Team

Honda World
Adam Southard
Will Wright
Garrett Corral
GIT 340: Spring 2016 Session B

Assignment 4 - Information Architecture

Write-Up: Honda World Website

Website: http://world.honda.com/

Our team made the decision to utilize the hybrid card sorting method to obtain our user
research. We asked each user to sort cards that represent the sub-categories/labels of the Honda World
website into the main categories/labels that the website already contained and the order of
importance/most interesting they found them to be. These categories/labels are: World News, Products
& Technology, Motor Sports, Sustainability, Investor Relations, and About Honda. We would only help
the user if they asked what an abbreviation meant. For example, if they asked what ARRC meant, we
told them it stood for Asia Road Racing Championship. After the user sorted the sub-categories/labels
into the main categories/labels, we asked them if they would change any of the category/label names or
if they would group some of the sub-category/label options into a larger category/label. Through this
research we were able to come to the following conclusions about the information architecture for the
Honda World website.

When it comes to the main categories/labels for the current Honda World website, all of our
users believed that the original categories/labels gave insight into the kind of information they could
find within them. However, one of our users did state that they felt the Motor Sports category was a
little confusing and that it should be incorporated into the Products & Technology category. After we
discussed this potential change, we came to the conclusion that it would put too many options and
choices into the Products & Technology category/label. Because of this, we stuck with the original
categories/labels of: World News, Products & Technology, Motor Sports, Sustainability, Investor
Relations, and About Honda. The main changes into the category/label layout came with the sub-
categories/labels.

While analyzing and discussing the current sub-categories/labels that the World Honda website
has with our users, we found that they felt it was a bit cluttered and overwhelming. Because of this, our
users made some changes to how they would view/want to view the layout of the sub-categories/labels.
We took their input and discussed and analyzed it and came up with the following results for the sub-
categories/labels.

When looking at the main category/label of World News, the original layout on the Honda
World website had: World News Top, News Releases, Events, E-mail, and World Clock. A common piece
of input that we found from 2 of our 3 users and that we all agreed with, is that all of the sub-
categories/labels that contained the main category name and the word Top at the end were

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 Team Honda World
Adam Southard
Will Wright
Garrett Corral
GIT 340: Spring 2016 Session B

unnecessary. Thus, World News Top would be removed as a sub-category/label. When discussing the
News Releases sub-category/label with our users, we found that they understood what it meant, but
they felt like it could be named differently. Because of this, we decided to call the category just News.
Although no user mentioned it, we discussed having options under News for users to find out the news
for the specific main categories/labels for the Honda World website. We felt that further organizing the
type of news you could find under the News sub-category/label would be helpful for the user. Also,
when all three of our users were doing the card sorting, they were rather confused as to where they
should put the E-mail sub-category/label. They ended up putting it into the About Honda section which
is not where the sub-category/label was originally contained on the Honda World website. We too were
confused as to where this sub-category/label should be placed, so we just decided to remove it all
together. When it comes to the Event sub-category/label, one of our users brought up an interesting
point on it. They felt that just having Events as the sub-category/label seemed a bit broad and confusing
as to what exactly is in there. They suggested that the sub-category/label should be changed to Events &
Shows. After we all discussed this piece of input from the user, we felt that Events & Shows more
accurately describes the information found within this sub-category/label. Since 2 of our 3 users
believed that having World Clock as a sub-category/label under World News, we decided to keep this
the same. The resulting sub-categories/labels we came up with for the World News main category are:

1. World News
a. News
i. World News
ii. Product & Technology News
iii. Motor Sports News
iv. Sustainability News
v. Environment News
vi. Investor Relations News
b. Events & Shows
c. World Clock

Moving on to the Products & Technology main category/label, we found that 2 of our 3 users
wanted to change and re-organize the sub-categories/labels found within it. The original sub-
category/label layout that the Honda World website contained is: Products & Technology Top,
Automobiles, Motorcycles, Power Products, Technology, Honda Robotics, HondaJet, and Design.
Products & Technology Top would be removed from this list as 2 of our 3 users felt having the
category/label name and the word Top at the end as a sub-category/label was unnecessary. 2 of our 3
users felt that some of the products could be grouped together into one category/label. They came up
with Vehicles as the sub-category/label. In it, it would contain the Automobiles, Motorcycles, and
HondaJet sub-categories. However, one of our users brought up the idea that you could further organize

