Lindsey Wilson College Website Redesign Final Project by Anthony Moore and Venus Popplewell IXDS 6813 Special Topics, Instructor: David E. Meyers Lindsey Wilson College May 13, 2016
Table of Contents Thesis Statement............................................................................................................ 1 Concept Brief.................................................................................................................. 1 Executive Summary........................................................................................................ 2 Research......................................................................................................................... 3 • Stakeholder Interviews ..........................................................................................3 Goals and Opinions ........................................................................................... 3 • Current Site Review and User Testing....................................................................4 Surveys.............................................................................................................. 4 Methodology ............................................................................................... 4 Analysis........................................................................................................ 5 • Current Site – Usability Testing...............................................................................9 Participants.................................................................................................. 9 Methodology and Questionnaire..................................................................9 Outcomes..................................................................................................... 10 • Competitive Analysis..............................................................................................10 Competitor Identification ....................................................................................10 Key Dimensions for Comparison........................................................................10 Recommendations............................................................................................. 11 • Visual Inspiration/Mood Board................................................................................11 • Personas................................................................................................................ 12 • Outcomes and Recommendations ........................................................................12 Design (Iteration I), Low-Fidelity......................................................................................13 • Solution Objectives.................................................................................................13 • Site Map................................................................................................................. 14 • Concept Sketches.................................................................................................. 15 • (Iteration I), Low Fidelity-Wireframes......................................................................15 • Usability Testing, Iteration I, Low-Fidelity Prototype................................................16 Usability Research Goals...................................................................................16 Research Methodology – Iteration I ...................................................................16 Defined Task List................................................................................................16 Outcomes and Analysis......................................................................................17 Recommendations for Improvement..................................................................19 Design (Iteration II), Low/Medium-Fidelity.......................................................................20 • Usability Testing – Iteration II..................................................................................20 Research Methodology.......................................................................................20 Outcomes and Analysis......................................................................................20 Recommendations for Improvement..................................................................21 Design (Iteration 3), High-Fidelity ...................................................................................22 • Usability Testing – Iteration III.................................................................................22 Research Methodology.......................................................................................22 Outcomes and Analysis......................................................................................23 Conclusion and Next Steps.............................................................................................23 Resources and Notes...................................................................................................... 25 Appendices..................................................................................................................... 27
Lindsey Wilson College Website Redesign Final Project by Anthony Moore and Venus Popplewell IXDS 6813 Special Topics, Instructor: David E. Meyers Lindsey Wilson College May 13, 2016
Thesis Statement It is vital for its success, that the website for Lindsey Wilson College be redesigned to make it more effective as a marketing tool, allowing for easier navigation, for visitors to quickly locate answers to their questions and improved aesthetics.
Concept Brief Digital technology advances have made earning a college degree more accessible, more flexible and more effective than ever thought possible. Prospective students expect to access real-time information in a convenient and easy to understand format that is retrievable in the palm of their hand. The college decision process begins long before the prospective student steps onto a college campus. “Seventy-seven percent of education seekers will first visit a school’s website at least two-weeks – and often two months – before taking action.” [1] In many instances, the student’s decision journey is almost entirely online. A survey conducted by Noel-Levitz (2009) found that 88 percent of college-bound prospective students would be disappointed or possibly eliminate a school from consideration if the institution’s website did not meet their expectations. [2] This data underscores the value of Lindsey Wilson College’s web presence and its role of greeting prospective students with an effective site. The mission of Lindsey Wilson College is to serve the educational needs of students by providing a living-learning environment within an atmosphere of active caring and Christian concern where every student, every day, learns and grows and feels like a real human being. Lindsey Wilson is located in one of the nation’s poorest economic and educated areas. Over seventy percent of Lindsey Wilson’s students are considered first-generation college students. The open admissions policy means that every potential student that applies to LWC is considered for enrollment regardless of academic merit or economic status. Lindsey Wilson College wants a website that better represents their mission and business model. A redesign of the website for Lindsey Wilson College (www.lindsey.edu) was proposed by executive administration two years ago. The current website was designed in 2008 by Paskill, Stapleton and Lord – a higher education marketing consulting firm. Continuous revisions as well Moore/Popplewell IXDS 6813 Page 4
as additions to the information architecture has resulted in a website with too much content and complicated interactions that do not clearly provide solutions. The outdated visual design does not invite users to learn more about the College and its values-centered mission. The Lindsey Wilson Web Redesign Project has a number of goals including to develop a site that is responsive and anticipates the needs of the user. Data suggests by 2017 more than 63.4 percent of mobile phone users will access online content through their devices. [3] Additional goals are to improve information architecture so that the most needed information is delivered with an intuitive solution; better reflect the brand of Lindsey Wilson College by updating the visual design using evolving technologies and current trends; and finally, design a site that supports the marketing and admissions initiatives of the enrollment driven College that can be incorporated into a media plan.
Executive Summary Digital content has transformed the college search process into a dynamic journey. No longer do prospective students and parents rely on printed collegiate brochures and postcards to form an opinion of an institution. Before a human connection is made – students are gathering information online and comparing one school to another. Often institutions are dismissed that poorly communicate the answers to questions that may help a person to make a choice about college. Information gaps and poor navigation are among the common criticisms of college websites that make the selection process for prospective students confusing and unproductive. [4] In addition, prospective students are often unclear on the language used on websites. In a 2012 article from the Journal of College Admissions it is noted that websites should use “terminology that is familiar to high school students.” [5] To be effective, college websites must be easily navigable, easy to read and provide accurate content. It was found through surveys and usability testing, the current www.lindsey.edu site provides an overwhelming amount of content on the homepage making it difficult to find important information like cost and financial aid which are relevant to the decision process. Usability tests also revealed trouble with finding majors and programs of study – this is the content retrieved the most often according to answers to the survey and the Google Analytics of www.lindsey.edu. As part of the internal discovery, stakeholders representing specific areas of Lindsey Wilson were interviewed about the goals of a new site solution. These project goals were identified and preferred designs of other sites were presented.
