On this page you can read TFPL case studies of projects undertaken for information providers.
Facilitated customer advisory panels
We have worked in partnership with a global information provider to develop, facilitate and report on regular global customer panels. The panels bring together key clients in a facilitated forum that enables key issues and challenges to be debated and ideas and lessons learned to be shared.
The workshops are structured to enable input from the information provider and facilitated debate with various groups of clients. The attendees at the workshops have benefited from being more closely associated with the product and service development processes of the provider, while the panels have ensured that the provider engages regularly and effectively with key clients.
Developing the functionality of a leading scientific database
A not-for-profit producer of a major international science and technology database, offering coverage in a broad range of disciplines. The client’s aim was to increase the range of its products and services and optimise the quality and dissemination methods of its existing products. TFPL was appointed to test the market for new database content and advise on future development. The project involved facilitating focus groups (both in UK and the US) on the functionality of the existing and prototype products and conducting a web-based questionnaire to elicit data on current and proposed database content. TFPL was able to report to the client advising on future database development in relation to both functionality and content.
Information architecture in the corporate environment
Two research projects designed in the first year to discover and describe how large organisations were tackling the problem of information overload using corporate portals and taxonomies and, in the second year, to explore what contribution might be made to the solution of the problem by information architecture. Aspects of good practice were identified and outline methodologies for information architecture were designed.
TFPL carried out market research for an international information vendor supplying online business information sources to Europe in the English language. The client wanted an evaluation of the merits and likely benefits of supplying information to German customers in German rather than English. TFPL conducted desk research into the use of English within Germany by business to business and business to consumer information vendors as well as the general use of English language Web sites. This was followed up by primary research that included telephone interviews with users in Germany of the client's product, or similar products in the financial services and IT sectors, to elicit opinion on changing to German language material. TFPL was able to advise on future language delivery of its service.
