Designing a New User-Centric College Public Website
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Transcript of Designing a New User-Centric College Public Website
Designing a New User-Centric College Public
Website
Richard SchumacherManager, Technology Initiatives
George Sackett Web Content Supervisor
Who Are We? Largest community college system in
Missouri serving an area of about 700 square miles; created by area voters in 1962
League for Innovation institution Four campuses Three education centers Transfer, career and developmental
programs Non-credit continuing education courses Various workforce development
initiatives
St. Louis Community College
25,000 credit students each semester 48,000 non-credit each year 28,000 workforce development students
FY2007 90 credit programs 57 workforce development programs 2,000 faculty 4,000 employees
College Websites Public Website Users Website
(faculty, student organizations, classes, and staff) Intranet (three sites: key resources menu, static
content pages, and a SPS2001 document center)
Wayback – 1997 & 2001
Why Create a New Site? “One College” Issues and
problems with current site
Developing a new brand identity for the institution
One College
… but several identities on the web site
Which Student Resources?
Issues and Problems Contains hundreds of mini-sites that
don’t connect to each other or the site as a whole
Site is difficult to navigate – and to find content – 16,000 pages with no standard navigation!
Reflects the internal organization, not the users’ needs or expectations
Internal use content mixed in with other content
Pages don’t follow best practices for web design
Issues and Problems Most pages don’t comply with our
loosely defined college standards Common to have over 2,000 broken links Out-of-date content Non-compliance with ADA requirements No unified appearance – brand identity is
fragmented No workflow, review or style editing
process
Non-Unified Appearance
No Standard Navigation
Lack of Consistancy Across Programs
Content Challenges Taking content from the existing 16,000
pages to distill the items of need to audiences
Taking multiple subsites (i.e., programs and departments) and integrating them together
Discovery – Audiences Vendor – marketing communications firm Meetings at each campus to introduce
project and seek cooperation and support
2005 – Audience research conducted by contracted firm
Current and prospective students – focus groups and online surveys
Discovery – Audiences Continuing Education and high school
guidance counselors – focus groups Key administrators and faculty
influencers – phone interviews Larger sample of faculty and staff –
random, online survey
Discovery – Technical Studied site’s navigation and search
capabilities Charted the entire site 92 charts provided a snapshot of the
site’s technological structure, showing the: Types of pages (html, asp, etc.) Graphics used (jpg, gif, swf, etc.) Links (html, CSS, mailto, scripted) Server side (SSI) and client scripting Other document types (pdf, doc, xls, ppt, etc.)
Discovery – Web Operations
One-on-one interviews with: Senior administrators Technology executives Student services staff Web coordinators and others
These employees were directly related to the web site’s operation, administration, updates and/or maintenance
Objectives for the New Site
Overall
Technical
User-centric
Overall Objectives Rebrand the site to project STLCC as one
college Build a site that allows visitors to select
a path based on personal needs Create a new web content delivery
system: Easy to update Reinforces web standards Provides a consistent user experience Flexible to respond to changing needs Embeds review, tracking and accountability
Technical Objectives Acquire and deploy technology that
expedites and streamlines the ongoing content development and maintenance of the site
Continually evaluate the site’s effectiveness by reviewing traffic metrics, click paths, on site searches, and user studies
Use the fault-tolerant design of the existing site
Create an agile technical environment for future web-based functionalities
User-Centric Objectives Understand the current user experience
(qualitative research) and issues Determine features and functionalities
desired by users Reorganize and rewrite the content to fit
the needs of our target audiences Integrate the site into the ongoing, daily
processes of the college Develop an integrated, user-centric, web-
based platform for delivering student services and informing the community at large
Objectives Branding Targeting visitors and their needs
Audiences Critical top-level site elements Navigation required to expose key elements
Content Technical
Let’s Go! New firms selected through bid process
for advertising, branding, web site development, including content
Selection of a web content management system
Creation of Web Advisory Committee –cross-functional and campus representation
First Up – Rebranding Branding – research-rich process to
uncover who we are internally and externally
Image – signal of our personal identity and success
Loyalty – a preference of one brand over another
Equity – assets linked to our brand name that add to or subtract from our value
Rebranding Revealed our blurred image – image
fragmentation Revealed our publications, advertising
and Web site have inconsistent messages Tie branding with enrollment
management communications strategies
Rebranding
Enrollment Management Use the web site as the tool for
prospective student contact Funnel inquiries to appropriate
departments, responding Take action that can be tracked and
follow-up appropriately Hired director of enrollment
management
Targeted VisitorsNew students
Current students
Continuing Education
Workforce
Distance
Foundation
Faculty and Staff
Job Seekers
What Students Say They Access on the Public Website
84.7% - Registration 82.4% - Student Resources 81.8% - Class Schedules 77.9% - Blackboard 60.3% - College Catalog
29.9% - can’t find what they are looking for
Ervin Marketing Report, May 2006
Student Web Expectations Registration Hub for student news and
communications Access to all programs and classes Class availability, times/room numbers,
changes, grades Do everything online:
Pay for classes Get parking passes Get books “Not have to go to the campus”
Ervin Marketing Report, May 2006
Most Important Student Website Expectations
73% - accurate and timely information 70% - easy registration process 66% - ease of navigation 61% - descriptions of programs 55% - easy payment
Ervin Marketing Report, May 2006
What Makes a Good Website?
Comprehensive and up-to-date? Well organized? Easy to navigate or find content? Appropriate, consistent and functional
layout, branding, presentation and graphics?
Meets the needs of the intended audience(s)?
Does it “deliver the goods”?