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Usability participants were selected based on the demographics and behaviors that align the individuals with the user characteristics determined in the development of personas. Research procedures continued with a competitive analysis. Competitors were identified according to a previously published marketing study conducted by the research group Simpson and Scarborough for Lindsey Wilson College. Key dimensions for comparison were identified based on the commentary and results of the current site usability tests. A site map and low-fidelity wireframes were developed. The wireframes were then used in a feature assessment test paying close attention to those items with the most interaction according Google Analytics. Tasks were presented and users progressed through the low-fidelity design. The user comments and success/fail rates were recorded in a written format. After the results of the low-fidelity usability testing, the prototype was revised as a low/mediumfidelity prototype and presented to a focus group. The participants were college-bound high school juniors and seniors as well as one parent. The session was recorded on video and transcribed for presentation. The commentary provided was critical in moving forward with the high-fidelity prototype. Usability testing revealed few pain points with the high-fidelity prototype and the designers proceeded to populate the flagship pages of admissions, academics, cost and financial aid as well as a fully developed homepage as specified by our project advisor. The entire research and design of the Lindsey Wilson web project was completed in a sixteenweek period. For a complete project timeline and task completion goals see Appendix A.
Research STAKEHOLDER INTERVIEWS Stakeholders were chosen based on knowledge of a specific area or department and ability to make decisions. • Charity Ferguson – Director of Admissions • Phil Hanna – Librarian • Bettie Starr – Vice President of Academic Affairs • Mark Coleman – Vice President of Finance • L. Dean Adams – Vice President of Enrollment Management and Student Services • Duane Bonifer – Director of Public Relations Stakeholders were asked to present a list of websites they consider effective in recruiting, branding and information delivery. Particularly meaningful were the examples provided by the Moore/Popplewell IXDS 6813 Page 6
Director of Admissions as the main purpose of the site is to inform and attract prospective students. The goals of the web redesign project were also determined through these interviews and they are as follows: Goal 1: Develop a responsive site with intuitive solutions retrievable on any mobile device. Goal 2: Improve information architecture so that the most engaged content according to Google Analytics is provided in an obvious format. Goal 3: Align with the brand and message of Lindsey Wilson College by improving visual design using evolving technologies and current trends. Goal 4: Design a site that represents the mission of the enrollment driven College which can be incorporated into a media plan along with the prospective student recruitment strategy. Goal 5: Provide content that is exclusive for current students, faculty and staff on an internal hub – currently called “Blue Raider Portal.” By doing so, this will allow the current site to be a dedicated tool for the admissions process. Goal 6: Centralize content publishing – better managing time-sensitive information and outdated content.
CURRENT SITE REVIEW AND USER TESTING Surveys Methodology. To properly understand comments made regarding the institution’s website and to provide a context for making recommendations, surveys were deployed to disclose any issues. Is there a real problem or is it a matter of perception? Also, as an institution it is necessary that we appreciate and educate ourselves regarding the needs of those that choose to visit our website. The surveys were developed to speak to each group of visitors that visit our website. These target audiences consisted of: • Alumni • Current Students • Community • Faculty and Staff • Parents of Prospective Students • Prospective Students There were similar questions on each of the surveys and yet each survey contained question(s) specific to that audience. What we hoped to learn: • •
General complaints about our website. How engaged with technology are our visitors?
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• •
Reading tendencies of visitors when locating web content. What information our visitors use or expect to find when they visit our site?
Further, it was important we profile visitors from each of our target audiences. This will later provide insight when content for a particular target audience is developed. As such, certain questions were added to the surveys in order to assist us. Caveats. We were unable to find an acceptable method for delivering the survey to the community and alumni target audiences. We had anticipated delivering the surveys for these two target audiences using the newsletter from Public Relations but we were unable to make this happen. As a result we have no data from the community target audience. In lieu of the newsletter, the alumni survey was delivered through the alumni Facebook page. Consequently, we see a slight skewing of the survey results on questions regarding technology engagement. This should be kept in mind when the data is reviewed. To deliver the survey to parents of prospective students, we worked with admissions to coordinate the survey with parents that came to campus with their student for a visit. We only had three surveys completed. As such, the results are being omitted from this report. Prospective Students too were targeted by Admissions in the same manner as parents. Only 17 students responded to the survey.
Analysis Technology Used to Surf the Web. As expected, the use of mobile technology to view content on the web rated high among our target audiences. These results include mobile phones and tablets. While technology used to view web content is trending towards mobile, the survey results show that the desktop is still relevant among prospective students. While over three-fourths indicated the use of mobile technology, the data shows that over half of those surveyed additionally use a desktop to view web content. The Value of Content on a College Website. When making a decision about which college to attend, how valuable is the information on a college's web site? As noted in the Executive Summary, one of the criticisms of college websites among collegebound high school students is poor information. Consistent with the data realized outside of Lindsey Wilson, our target audiences place a high value on the content of college websites when making a decision about which college to attend. Effectively Written Content. Each respondent was presented with two sections of similar content and were asked which section read better. One section was pulled from our current website; the other was rewritten with the same message but simplified with the intent of making the content Moore/Popplewell IXDS 6813 Page 8
easier to read.
