University Takes a User-Centered Approach
OBJECTIVE
The mission was no less than completely redesigning the public-facing site for the university. This 20K+ page site had grown organically over time via distributed authorship and sat upon a structure that reflected the university organization, not user tasks. Additionally, ‘sales’-related content intended to showcase the university was mixed with deeply detailed content only of interest to current students and staff.
We needed to take a step back and figure out how to get prospective students, arguably the most important audience, what they needed to understand the university’s offerings - and then visit and ultimately apply. And, we needed to appeal to another important audience, the one who often would be paying the:bill: parents.
MY ROLE
As the UX designer on the project, I:
• met with numerous stakeholders around the university to discuss the needs of their particular users and current state of their section/sub-site
• conducted a content assessment to bucket existing site content by audience: external (applicants and their families; prospective faculty and staff; press) vs internal (current students and their families; current faculty and staff). The content was then streamlined to only what was truly necessary and areas needing new content were identified
• met with development staff to discuss the optimal documentation approach for the chosen technology
• created new information architectures for all external site content including a new overarching hierarchy, related sub-sites, and an intuitive menu system to allow the user to cross categories with ease
• categorized and elevated key user information based on tasks rather than university structure
• created detailed wireframes, a component pattern library, and companion content documents for use by the stakeholders to take ownership of their new content structure
• conducted usability testing with prospective students, parents, and alumni to affirm the approach.
DELIVERABLES
Discovery, UX strategy, content assessment, wireframes with companion content direction documents per department, pattern library for further development by designers. Subsequently hired for phase 2 of project.
OUTCOMES
A fully redesigned website that offers comprehensive information about university programs, admissions, and campus life
Clear pathways for different audiences, enabling users to quickly access key information and complete important tasks such as applying to the university, scheduling visits, exploring academic programs, and understanding campus life
Highlights the university's competitive advantages, such as top rankings in career services and job placement rates, and features stories of student and faculty achievements. Emphasizes Bentley’s commitment to leadership, diversity, and academic excellence through various initiatives
Built on a Drupal content management system with design components, allowing content managers to easily update information while maintaining brand integrity