Navigation and Content Design Role of the Ad Hoc Web Advisory
Committee – taxonomy (navigation structure, organization)
Navigation and organization of content must be intuitive
Must be timely, accurate and consistent Content management system to assure
fresh, reviewed content Frequently accessed content on home
page
Key Site Elements Student resources Program information Admissions and
Registration Workforce Development Continuing Education Distance Learning Foundation & Alumni Library Search Authenticated portal
link Learning management
system link
About STLCC Employee directory Campuses and Centers Maps Calendars Job opportunities Newsroom Contact information Legal disclaimers and
statements Access and disability
information Diversity at STLCC
Taxonomy Creates Navigation Provides structure to unstructured
content Organizes together content from
multiple sources Some users never search; and in
many cases search isn’t as effective as structure
Allows users to find the content they need in a way that makes sense to them
Site Taxonomy Worksheet
Wire-Frame Navigation
New Main Navigation
Home Page Layout
New Home Page
Subpage Layout
Newsroom
About the College
Content Development Tried using an outside firm on contract Most effective was the work of district
community relations personnel Reviews and edits were done internally
– a very slow process Final editing and checks for AP style by
community relations
User Evaluation and Discussion
Program Section Elements
Program Section
Typical Program
Campus Page
New Web Positions Community Relations
Web Content Supervisor Web Graphic Designer
Technology Support Web Manager Web Programmer
New Web Infrastructure
www.stlcc.edu
•Anonymous access•Official College content•Marketing focus•Unified navigation and appearance•Workflow based publishing and content approval process using Serena Collage WCMS•Google mini search
users.stlcc.edu
•Anonymous access•Faculty, staff, class, group/organization, and student content•Navigation limited to list of available “users” sites•Unmanaged publishing(although WCMS and suggested templates, or RSS feed from MOSS mysite, will be available)•Google mini search
my.stlcc.edu
•Authenticated access•Self-service password reset•Entry point into Banner, Blackboard, and other systems and content requiring authentication•Navigation is personalized to the user, standardized appearance•Publishing workflow varies depending on location within the site•MOSS 2007 search
Web Public Web Site Standards
Web Content Management System
Automate consistency and standards through templates and required elements
Allow authorized users to easily add or update content “anytime anywhere” through a browser
Rich text editing eliminates the need for HTML or web editor (i.e. Dreamweaver) experience
Manage workflows with the combination of task management (assign, track and categorize), version control, permissions and a review/approval system
Roll pages back to a previous version as needed Schedule content replacement or removal
Serena Collage
Content Managed WCMS based
Workflow-driven updates Special emergency/urgent content Deploys from WCMS
Content not in WCMS Needs to leverage template components and
standard font/color CSS (via SSI) Web applications (mostly asp/aspx) CORS Deployed by replication using ViceVersa Pro
Calendar System
Web Architecture Cisco load-balanced switch Two front-end web servers running
multiple websites in DMZ WCMS server and database server Server for content not managed by
WCMS
Users site remains separate Intranet will be replaced by MOSS 2007
site– a new portal for all things authenticated
www.stlcc.edu Architecture
Integration With Existing Systems
SungardHE Banner (ERP) Self-Service BlackBoard LMS Home-grown applications
Course Schedule Schedule of Late-Starting Courses Employee Directory Continuing Education Registration Student Application Sexual Harassment, FERPA, and Diversity
Tutorials New system – Windows Live student e-
my.stlcc.edu
my.stlcc.edu Windows Live
Banner Self-Service Portal
Course Schedule
Employee Directory
Scoping and Planning
Gather Requirements
Develop Taxonomy
and Governance
Hardware and Software Deployment
System and Content Design
Usability Testing and
Documentation
Marketing and
Awareness
Rollout and Training
Process Changes Web publishing process Content review and approval process Content deployment process Requests for new/additional
content/subsites Change form
Governance
“Tight governance can stifle a site, preventing constituents from evolving it to fit their needs”
“Loose governance can result in a site flooded with broken or inappropriate content and functionality”
Zach Wall, ppc.com
Governance Ownership and areas of responsibility Modifications to the core navigation Subsite additions / modifications Site-wide standards “Look and feel” Style Taxonomy Metadata
Document types Navigation Coding Security
Communications Web Advisory
Committee Intranet Website Discussion with
college leaders Discussions with
faculty and staff Multiple usability
and beta tests Rollout
announcements
Challenges Along the Way Focus can get redirected based upon
urgency of communications Underestimating timeline for content
and technical specifications development Working with several different agencies Agency reshuffle – new AE Deploying new WCMS in conjunction
with new site
Challenges Along the Way New positions, new employees – no
blueprint for their jobs New employees in a large, complex
organization Internal audiences – time it takes to
communicate Managing expectations of new site –
1,600 vs. 16,000 pages
Challenges Along the Way New brand identity – advertising,
publications New logo and graphic standards
Go Live New website went live March 9:
http://www.stlcc.edu In order to have a go-live date, a “line” had to
be drawn somewhere on what content would be part of the initial deployment We used the Ad Hoc Web Committee to develop basic
guidelines for what was to be included for Phase 1
However, when you make such a decision, there are some who may feel their content was left out, or who may incorrectly feel that someone else had decided their content wasn’t important enough
Future “Phase 2” begins -
Corrections and updates WCMS contributor training Content that was not included in the initial deployment New content based on feedback and metrics analysis Some content needed to be delayed until we could develop
guidelines to present the information in a consistent manner
Further reinforce “One College” Development of interactive, more dynamic content Testimonial videos (Flash based)
“Phase 3” - Student credentials and my.stlcc.edu site
Contact Us Richard Schumacher
Manager, Technology Initiatives [email protected]
George Sackett Web Content Supervisor [email protected]
Presentation is available online at:http://www.stlcc.edu/presentations/