The purpose for this question was to understand comments that had been made about our web content being difficult to read or that it was too wordy. Also, studies indicate that when individuals review content on the web they do not actually read but rather scan the material. In her book Letting Go of the Words: Writing Web Content that Works author Janice Redish states that: Most site visitors are very busy people who want to read only as much as they need to satisfy the goal that brought them to your web site. Nielsen and Loranger, Prioritizing Web Usability, 2006: On average, people in their study left the home page within 30 seconds. We hurry from the home page through pathway (landing, gallery, navigation) pages, reading as little as possible. We jump at the first item in a search results page. Even on an information page, we often skim and scan first to find just what we came for. [6]
Data from Google Analytics for this year tells us that the average time our visitors spend on the Offices and Services page (the third most visited page on our site) is 29 seconds. Given its purpose to provide quick access to contact information, this is entirely too long for a visitor to be on this page. From this we can infer that the content and navigation on this page are counter productive and do not satisfy our visitor’s goals in a timely manner.
Given the studies made that address scanning tendencies [7] and information overload [8][9] it was surprising to see the responses to this question. 60% of Alumni and Prospective Students preferred the original web content over the simplified content. Almost half of Current Students preferred the original content while only 23% of Faculty and Staff preferred the original content.
When afforded the opportunity to comment on the survey, some respondents indicated that the simplified version was not informative enough and that there should be more balance between the two sections of content. On the other hand, some confessed to not even reading the original content but skimmed over it.
One thing to consider in light of these results is the method in which the question was delivered. When taking surveys, are individuals more prone to reading all questions in their entirety? If the content on the surveys had been delivered on a web page with no prompting would they have preferred the simpler block of content over the original as other studies indicate?
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Preferred Method of Obtaining Services. As a guide to understand how engaged our visitors are with technology, respondents were asked to identify their preferred method for obtaining services. While most preferred electronic means it is noteworthy to mention that 70% of Prospective Students preferred personal contact (by phone or in person.) This unexpectedly high number may be influenced by the fact that the respondents taking this survey were visiting our campus and having their questions addressed in person by staff. Also, the transition from high school can be an unusually stressful time for college-bound students [10] who may need that personal feedback to reduce anxiety which often is not experienced as quickly when communicating electronically. Given the rise of social media and texting among teens [11] this data seems counter-intuitive and may be subject to further research to understand properly.
Information and Services Used. For current students and faculty and staff it is evident that the website is utilitarian. When asked about Lindsey’s website, these two target audiences listed Blue Raider Portal (BRP) and services accessible through BRP as their most used information or services. Both groups frequent the directory listing, course offerings and the dining center menu. Current Students Check Grades Blackboard Portal Schedule Course Offerings Library Directory Cranmer Dining Center Menu
24.8% 24.8% 23.8% 12.7% 8.6% 6.9% 6.3% 4.0%
Faculty and Staff Portal Starfish/Blackboard/Banner Self Service Offices and Services Directory Course Offerings Cranmer Dining Center Menu
50.5% 24.3% 20.4% 13.6% 10.7% 2.9%
For alumni and prospective students the needs were decisively different than current students, faculty and staff. Alumni expected to be able to make connections with either instructors or classmates. Campus and athletic events were of importance too.
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Over half of prospective students cited cost as the most important information for college websites to provide. This was followed by relevant information about the majors/programs offered by the institution.
Alumni Alumni and Instructor Connections Events Calendar and Info Athletic Events School News Alumni News Bookstore
25.0% 23.1% 19.2% 11.5% 9.6% 5.9%
Prospective Students Cost Majors and Programs Scholarships Campus Life and Organizations Classes Offered
58.5% 41.7% 33.3% 25.0% 8.3%
Frustrations with LWC's Website. Almost half of current students stated that they had no frustrations with Lindsey Wilson’s website. This may be due to the utilitarian nature of the website for them and they have “conditioned” themselves to locate the content they need most often. All target audiences cite poor navigation and outdated or bad content as a frustration which, as indicated earlier, impacts the decision making process for prospective students. Current Students Nothing Navigation Blackboard Outdated Material
49.5% 15.3% 4.8% 1.7%
Faculty and Staff Nothing Navigation Outdated Material Search Feature Calendar
32.7% 29.7% 12.9% 6.9% 3.0%
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When asking prospective students about their frustrations, the question was framed around college websites in general. While their overall frustrations are not specific to Lindsey Wilson we can learn what types of frustrations to avoid. Alumni Navigation Outdated Material Nothing Too Wordy Bookstore to Purchase Sportswear
25.7% 14.3% 14.3% 11.4% 9.6%
Prospective Students Nothing Confusing Needs to be more Personal Bad Information
33.3% 22.2% 22.2% 11.1%
Current Site – Usability Testing In order to determine a baseline for usability, user testing was conducted on our current website. The idea here is a typical AB test against our prototype. If usability does not increase with the prototype then we will know if we need to respond with another iteration for the site. Participants. We selected four users for our usability testing. Our goal was to find individuals that were familiar with the college selection process. Alison Job: Part-time employee and stay-at-home mom. Alison has a child interested in beginning college in the fall. She and her family are currently going through the college selection process and have certain expectations for college websites. Maggie Job: College counselor and stay-at-home mom. Maggie spends time helping prospective students decide where to attend college and is familiar with information contained on college websites. Eric Job: Chiropractor Eric just recently with through the college selection process for his daughter and is well acquainted with what college websites have to offer. Byram Job: Counselor and currently enrolled in Doctoral program. Byram is an alum of Lindsey Wilson College and as such brings a different perspective to our usability testing. Byram is acclimated to the college selection process. Moore/Popplewell IXDS 6813 Page 12
Methodology. The survey questionnaire usability test was conducted online via Skype. The sessions were recorded (we experienced technical difficulty on one session and was unable to complete the video) to provide playback opportunities and to make analysis easier. Test procedures were influenced by Don't Make Me Think, Revisited: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability by Steve Krug. [12] See Appendix B for an example of the test and user questionnaire.
Outcomes. There is too much verbiage on the home page which makes it difficult to immediately see what the options are.
•
While it was a bit confusing to locate tuition costs all of the users were able to locate it.