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 Team Honda World
Adam Southard
Will Wright
Garrett Corral
GIT 340: Spring 2016 Session B

this into a Land sub-category/label and an Air sub-category/label. We discussed the possibility of
utilizing these changes and came to the conclusion that it felt more organized this way. All of our users
liked having the sub-category/label of Technology, but 2 of our 3 users felt it could be more organized.
They believed that since Honda Robotics is essentially discussing technology, that this should be put into
the Technology sub-category/label. When it came to the Power Products sub-category/label, we saw a
few different issues and solutions for it. One of our users felt that the Power Products sub-
category/label should be kept the way it is, one thought it should be kept as its own sub-category/label,
but that they didn't really understand what it entailed, and one of users felt these remaining products
should be placed under the Technology sub-category/label. After our team discussed the different
opinions and solutions offered by our users, we couldn't come up with a better category/label for it and
felt that it didn't really belong in the Technology sub-category/label. Because of this, we decided to keep
it the same. All of our users felt that the Design sub-category/label worked and that they understood
what they might find within it. The resulting sub-categories/labels we came up with for the Products &
Technology main category are:

1. Products & Technology

a. Vehicles
i. Land
1. Automobiles
2. Motorcycles
ii. Air
1. HondaJet
b. Technology
i. Honda Robotics
c. Power Products
d. Design

With the third main category/label, Motor Sports, we found some common beliefs and ideas
supplied to us by the users we researched. The original sub-categories/labels for Motor Sports are:
Motor Sports Top, Formula 1, IndyCar, WTCC, MotoGP, Suzuka 8 Hours, SBK, ARRC, MotoCross, Trials,
SuperCross, Rally, and HRC. Motor Sports Top would be removed from this list as 2 of our 3 users felt
having the category/label name and the word Top at the end as a sub-category/label was unnecessary. 2
of our 3 users also had no idea what HRC (Honda Racing Corporation) stood for or meant. When we
explained what it represented to them, they felt that abbreviating it made no sense. They believed that
it should be a sub-category/label that is Honda Racing Corp. We agreed with this change because if our
test users have no idea what HRC means, then we can probably assume that there are more users out
there who feel the same way. When sorting all of the racing competition names into the category, we
found that all of our users had no idea what most of the abbreviations meant. We also found that they

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 Team Honda World
Adam Southard
Will Wright
Garrett Corral
GIT 340: Spring 2016 Session B

felt like it was too cluttered placing so many different sub-categories/labels under the main
category/label. The solution that 2 of our 3 users offered to us were to make two sub-categories/labels
that can contain the different kinds of racing competitions within them. 2 of our 3 users came up with
having Car Sports and Motorcycle Sports as the sub-categories/labels under the main category of Motor
Sports. Within each of these sub-categories/labels, 2 of our 3 users suggested that we place the racing
competitions in them. The resulting sub-categories/labels we came up with for the Motor Sports main
category are:

1. Motor Sports
a. Honda Racing Corp
b. Car Sports
i. Formula 1
ii. IndyCar
iii. WTCC
c. Motorcycle Sports
i. MotoCross
ii. SuperCross
iii. MotoGP
iv. Suzuka 8 Hours
v. SBK
vi. ARRC
vii. Rally
viii. Trials

The fourth main category/label, Sustainability, came back to the common theme we found from
our user research, which is to organize and condense the sub-category/label options. The original sub-
categories/labels on the Honda World website under Sustainability are: Sustainability Top, Report PDF
Download, Environment Top, Report Archives, Environment FACE, Safety, and Safety HEARTS. Once
again, 2 of our 3 users didn't understand the purpose of having a category/label name with the word
Top at the end of it, so we decided that it was best to remove Sustainability Top and Environment Top.
When it comes to the Environment sub-categories/labels, 2 of our users felt that you could just change
Environment Top into Environment. However, one user felt that this could just incorporate Environment
FACE as well, while the other felt that Environment FACE should be a sub-category/label under
Environment. After our team discussed these user opinions, we decided that it would be best to have
Environment as a sub-category/label with Environment FACE as a sub-category/label in it. A similar
result came from our user research with the Safety and Safety HEARTS sub-categories/labels. All of our
users liked having Safety as a sub-category/label, but they felt that Safety HEARTS shouldn't be in its
own sub-category/label and that it should be under Safety. When it comes to the Report PDF Download

