critical information.
• Listening to Stakeholder Needs: Conducting focus groups and surveys to identify the target audiences and messaging that would resonate with them. This involved meeting with more than 50 small business owners and 20 SBA offices to gather requirements.
• Defining and Enhancing the User Experience: Addressing issues of usability by developing an Information Architecture that provided the framework for the new website.
• Developing the Technical Vision, Selecting Drupal: DRT recommended the site implementation using Drupal, to take advantage of its open-source capabilities. This decision enabled the SBA to achieve the federal government’s goal of transparency while reducing costs to taxpayers.

DRT Strategies selected and leads a team of first class partners. DRT’s design lead for the new SBA.gov was The Push Group (www.pushgroup.com) with Limina Application Office (www.limina-ao.com) providing support. Liminia Application Office provided the design and usability engineering for SBA Direct. Promet Source (www.prometsource.com) provided guidance on key areas of the Drupal architecture and demonstrated a flexibility to adapt architecture solutions in support of the overall project. Most directly, Promet Source led the development of SBA’s innovative and centerpiece application, SBA Direct.

About DRT Strategies

DRT Strategies, Inc. (DRT) is a management consulting firm and leading provider of information technology, program management, and financial management services. DRT specializes in the implementation of innovative web solutions including Drupal, enterprise system requirements, design, and quality assurance, project and program management, strategy planning and development, and business process engineering. DRT also provides value-added consulting services supporting acquisition, budgeting, financial planning, financial management, grants management, and financial/grants analysis.

DRT serves large federal civilian government agencies, the U. S. Navy, and enterprise clients in the financial services sector. The company is a certified woman-owned, 8(a) small business (WOSB) headquartered in Arlington, Virginia with offices in San Diego, California and Atlanta, Georgia. More information on the company can be found at www.drtstrategies.com.