•
Each user that was asked to locate information about scholarships failed. The navigation, while difficult they eventually found the link; however the pages for scholarships were blank which offered no useful information about our scholarships.
•
Locating a degree, each user clicked on the Academics link. From there the navigation was confusing and took them too long to locate the proper link. Eventually they all found the Undergraduate Degrees link.
•
Search feature should provide useful results. Some of the users discussed their habits of searching for information as opposed to navigating.
COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS Competitor Identification Based on responses to the question asked by Simpson and Scarborough in the Brand Positioning Study for Lindsey Wilson College “Which colleges are prospects considering?" These competitors were identified:
• • • • • • • • •
University of Kentucky Western Kentucky University University of Louisville Eastern Kentucky University Morehead State University Northern Kentucky University Murray State University Somerset Community College/KCTCS Kentucky Wesleyan
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Key Dimensions for Comparison Based on the responses obtained from the surveys and the usability tests completed by users (prospective students, parents of prospective students, alumni) for the current Lindsey Wilson site (www.lindsey.edu) key dimensions for comparison were developed. The key dimensions were then compared to the websites of the competition identified in the Brand Positioning Study conducted by Simpson and Scarborough. Services like Lindsey Wilson’s Blue Raider Portal, Blackboard, grades, accounts payable and other solutions available to internal audiences could not be compared as a login to the site as a member of the campus community would be required to determine usability. See Appendix C for key dimension comparison results and takeaways.
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Is the website responsive? Are majors and programs easily discovered from the homepage? Is the cost of tuition easy to determine without personal contact or requested information? Are scholarships and financial aid easily discovered from the homepage? Within a specified major (Business Management) are program requirements easily discovered? 6. Are admission’s requirements easily discovered? 7. Are Campus Life and Student Involvement content easily discovered? 8. Is there an action button for applying in an easily discovered location? 9. Is there a calendar of events? 10. If so, can it be found intuitively from the homepage? 11. If applicable, are athletic events provided on the master calendar? 12. Are news events about the school and alumni relations easily discovered from the homepage? 13. Are branded gear and sportswear purchases provided intuitively? 14. Is a search bar available? 15. Is live chat available? 16. Overall, does the website communicate in a language that is easy to understand? 17. Overall, was the experience intuitive and could enrollment questions be answered based on website content and navigation?
Recommendations Competitors are largely enrollment driven colleges like Lindsey Wilson College. Survey results and the competitive analysis show that visitors to a college site are looking for meaningful information to help them understand the admissions process and what the college in question will offer academically. They want to be informed before a meeting takes place with an admissions counselor. Information like tuition costs, scholarships, financial aid, academic offerings need to be front and center. Full disclosure is important to all audiences. It will not eliminate the need for a face-to-face meeting or campus visit but it may make the visit more productive for the visitor.
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All of our competitors offer a responsive web design. Seventy percent of students and nearly half of parents look at websites on mobile devices. A redesign begins with a comprehensive mobile strategy designed with the College mission in mind. Language of the site needs to be easy to understand. We must be aware the language of academia is not always translatable to the target audience.
VISUAL INSPIRATION AND MOOD BOARD The mood board and visual elements are inspired by the current colors and brand of Lindsey Wilson College. As an enrollment driven institution, images selected should tell a story about campus life, strength of academic programs and spiritual growth. The mission of LWC is an important part of content development across all digital and traditional media platforms. The tagline “Every Student, Every Day” is derived from the College mission statement and has been in use for over 15 years. The minimalist UI design genre of flat design will develop an interface with clear solutions to the most desired content. Athletics and “Blue Raider” pride is incorporated into the overall message. The Lindsey Wilson residential campus currently houses more than 1,100 students and approximately 650 of these residents are student-athletes. See Appendix D for the mood board layout.
PERSONAS The Brand Positioning Study conducted by Simpson and Scarborough for Lindsey Wilson in 2012 identified seven target audience groups regularly interacting with Lindsey Wilson College. There are internal and external groups who visit www.lindsey.edu on a daily basis. Personas were developed which aided designers in anticipating the questions of each user segment. The audience segments identified are: (Primary Target Audience) Prospective Student – Traditional: Age 17-19 Prospective Student – Non-Traditional: Age 25-55 Current Student – Traditional or Non-Traditional: Any age Parent of Current of Prospective Student: Any age, likely 40-65 Alumni – Age: 25+ but likely 35+ as LWC has had difficulty connecting with young alumni Community and Friends: Residents of the local community, any age Faculty and Staff of LWC: Age 25+ For personas and audience characteristics see Appendix E1-E7.
RESEARCH – OUTCOMES AND RECOMMENDATIONS Moore/Popplewell IXDS 6813 Page 15
The research data from the surveys and usability test along with the competitive analysis revealed four key areas of the website that need to be addressed. Improve Navigation. To help our visitors to manage information more successfully and to improve the user experience, navigation on our website should be a priority. Information architecture [13] for websites helps organizations to better segment their content by placing it in intuitive and easyto-get-to locations. A strategy for improving navigation should be developed. Better Content. “People come for information that answers a question or helps them complete their task. They want that information to be easy to find, easy to understand, accurate, up to date, and credible.� [14] Developing better content will assist our visitors in finding the information they have come to our site for in the first place. Strict guidelines should be developed as part of a content strategy that will address this issue. Further, given the differing needs between our target audiences, we recommend that we remove content from www.lindsey.edu that is specific for current students, faculty and staff and situate it on Blue Raider Portal. Doing so will improve both navigation and content by isolating content that is applicable to the primary audiences of Lindsey.edu. Responsive Framework for www.lindsey.edu and Blue Raider Portal. Students today access websites from just about anywhere. This means that they are using mobile devices to review content from college websites. [15] Data from Google Analytics indicates that almost a third of all visitors to Lindsey.edu do so from a mobile device. The survey data indicates that the number of individuals using mobile devices to surf the web is much higher. This could be an indication that our site discourages visitors with mobile devices since it is not mobile friendly and the user experience suffers. Lindsey Wilson should develop a mobile-first strategy that places emphasis on developing web content around a mobile framework. Doing so will create an experience that is both rewarding and visually appealing to the end of making a good first impression. Publishing. We should move away from the distributed content model that allows individuals from each department to manage their content. This model was appealing to us because we did not have the dedicated resources responsible for publishing content. In the long run it has proven to be an ineffective way of ensuring that our content is engaging and up-to-date. Presently, the institution, as part of its 2015-16 budget, has a position in Public Relations that will assume publishing responsibilities. Moore/Popplewell IXDS 6813 Page 16
Design (Iteration I), Low-Fidelity SOLUTION OBJECTIVES The rationale behind the design of the Lindsey Wilson College website is driven by the strategy of the institution to convert visitors by making connections or conversions. While the diverse target audience is considered, the primary concern is the prospective student. Further, it is important to meet the needs of the primary audience by providing concise and intuitive content without sacrificing the needs of the other target audiences.