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 Team Honda World
Adam Southard
Will Wright
Garrett Corral
GIT 340: Spring 2016 Session B

and Report Archives sub-categories/labels, one of our users brought up a viable solution that we all
agreed would work best. They felt that these two sub-categories/labels should be incorporated into one
sub-category/label called Downloadable Reports & Archive. In this sub-category/label, we decided
where the sub-categories/labels of Report PDF's and Report Archives would be contained. The resulting
sub-categories/labels we came up with for the Sustainability main category are:

1. Sustainability
a. Environment
i. Environment FACE
b. Safety
i. Safety HEARTS
c. Downloadable Reports & Archives
i. Report PDF's
ii. Report Archives

When it came to the fifth main category/label, Investor Relations, all of our users felt that the
category/label was fine. The only sub-category/label that was contained in this section on the Honda
World website was Investor Relations Top. However, 2 of our 3 users did agree that this should be
removed as a sub-category/label because they felt it was unnecessary. The resulting sub-
categories/labels we came up with for the Investor Relations main category are:

1. Investor Relations

Our final main category/label, About Honda, originally contained the sub-categories/labels of:
About Honda Top, Corporate Profile, Heritage, and Global Ad. We decided that we should remove the
About Honda Top sub-category/label because our users felt that it was unnecessary. All of our users
seemed to agree that the sub-category/label of Corporate Profile worked and they understood the kind
of information they could find in it. However, when it came to the Heritage sub-category/label, 2 of our
3 users felt that it could have a better name that most people would understand. One of our users came
up with the idea of naming it Our Story and another came up with History. Our team discussed these
options and felt that the Our Story sub-category/label would be more effective for the information it is
trying to display. When it came to Global Ad, 2 of our 3 users felt that they didn't fully understand what
information they could find in this category and offered a few solutions. One of the users felt that just
calling it Global would work, while the other felt that it should be Global Advertising or Global Vision.
After our team discussed the pros and cons of these suggestions made by two of the users we tested,
we decided that Global Advertising would best represent the information found within it. The resulting
sub-categories/labels we came up with for the About Honda main category are:

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 Team Honda World
Adam Southard
Will Wright
Garrett Corral
GIT 340: Spring 2016 Session B

1. About Honda
a. Our Story
b. Corporate Profile
c. Global Advertising

After reviewing, analyzing, and creating solutions for the categories/labels based off our user
research, our team came to the conclusion that a strict hierarchy pattern is the best option/approach for
the information architecture on the Honda World website. If you look at the way our users organized
the categories/labels and the finalized version we created based off of this, it seems that having a
hierarchical pattern makes sense. We have main categories/labels that contain sub-categories/labels
under them. There are also more sub-categories/labels under the other sub-categories/labels. A
hierarchy pattern consists of a homepage linking to subpages and those subpages linking to further
subpages. By applying the categories/labels we came up with based on our card sorting user research,
we can apply these categories/labels as the subpages. The reason we chose that a strict hierarchy
pattern would be best instead of a co-existing hierarchy pattern, is because after grouping certain sub-
categories/labels into more general categories/labels that it would make there be less, if not zero,
overlapping between the information on the pages (unless its overlapping within the specific category
they're contained in).

After figuring out the categories/labels that we're going to use and that our information
architecture will portrayed in a strict hierarchy pattern, we came up with the navigation labels that we
will use for the Honda World website. Since we had a lot of sub-categories/labels within other sub-
categories/labels, we decided that we would have to limit what a user can access through the navigation
menu at the top of the website.

The main navigation categories/labels that a user will see at the top of the webpage are an exact
reflection of the categories/labels our users thought were best, which is the original categories/labels
used on the Honda World website. They are: World News, Products & Technology, Motor Sports,
Sustainability, Investor Relations, and About Honda. The main difference for our new navigation
categories/labels for the navigation menu at the top of the website, is reflected in the sub-
categories/labels.

