What does a UX team of two do to redesign a site under client constraints?
Project Description
Engineering Technology is a department at Utah Valley University that offers several two and four year degrees where students learn about the building, programming, and management of automated machines and systems used to create and provide products and services. Students see immediate success upon graduation as they are able to find a job in a very in-demand market while starting at a high salary and eventually make up to six figures.
Despite the fantastic career opportunities that are found in Engineering Technology, very few students ever enroll. Part of this issue can be traced back to the Engineering Technology website where the design is not up to par with other UVU sites and leave potential students feeling unsure or confused about what the program is and whether they should enroll or not.
Who Is the Typical Engineering Technology Student?
UVU, just like many other universities, has a primary demographic of recent high school graduates in their late teens and early twenties when it comes to who enrolls in their associate and bachelor degree programs. While the traditional student is the most common user that must be considered while designing the website, the Engineering Technology program also has a higher percentage of students who are non-traditional students than those in many other majors. There are several reasons that non- traditional students decide to enroll in the program, the most common one being a student wanting to advance their career while already working in the field.
The Redesign
New
Old
The Process
The Engineering Technology website already had a lot of work done before my partner and I took over the project as far as redesigning the site went. Five separate teams had created their own research, site redesigns, testing, and documentation. This meant that we went through a lengthy content inventory process, as we wanted to scope out the work that was done while also developing our own ideas and potential solutions on how to fix the website with the previously done work. Once we had interviewed our client, we ended up choosing one of the team’s designs that we felt best solved the client’s and user’s problems to move forward with.
Once we chose a design, we picked up where the previous team left off. The designs we were given were great already, but there were issues and incomplete areas that we needed to fix up in order to address client needs and consistency. Much of our work was busy work that involved touching up small details, implementing ideas we had brainstormed, and iterating that process all over again. This included the creation and editing of surface comps and functional prototypes in order to show the client the work that was done and simulate the user experience to ensure that the design addresses their needs.
Conclusion
This project gave me a lot of first time experiences in my introduction to the field of UX. I worked with a team member on the project, I worked directly and communicated with a client, and took over a project already part way through the design process rather than starting at the beginning. It gave me a more “realistic” view of what to expect when I begin working professionally as a UX designer. This experience was much needed, especially considering that I am a person who enjoys to work on things on their own. It gave me the experience on how to properly communicate with team members, clients, managers, etc.
As far as the site goes, I believe that the redesign solves many of the problems the current design is facing. The fresh coat of paint makes for a better aesthetic experience, but the structure, navigation, content organization, and interaction simplification really make the design much more digestible and welcoming for potential students who may be interested in the program. They aren’t overwhelmed with information, but can easily access more when they wish to. There are many more calls to action to enroll, and the most important reasons one should consider the program are listed at the very beginning on the home page. The next step is to hand this design off to the web developer for implementation.