SITE MAP A site map was developed adhering to the goals and marketing initiatives gathered from stakeholder interviews and the competitive analysis. Using the results from the survey and usability tests, key search items were identified and a reorganization of content was diagramed. See Appendix F for site map diagram.
CONCEPT SKETCHES Based on the site map and solution objectives – a series of design sketches were developed. The sketches mapped out user interactions based on the information and content required by the primary target audience. The sketches created a solid foundation for the development of lowfidelity wireframes. See Appendix G.
(ITERATION I), LOW-FIDELITY WIREFRAMES Usability testing, the competitive analysis and the goals of the stakeholders should inform the solution decisions in every phase of interaction design. The low-fidelity wireframes (Appendix H) evolved from the data obtained while conducting the research and the gained understanding of the needs of the target audience. The following is a justification for each UI decision and its affordance: Top of the Page
• Blue Raider Portal – this link provides access to the institution’s secure intranet. Google Analytics shows that this link is the second-most clicked link on the homepage. While this link does not provide immediate information for prospective students, the decision was made to continue to make this visible due to its popularity.
• Offices and Services – this link will provide contact information to the various campus offices. Currently the third most clicked link on the homepage.
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• Search – the results of the usability test of www.lindsey.edu and surveys revealed that we need to showcase our search. Beyond the design placement of this UI, it is critical that the search engine be improved to provide more meaningful results.
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Menu The menu system in the design is a pattern affordance of the current site and other websites of higher education. It provides organization of flagship content and offers a logical interaction to visitors going through the college selection process. Homepage • Conversion The UI elements Apply, Visit and Inquire are methods in which visitors can convert to prospects. These UI elements are strategically placed above the fold. • All Majors and Programs Google Analytics reveals that this is the most visited area on the current site. • Cost and Financial Aid Usability testing on www.lindsey.edu exposed that it is difficult for prospective students to locate tuition cost. However, our survey of prospective students revealed that almost 60% of them listed this as the most important information needed when they visit college websites. We are recommending that Lindsey Wilson provides easier access to this information. As we move forward, it will be our job to manage the information on this page in a way that highlights the affordability of a private college education. • Get Started The UI elements Columbia Campus, Evening Program, Distance Learning should give the prospective student pathways to information that is relevant to their educational needs. • Upcoming Events This area shows upcoming campus events and should invoke the emotion of a vibrant campus to the visitor. • Infographics Currently visitors navigate to About LWC to learn about the college through a series of text based pages. This area is intended to give prospective students a quick and meaningful glance at Lindsey Wilson. Interactivity will be introduced so that as the visitor hovers over the image more information will be provided. • Headlines and Calendar
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This area is of little interest to prospective students; however, it too should invoke the emotion of a campus that is dynamic and full of life. It is intended for other target audiences, such as Alumni, as a way to remain connected with Lindsey Wilson.
USABILITY TESTING – ITERATION I, LOW-FIDELITY PROTOTYPE Usability Research Goals Goal 1: To determine if there is anything complicated or frustrating about accessing desired information. The research should identify usability pain points. Goal 2: To determine if the user interface is intuitive, providing the appropriate affordances and language for ease of use. Goal 3: To determine if the information architecture is easy to comprehend and prioritized according to the primary user’s needs.
Research Methodology – Iteration I An interactive prototype was designed using the online software Axure. The prototype was then presented to individuals whose demographic and behavior characteristics aligned with the target audiences of Lindsey Wilson College. The research method used was micro-usability testing by observational research. Each user was given a list of tasks to complete. The task completion process was recorded with a success or fail rating. The primary goal of recruiting prospective students was strongly considered as key task features were developed. The purpose of each task was to reveal if the information architecture and UI elements combine to answer the most asked questions of the primary audience segment – college-bound high school juniors and seniors and their parents. Defined Task List The following is a list of the interaction tasks presented to the users testing the mobile format:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
What do you expect the app to do when you click on the icon in the upper right corner of the screen? Click on that icon. Briefly look at the menu options. Do you see anything that you do not understand? Are the links arranged in an intuitive order? Close the menu. Tell me what information or action you expect when you click on each of the following: Apply, Visit, Inquire Click on All Majors and Programs. There is an additional icon that appears next to Majors and Programs. Tell me what you would expect to see if you clicked on it. Under the section Get Started, what do these buttons mean to you? Columbia Campus, Evening Program, Distance Learning On a scale from 0 to 5 tell me how important are the Upcoming Events to you as a prospective student in making a decision about Lindsey Wilson College?
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7. 8.
If you needed to contact Lindsey Wilson College how would you go about doing that? Would you connect with Lindsey Wilson College (or any other institution) through social media?
Additional questions were asked in the desktop format:
9. 10. 11. 12.