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 Team Honda World
Adam Southard
Will Wright
Garrett Corral
GIT 340: Spring 2016 Session B

Since we have a lot of sub-categories/labels that have further sub-categories/labels under
them, we decided that the user should only be able to access the first level of sub-categories/labels
through the navigation menu. Under World News, the sub-categories/labels would be: News Releases,
Events & Shows, and World Clock. Under
Products & Technology, the sub-
categories/labels would be: Vehicles,
Technology, and Design. Under Motor
Sports, the sub-categories/labels would
be: Honda Racing Corp, Car Sports, and
Motorcycle Sports. Under Sustainability,
the sub-categories/labels would be:
Environment, Safety, and Downloadable
Reports & Archive. There would be no
sub-categories/labels under Investor
Relations. And finally, under About
Honda, the sub-categories/labels would
be: Our Story, Corporate Profile, and
Global Advertising. The other sub-
categories/labels that are found through
the sub-categories/labels listed above
would be accessible by the user if they
click on the sub-category/label in the
navigation menu. That sub-
category/label would display the other
sub-category/label at the top of the
page. For example, if a user clicks the
Technology sub-category/label under
Products & Technology, they would find
Honda Robotics as a clickable option at
the top of the page.

Overall, we felt that by limiting the amount of sub-categories/labels in the navigation menu
would make it so the user doesn’t feel overwhelmed. In the current navigation menu on the Honda
World website, the user is presented with too many options that can be overwhelming and at the same
time they don't understand what half of them mean. This was obtained through our card sorting user
research method, which has allowed us to come to the complete understanding that organization, as
few navigation options through the navigation menu as possible, and unambiguous terminology is
something that users are really looking for in a website.

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 Team Honda World
Adam Southard
Will Wright
Garrett Corral
GIT 340: Spring 2016 Session B

User Research Results

User Research: Adam
I did an in-person testing of the information architecture with one of my users utilizing the hybrid card
sorting method. I supplied them with index cards that had the names of all of the navigation menu
dropdown items. I had them put these cards in the order they believe they should be in the categories
they put them in and that the Honda website currently has for its navigation menu. I also told them
what the categories that are abbreviated meant so they would understand what they stood for.
Afterwards, I asked them if they would change any of the names of the categories and any of the names
of the dropdown list.

Results
Original Order and Category the User Placed the Cards in:
1. World News j. SBK
a. World News Top k. ARRC
b. News Releases l. Rally
c. Events m. Trials
d. World Clock 4. Sustainability
2. Products & Technology a. Sustainability Top
a. Products and Technology Top b. Environment Top
b. Automobiles c. Environment FACE
c. Motorcycles d. Safety
d. Technology e. Safety HEARTS
e. Honda Robotics f. Report PDF Download
f. HondaJet g. Report Archives
g. Power Products 5. Investor Relations
h. Design a. Investor Relations Top
3. Motor Sports 6. About Honda
a. Motor Sports Top a. About Honda Top
b. HRC b. Heritage
c. Formula 1 c. Corporate Profile
d. IndyCar d. Global Ad
e. MotoCross e. E-mail- The user put this into the
f. SuperCross “About Honda” category instead of
g. MotoGP its actual location, “World News,”
h. WTCC because they felt like it was a way
i. Suzuka 8 Hours

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 Team Honda World
Adam Southard
Will Wright
Garrett Corral
GIT 340: Spring 2016 Session B

