SJSU iSchool Redesign
Challenge: SJSU iSchool is at the forefront of UX Research, design, and information architecture, but its website does not reflect that. The website is not user friendly and contains unnecessary loops of information.
Solution: Create a website that is user focused, making main information priorities easily findable.
Involvement: I proposed a major redesign of the iSchool website, utilizing WCAG guidelines, over a year of past research interns' data and reports, card sorting, A/B testing, task analysis and observational interviews.
Current homepage
Research insights
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In A/B testing, users preferred top menu navigation versus the usage of quicklinks
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A large percentage of users expressed confusion and frustration with the hamburger, which is usually used in mobile designs, not desktop layouts.
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The logo linking back to the SJSU homepage is irrelevant since the iSchool is its own entity. Users would find it more helpful to link back to the iSchool homepage through a logo specifically for the iSchool. An environmental scan showed many other iSchool websites, such as Syracuse’s iSchool, (https://ischool.syr.edu/) that do not link back to the parent university. In most cases, iSchool students do not need information about the parent university and it can provide them with conflicting information.
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Users were confused by the calendar icon and found it unhelpful as it showed mostly holidays. Since the iSchool is 100% online and asynchronous, holidays are irrelevant.
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The magnifying glass icon disappears when you minimize the screen, and often doesn’t appear even in full screen, so it does not appear on a mobile device.
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Users shared often resorting to Google to find the right information on the iSchool website, citing confusing loops upon loops of information.
Recommendations
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Top menu navigation and a complete redesign of the information architecture
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Removal of the hamburger
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A logo for the iSchool needs to replace the SJSU logo
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The calendar icon should be removed, and an academic calendar subpage showcasing relevant dates such as add/drop dates should be added.
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The functionality of the magnifying glass should be fixed so it appears on all devices.
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The iSchool needs a digital content writer to rewrite the content so that it better reflects best practices for UX writing. Clear, concise, and no redundant information.
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Employ RapidMiner to run through all of the digital content and assemble a report of where information, text and links are repeated to help inform the UX writing.
Sample solution with top navigation
Information Architecture
Card sorting exercises produced various possibilities for top menu information architecture and notable similarities. Number of categories ranged from four to six, and the card sorting included the main information priorities of all user groups.
User groups are prospective students, current students, alumni, and faculty and staff.
One header tag included variations on "Resources". Variations included "Career Resources" "Student Resources" "Opportunities" and "Resources".
All card sorts had the header tags "Admissions" and "Academics".
Other header tags assigned similar information were named either "Engagement" "Connect" or "News".
Every card sort included either an "About" or a "Home" page, with similar information about the program listed on these pages.