If you wanted to know more about student life and student activities, where would you go? How would you determine costs and tuition fees for attendance at LWC? What would you expect to find if you click on all majors and programs? Is there anything about this layout or it’s functionality that is frustrating to use or doesn’t provide a solution to your basic questions?
Outcomes and Analysis For the design of the Lindsey Wilson website it is essential we remember the value of its content for recruiting students to Lindsey Wilson College. The introduction of this report highlighted the significance of making a good first impression to prospective students and that our content should capture this audience and navigate them as quickly as possible to relevant content. Given our design motivation, we recruited individuals that have either experienced or are going to experience the college selection process. Some of the individuals were familiar with Lindsey Wilson while others were not. This was intentional to ensure that the language and navigation that we used in the prototype is intuitive. Conversion. Based on research from the surveys and the institution’s marketing strategy to convert or engage prospective students, the real estate of the home page above the fold provides three avenues for the prospective student to convert.
• • •
Apply Visit Inquire
While each of the users were familiar with what Apply meant the recognition of Visit and in particular, Inquire was not as easily understood by our users. Recommendation: Modify the labels of these buttons so that they are more intuitive. Get Started. In addition to the ways that prospective students can convert or become engaged, the design provides ways to Get Started in the process. Three options are provided that should help prospective students quickly navigate to the information relevant to them.
• • •
Columbia Campus Evening Program Distance Learning
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The Columbia Campus affordance was easily recognized by those familiar with Lindsey Wilson while those that were not were challenged to understand what this meant. There were no issues with the affordance for Evening Program. However, based on discussions with stakeholder we do not think this division of Lindsey Wilson College is significant enough to merit its own UI element and section. Distance Learning had mixed results. Our intent for the content behind this button was to address both Online Programs and programs offered at our Community Campuses (extended sites.) The users were not clear as to what this affordance meant to them. Recommendation: These affordances should be revised so that prospective students can more easily identify with them. It should be noted that this is a critical area of our homepage and it will be used to drive prospective students to the content they need to get started with Lindsey Wilson College. As such, this should be carefully reviewed. Upcoming Events. On the institution’s current homepage, the focal point is an image rotator that highlights upcoming events on campus. These events target specific audiences (community members, alumni, students and etc.) Each of the users were asked to rate the value of this image rotator in the context of a prospective student. While this information conveyed a positive message about campus activity the users revealed mixed results as to the importance of this information being placed in such a visible area of the homepage. Recommendation: Move the rotator down and the infographics up on the homepage. The infographics should provide valuable information to prospective students about the Lindsey Wilson experience. Contacting Lindsey Wilson College. For some users, finding contact information for Lindsey Wilson College proved a bit challenging, particularly in the mobile format. Recommendation: Add contact information to the primary hamburger menu of the mobile site. Leaving this information in the footer is sufficient and offers a pattern affordance to the user as contact information is typically located in the footer of websites. Other Observations. One theme that came up in conversations is profiling more about campus life. It may not be imperative that we load the homepage with campus life content but we should at least take the time to develop this content when working on the Campus Life section of the Moore/Popplewell IXDS 6813 Page 22
website. The affordance on the menu is sufficient enough; however, for prospective students this is a valuable resource that aids them in their college selection process. Recommendations for Improvement The obvious observation that was made during the usability test was the affordances that we had chosen for the design. These affordances were in-line with the culture at LWC but the testing revealed these affordances (or language) needed to change. In the next iteration, low/mediumfidelity, the design has been adjusted to communicate these affordances and provide clearer recognition for our visitors. Secondly, we wanted a way to provide clear pathways to information that our visitors needed. This is difficult to do without crowding the homepage with links and sections of information. Most users for the usability tests on www.lindsey.edu revealed that our current homepage was too cluttered. Given this we wanted to take a minimalist approach to the design of the homepage weighted towards our primary audience: the prospective student. To help us provide clearer pathways to information without the clutter on the home page we have implemented a drop-down menu structure to provide this flexibility. The design of this menu is such that it offers assorted ways to present content. The sub menu can be thought of a web page within itself that can have links, pictures, widgets and etc. that we feel are necessary to capture the attention of the target audience in which it is intended. Mobile. For the mobile version, the submenu has been streamlined to make it look less cluttered. We have added contact information to the menu structure as well, since so many users used this option to find the information. The hamburger menu on second level pages has been removed to improve navigation. For this iteration, more content is being developed. We have identified 3 key/problem areas for the design that we want to ensure that we communicate more effectively to our visitors.
• • •
Academics Admissions Cost and Financial Aid
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Design (Iteration II), Low/Medium-Fidelity GOALS AND SOLUTION OBJECTIVES Usability testing revealed no issues with the goals and solution objectives defined in the first series of test. The test will move forward with these same initiatives in mind. See page 16 for review of goals and objectives.