to contact Honda and this was the only option for it
New Category and Dropdown Menu List Items Names:
1. World News- The user kept this as the category name because they felt it accurately described
the sub-categories within it
a. World News Top
b. News- The user changed this from “News Releases” to just “News” because they felt like
having releases at the end was unnecessary
c. Events
d. World Clock
2. Products and Technology- The user kept this as the category name because they felt it
accurately described the sub-categories within it
a. Products and Technology Top
b. Vehicles- The user thought that “Automobiles,” “Motorcycles,” and “HondaJet” could be
implemented into just one category called “Vehicles.” They would then have the original
three sub-categories come up when someone went into “Vehicles.”
i. Automobiles
ii. Motorcycles
iii. HondaJet
c. Technology- The user liked having a sub-category be called “Technology.” However, they
felt that the Honda Robotics sub-category could be incorporated into this category
i. Honda Robotics
d. Power Products- The user kept this category the same name because they couldn’t
come up with a new name for it, but they felt like it should be changed
e. Design
3. Motor Sports- The user kept this as the category name because they felt it accurately described
the sub-categories within it
a. Motor Sports Top
b. Honda Racing Corp- The user changed “HRC” to “Honda Racing Corp” because they had
no idea what HRC meant. I had to explain it to them and they felt it best that it was the
actual name instead of the abbreviation
c. Car Sports- The user felt that “Formula 1,” “Indycar,” and "WTCC" could be placed into
one sub-category to organize things more
i. Formula 1
ii. Indycar
iii. WTCC
d. Motorcycle Sports- The user had no idea what half of these abbreviations stood for, but
after I told them that they all represent some sort of motorcycle racing event, they
decided it should all be grouped into one category to organize things more

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 Team Honda World
Adam Southard
Will Wright
Garrett Corral
GIT 340: Spring 2016 Session B

i. MotoCross
ii. SuperCross
iii. MotoGP
iv. Suzuka 8 Hours
v. SBK
vi. ARRC
vii. Rally
i. Trials
4. Sustainability- The user kept this as the category name because they couldn’t come up with a
better solution and felt like this category name was a good enough representation of its sub-
categories
a. Environment- The user felt that the “Environment Top” and “Environment FACE” should
be put into one category called “Environment” to keep things more organized and have
the “Environment FACE” category be a sub-category to this one
i. Environment FACE
b. Safety- The user felt that the sub-categories of “Safety” and “Safety HEARTS” should be
placed into one category in order to keep things more organized and have “Safety
HEARTS” be a sub-category within this category
i. Safety HEARTS
c. Report PDF- The user felt that you did not need to specific download in the category
name
d. Report Archives
5. Investor Relations- The user kept this as a category name because they felt like they understood
what was in the category
a. Investor Relations Top
6. About Honda- The user kept this as the category name because they felt it accurately described
the sub-categories within it
a. About Honda Top
b. History- The user felt like “History” would be a better way to describe “Heritage”
c. Corporate Profile
d. Global- The user didn’t understand why “Ad” was at the end of “Global Ad,” so they
decided they would take it out
e. E-mail- The user does not know what category to put this in - The user put this into the
“About Honda” category instead of its actually location, “World News,” because they
felt like it was a way to contact Honda and this was the only option for it

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 Team Honda World
Adam Southard
Will Wright
Garrett Corral
GIT 340: Spring 2016 Session B

Side Note: The user didn’t change any of the category name + “Top” categories, but they didn’t really
understand why they were there in the first place.

User Research: Will

In order to complete my research, I used virtual card sorting. I laid out the main categories that Honda
has already established and had my user organize the sub-categories. While my user did have
permissions to modify categories I’m not sure if they knew how to do that. In the feedback that I was
given my user expressed some changes they would make and they are noted below. My user came to
this site to look for information on Honda and they found it, though the navigation may have been a
little confusing, the user figured it out.

New Category and Dropdown Menu List

Items Names:
1. World News b. Motor Sports Related Content
a. World News Top (Includes: Indy Car, MotoCross,
b. World Clock etc.)
2. Products & Technology c. Motorcycles
a. Safety HEARTS 4. Sustainability
b. Power Products a. Sustainability Top
c. Honda Robotics b. Environment FACE
d. Automobiles a. Environment Top
e. HondaJet b. Sustainability Report PDF
f. Products & Technology Top Download
g. Design 5. Investor Relations
h. News Releases a. Corporate Profile
i. Safety b. Investor Top
3. Motor Sports – User said that it was c. Report Archives
confusing that Motor Sports is separate 6. About Honda
from Products & Technology. If the user a. About Honda Top
could re-arrange they would have b. Heritage
moved Motor Sports as a sub-category c. Events
of Products & Tech. d. Global Ad
a. Motor Sports Top e. Technology
f. Email

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 Team Honda World
Adam Southard
Will Wright
Garrett Corral
GIT 340: Spring 2016 Session B

User Research: Garrett

My user testing was conducted in an in person setting with a hybrid card sorting method. I figured that a
hybrid method was the best option in case my user needed to add categories/labels that didn’t currently
exist. The cards provided to my user had all of the existing labels on the world.honda.com navigation
and drop down menu. My user was instructed to sort the cards how she felt they should be placed and
once she completed that, I inquired if there were any mislabeled, ambiguous, or confusing labels.

