Transforming the way senior
management perceive digital
Susan Farrell
Head of Web & Mobile Services
UCL
Founded in 1826
Ranked in the top five in the world
25,000 students from 140 countries
Over 9000 staff
10 faculties
London, Australia, Qatar and Kazakhstan
Challenge 1 – Thinking
of the user journey
Challenge 2- One
organisation or many?
Central
Faculties
Departments
Hobbyists
UCL Web Publishing Model
Challenge 3 –
Thousands of content
editors
ucl.ac.uk/laws
ucl.ac.uk/medical-sciences bartlett.ucl.ac.uk
ucl.ac.uk/shs
engineering.ucl.ac.uk/
ucl.ac.uk/populationhealth-sciences
ucl.ac.uk/brain-sciences
ucl.ac.uk/maps-faculty
ucl.ac.uk/lifesciences-faculty
ucl.ac.uk/ah
Challenge 4 – No URL
structure
UCL Unique URLS
999,981
Of those …
744,027 <5 page views in 2013
uses Silva -
the centrally-
supported
CMS
40% of ucl.ac.uk ...
includes over 700 sites
involves over
3000 editors
The rest of ucl.ac.uk ...
uses
Challenge 5 –
Heterogeneous technology
Challenge 6 - Funding
Web & Mobile Services Team Structure
Head of Web &
Mobile Services
Senior Web Architect
Web Content &
User Experience
Manager
Web Development
Manager
Web Developer
Media
Development &
Support Officer
Web Content and
Service Officer Mobile Development
& Support Officer Web Developer Web Developer
Without governance the strategy will be
just another document; one containing
some interesting – even visionary –
ideas, but one that will languish in
obscurity because it has no teeth.
Quote from web governance proposal
Strategic view
User and expert
view
Community engagement
Web Services Strategy
Group
User and Advisory Groups
External
users
Technology &
Standardisation
CMS User Group Developer network Web and mobile
WebNet
Meeting 3x a year
Overseeing
development and
implementation of
web and mobile
strategies
Providing user
and expert view
for development
and
implementation of
web and mobile
strategies and
projects
Building a web community with shared standards and
values. Engendering ownership of, and commitment to, a
world class UCL website
Staff Students
Information Services Governance Group
Digital
communications
Governance structure
As the users’ experience of UCL’s web
presence reinforces and shapes their
perceptions of UCL as an institution, the
total presence will consistently reflect the
excellence and distinctiveness of UCL
Vision for web
• User research and testing
• Content audits, reviews and modelling
• Information architecture
• Web and interface design
• Web and CMS development
• CMS support and training
• Search Engine Optimisation advice
• Google Analytics advice
Digital agency services:
Please!
We understand how UCL operates so we can
instantly understand your requirements
We provide a centrally-managed CMS with
free website hosting
We provide free training on the CMS
Our free support does not end when the
website is launched
We have a development roadmap so you can
take advantage of features developed for
UCL
Our prices are very competitive and are
considerably less than commercial agencies.
Why use our service?
The web is not strategic!
=
Digital is any technology
that connects people
and machines to each other
and with information
(Howard King)
Websites
Social media
Mobile apps
E-newsletters
Research profiles
Research publications
Digital includes:
Library applications
Student record system
Application systems
VLE
The environment is now the customer,
not the organisation.
It used to be that customers lived in a
world of organisations.
Now organisations live in a world
of customers
(Gerry McGovern)
As the users’ experience of UCL’s web
presence reinforces and shapes their
perceptions of UCL as an institution, the
total presence will consistently reflect the
excellence and distinctiveness of UCL
Vision for web
Two main drivers
• Giving our students the best support,
facilities and opportunities
• Delivering excellent systems and
processes in support of UCL’s vision
• Communicating and engaging effectively
with the world
UCL 2034 strategic enablers
• A decline in engagement
• Students express their criticisms
• Decline in reputation
• Falling behind competitors
• Poor staff recruitment and
retention
• Improve customer engagement
• Improve customer satisfaction
• Reach more international students
• Create new USPs
• Impress with digital workplace
Threats Opportunities
Get evidence
UCL’s web presence gives the
‘impression of a disconnected
organisation’
… when comparing UCL’s web presence
with that of leading competitors, it is
clear that ‘competitors are doing
significantly more with their web
presence’
Extract from Precedent report
If there is one thing that can get
senior management to change today
it is the increasing dissatisfaction
and disloyalty of their customers
(Gerry McGovern)
Student experience
If you want to change your organisation’s
digital direction, you cannot wait until you
are given permission
(Paul Boag)
Top Related