USABILITY TESTING – ITERATION II, LOW/MEDIUM-FIDELITY PROTOTYPE User testing through interactive prototype of the low-fidelity iteration revealed pain points with UI elements and affordance. Language barriers prohibited users in the primary target audience from obtaining the information needed to make an informed decision about attending Lindsey Wilson. Improvements were applied in the second iteration that addressed the explicit affordance issues that caused confusion with site interaction. See Appendix I for examples of the low/mediumfidelity wireframe. Research Methodology – Iteration II A small group of college-bound high school juniors and seniors were asked to participate in a focus group. One parent joined the conversation. The moderator was Venus Popplewell using the exploratory approach to generate conversation among the group of friends. In early discussion participants revealed information about their demographics and their current college choices. One participant had already applied and been accepted to attend LWC in the fall of 2016. Questions were presented about the admissions process and any likes or frustrations that have emerged as the participants move through the college search journey. Participants discussed how they incorporate college websites into the decision process and what information is most important to them. The session ended with each participant completing a micro-usability test of the revised low/medium-fidelity wireframe. Two of the test users had participated in the user test of the first iteration. The task list was the same as the list used in the first iteration (see page 16). The participants were rewarded with pizza and a gas card provided by Lindsey Wilson College. Outcomes and Analysis The focus group confirmed the goals and solution objectives of the new College website for LWC. Participants discussed at length their desire to have full disclosure on important information like tuition and financial aid. They also talked about how helpful it would be to see more information about degree programs and career paths. When asked to name three words that described a random grouping of colleges and universities – Lindsey Wilson was included. Words used to Moore/Popplewell IXDS 6813 Page 24
describe Lindsey Wilson: small, expensive, close to home and family atmosphere. All asserted that campus life was important to them and when exploring a college online they search diligently for photos representing the college experience. The usability test completed by each participant revealed positive feedback on the revisions made to the second iteration. Affordances were better understood when the explicit nature was defined in the language of the UI element. Examples of changes to explicit affordance:
• • • • •
“Inquire” changed to “Request Information” “Visit” changed to “Schedule a Visit” “Columbia Campus” changed to “Main Campus” “Distance Learning” divided into two buttons communicating “Extended Campuses” and “Online Programs. “Get Started Now” changed to “Ways to Attend”
Recommendations for Improvement
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User testing and focus group discussions provided confidence to move forward with a high-fidelity prototype based on the current design and information architecture. The design will focus on the visual elements that support the brand and the mission of the College while continuing to refine the UI elements and interactions. Design
(Iteration III), High-Fidelity
USABILITY TESTING – ITERATION III, HIGH-FIDELITY WIREFRAMES User testing through interactive prototype of the low/medium-fidelity iteration revealed that the alterations made to the low/medium-fidelity wireframe were positive allowing users to interact intuitively with the website solution. An interactive high-fidelity wireframe prototype was presented to another group of test users. See Appendix J for examples of the high-fidelity wireframe solution. Research Methodology – Iteration III The research method used in the final phase of user testing was micro-usability testing by observational research. The users were given the same task list as in previous tests (see page 16). It was important to our research that we use individuals that participated in the first usability study of www.lindsey.edu. This is a critical indicator to determine if the new design out performs the original design. Out of four original participants we were able to schedule a usability test with two. Videos from the first usability study were reviewed to see where users had struggled the most and what information was important to them. In this final usability test we asked the participants to perform the same tasks. The high-fidelity prototype usability test revealed the following: User 1 – Alison (repeat participant): Alison’s first impression about the new design was that it was “very inviting, the pictures made her feel at home and made her want to learn more about Lindsey Wilson.” She was able to quickly identify the branding. When asked to repeat the tasks from the initial study, Alison was able to quickly navigate to the information she needed the most. While not all pages were completely populated she did quickly find links to the information. The affordance of the drop down menu was not obvious to Alison. When she hovered over Academics she knew she would get the drop down but she did not know that she could click on Academics to go to the homepage. User 2 – Eric (repeat participant): As Eric familiarized himself with the new design he made the statement that “everything I need is right here.” Eric recalled the trouble he had previously trying to find information from the perspective of a prospective student. He recognized right away that the three conversion buttons at the top afforded him the opportunity to make a connection with Lindsey Wilson. Overall Eric “got” the design of the homepage. As he scrolled he expressed his thoughts in a natural progressive order typical of prospective students: Moore/Popplewell IXDS 6813 Page 26
“I can apply, schedule a visit or get more information.” “I know what programs are available to me and how much it’s going to cost.” “I see there are different ways that I can attend.” “I can quickly learn about Lindsey Wilson College through the infographics.” User 3 – Emmanuel (new participant): Emmanuel is an employee of the college and is very familiar with www.lindsey.edu and some of its challenges. Emmanuel reviewed the design of the new site and found it to be very engaging and easy to navigate. However with his experience as a programmer he pointed out, as did Alison’s usability test, that the user does not know they can click on “Admissions” and go to the Admissions page. Discussion was given about changing the event from a hover to a click event and pointing out more clearly to the user that they can go to the pages represented on the submenu.
Outcomes and Analysis Overall, the testing went favorably. Each participant responded positively to the overall organization of the site and aesthetics. Our recommendation is to continue the testing and refinement of the drop-down main menu and provide clarity to interaction options and affordances. Secondly, designers should fully populate the “cost and affordance” feature with meaningful information in an understandable information hierarchy. This objective will aid the user in understanding the full tuition portfolio and will eliminate the long list of numbers and costs.
Conclusion and Next Steps While there are many ways for students to become acquainted with Lindsey Wilson College, for many prospective students and parents the website will be the first interaction they have with the institution’s brand and it is here that they will form their first impression of the college. Data from Google Analytics indicates that for the first five months of 2015 nearly 100,000 new visitors [16] visited www.lindsey.edu. This indicator underscores the role that our web presence plays in welcoming people to Lindsey Wilson College. The data further indicates that on average these new visitors spend just two minutes navigating our site. This knowledge and the data obtained through surveys and usability testing of the current website revealed significant problems with information architecture, information hierarchy and user interface design. Additionally, user testing suggested information relevant to the prospective student decision process is not prominently featured and is difficult to locate in the hierarchy. The visual design of the current site poorly represents the strength of academics. The vibrant campus community that exists for students to experience is not represented at all. The quality of a Lindsey Wilson College education is not communicated through the brand currently displayed at www.lindsey.edu. When Moore/Popplewell IXDS 6813 Page 27
frustrations with usability occurs or information cannot be discovered – prospective students will not pursue the complicated interactions of the current site and move on to another institution. Stakeholders interviews identified the strategic goals of a new College website design. Using the information gained from the current site tests and with guidance from the stakeholders – low and medium-fidelity wireframes were developed and tested. Outcomes and results were documented and applied to the wireframe designs and re-tested. With positive results, the designers had confidence to move forward with high-fidelity prototypes and testing. The final phase of usability testing was encouraging. There remained a few barriers to information and interaction but those can be solved with better affordance decisions. The next step for the Lindsey Wilson College Website Redesign Project would include proceeding with additional user testing of the current populated pages. The high-fidelity prototype will be presented to stakeholders during the summer of 2016 with programming and coding expected to begin soon after. The technologies that will be used to develop the live site are as follows:
• • • • • • •
Coldfusion – for dynamic portions of the site. Oracle – site database objects (news articles) Javascript and jQuery – UI interactions Bootstrap – making the site responsive HTML5 CSS Video hosting such as Youtube or Vimeo for the video on the homepage.