Results
Original Order and Category the User Placed the Cards in:
1. World News
a. World News Top
b. News Releases
c. Events
d. World Clock
2. Products & Technology
a. Products and Technology Top
b. Automobiles
c. Motorcycles
d. Technology
e. Honda Robotics
f. HondaJet
g. Power Products
h. Design
3. Motor Sports
a. Motor Sports Top
b. HRC
c. Formula 1
d. IndyCar
e. MotoCross
f. SuperCross
g. MotoGP
h. WTTC
i. Suzuka 8 Hours
j. SBK
k. ARRC
l. Rally
m. Trials
4. Sustainability

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 Team Honda World
Adam Southard
Will Wright
Garrett Corral
GIT 340: Spring 2016 Session B

a. Sustainability Top
b. Environment Top
c. Environment FACE
d. Safety
e. Safety HEARTS
f. Report PDF Download
g. Report Archives
5. Investor Relations
a. Investor Relations Top
6. About Honda
a. About Honda Top
n. Heritage
o. Corporate Profile
p. Global Ad
q. E-mail- The user put this into the “About Honda” category instead of its actual location,
“World News,” because they felt like it was a way to contact Honda and this was the
only option for it

New Category and Dropdown Menu List Items Names:

1. World News- The user felt that the term “World News” was a fitting category and didn’t need to
be changed.
a. World News Top
b. News Releases- “press”
c. Events – User expressed confusion, suggests Events & Shows
d. World Clock – User felt that this category would be better assigned to the “Honda World
Links” tab
2. Products and Technology- The user kept this as the category name because they felt it
accurately described the sub-categories within it
a. Products and Technology Top
b. Vehicles- The user thought that the categories could be divided
i. Land
1. Automobiles
2. Motorcycles
ii. Air
1. HondaJet
c. Technology- The user liked having a sub-category be called “Technology.” However, they
felt that the remaining products could be moved here
i. Power products
ii. Robotics

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 Team Honda World
Adam Southard
Will Wright
Garrett Corral
GIT 340: Spring 2016 Session B

d. Power Products – Eliminate
e. Design
3. Motor Sports- The user kept this label as it accurately described the subcategories.
a. Motor Sports Top – User felt that it was best to outline HRC as Honda Racing Corp to
avoid confusing on the other menus – still suggested that it is spelled out in the menu.
b. Honda Racing Corp- User suggests that they should spell out Honda Racing Corp and
avoid the abbreviation “HRC” as it doesn’t appeal to those that aren’t knowledgeable.
c. Car Sports- User suggests that the sports be grouped by vehicle type
i. Formula 1
ii. Indycar
iii. WTTC
d. Motorcycle Sports- User had no idea what most of these were with the exception of
“MotoCross” and “MotoGP.” User asked if they were in any way motorcycle related,
once the user confimed, she suggested that the remaining categories should be put in
the “Motorcycle” category.
i. ARRC
ii. MotoCross
iii. MotoGP
iv. Rally
v. SBK
vi. SuperCross
vii. Suzuka 8 Hours
viii. Trials
4. Sustainability- User stated that the category accurately reflected the contents.
a. Environment- Combine the “top” and “face”, label as one category
b. Safety
i. Safety HEARTS
f. Downloadable Reports & Archive – User suggested that the reports be added to
“environment”, after learning of the different reports; user suggested that the category
be broadened to accommodate all reports generated
5. Investor Relations- User felt that this label was appropriate
a. Investor Relations Top – eliminate top
6. About Honda- User felt that this label was appropriate
a. About Honda Top – eliminate top
b. Our Story- User suggested “Our Story” better reflects this category instead of Heritage
c. Corporate Profile
d. Global Ad – Suggest changing this to “Global Vision” or “Global Advertising”. Maybe
consider listing this under the “corporate profile” to eliminate confusion

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 Team Honda World
Adam Southard
Will Wright
Garrett Corral
GIT 340: Spring 2016 Session B

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