A simple content management system has been developed for posting dynamic content such as news articles, menus and the campus calendar. The internal audience hub, Blue Raider Portal, will be redesigned to better host content that is used specifically by individual users. Each user will be able to arrange content that is most often used by them for quicker navigation. The expected completion date of the website redesign is December 2016 with a new site going live in January 2017. The Lindsey Wilson College website will soon mirror the institution itself – a college committed to helping every student reach his or her potential with challenging academic programs, student support services and a fulfilling campus experience.
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Resources and Notes [1] Howard, Jennifer. “The search for knowledge: How students use digital to choose schools.” Think With Google. Think with Google, 1 June 2013. Web. 8 May 2016. [2] Lindbeck, R., & Fodrey, B. (2010). Using Technology in Undergraduate Admission: A Student Perspective. Journal Of College Admission, (208), 10-17. [3] “Mobile Internet - statistics & facts.” www.statista.com, 17 Nov. 2015. Web. 8 May 2016. [4] Norris, S. (2012). University websites fail to click with prospective students. Education Journal, (145), 6-7. [5] Ford, W. G. (2011). Evaluating the Effectiveness of College Web Sites for Prospective Students. Journal Of College Admission, (212), 26-31. [6] Redish, Janice (Ginny) (2012). Letting Go of the Words: Writing Web Content that Works (Interactive Technologies) (Kindle Locations 517-523). Elsevier Science. Kindle Edition. [7] Nielsen, Jakob. (April 17, 2006). F-Shaped Pattern For Reading Web Content. Nielsen Norman Group. “Eyetracking visualizations show that users often read Web pages in an F-shaped pattern: two horizontal stripes followed by a vertical stripe.” [8] Davis, N. (2011). Information Overload, Reloaded. Bulletin Of The American Society For Information Science & Technology, 37(5), 45-49. Information overload is a product of having too much information to process. When individuals are presented with too much material to review it becomes paralyzing and actually inhibits one’s ability to make a decision. Streamlining web content to provide only the information that is needed to educate visitors is the first step toward alleviating information overload that leads to information anxiety. [9] Koltay, T. (2011). Information Overload, Information Architecture and Digital Literacy. Bulletin Of The American Society For Information Science & Technology, 38(8), 33-35. [10] Ruberman, L. (2014). Challenges in the transition to college: The perspective of the therapist back home. American Journal Of Psychotherapy, 68(1), 103-115. [11] Lenhart, Amanda. (April 9, 2015). Teens, Social Media and Technology Overview 2015. Pew Research Center. “This report covers the current landscape of teens’ technology use. The survey shows gaps in access to technology which fall along socio-economic, racial and ethnic lines — especially access Moore/Popplewell IXDS 6813 Page 29
to desktop and laptop computers, and smartphones. The survey also reveals that a large number of teens are using sites and apps like Instagram and Snapchat. However, adolescents continue to use Facebook, and it is the site that the largest share of teens say they use most often.� [12] Krug, Steve (2013-12-23). Don't Make Me Think, Revisited: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability (3rd Edition) (Voices That Matter) (Kindle Locations 1707-1715). Pearson Education. Kindle Edition.
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[13] Velasco-Martin, J. (2010). Information Architecture in Virtual Worlds. Bulletin Of The American Society For Information Science & Technology, 37(2), 13-17. Information architecture deals with the organization and presentation of information in digital spaces, creating navigation structures and defining metadata schemas to facilitate browsing and searching through collections of documents. Hyperlinks and conceptual hierarchies tie documents together in digital information architectures. [14] Redish. (Kindle Location 468). [15] Understanding Responsive Web Design in Higher Education. (September 2014). Educause Center for Analysis and Research. Retrieved Jan 30, 2016. [15] For Google Analytics, a new visitor is defined as the first visit to a site from a particular device and browser. For example, if a person visits Lindsey.edu at home on their PC and later visits our website on their mobile device this visitor will be counted as a new visitor on both occasions. However, once that device and browser are established and the person returns to our website on those devices they are counted as a returning visitor. Google Analytics tracks this by using cookies on each device used to access our site. If a user deletes her cookies and later returns to our site she will be counted as a new visitor. While the new visitor statistic provided by Google Analytics is not entirely accurate it does provide meaningful context for analysis on our website if properly understood. For the sake of discussion, let’s assume that only one-third of all new visitor data reported by Google Analytics is accurate, this still implies that Lindsey.edu receives a new visitor every six minutes. For consistency, this report uses new visitor data as it is reported by Google Analytics.
Further Reading Howe, Sean. (April 3, 2013). What Prospective Students are Really Looking for From College Webpages. Halvorson, Kristina; Rach, Melissa (2012). Content Strategy for the Web (2nd Edition) (Voices That Matter) Knight, Kayla. (January 12, 2011). Responsive Web Design: What It Is and How To Use IT. Smashing Magazine. Marcotte, Ethan (May 25, 2010). Responsive Web design. A List Apart. Shein, E. (March 1, 2015). Mobile First. University Business, 39-42. p 39
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Appendices
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