Web Design
myUniversity Learning Portal
Project
Information
The goal
The primary business goal was to create a learning portal with modern social and collaboration features and functionality.
The audience
Create a central and findable presence for myUniversity that served the needs of learners, people managers and learning partners.
User
Context
When
To develop a skill, look for content and information to perform their jobs, learn what courses are available, who to contact for help, and when to engage the learning solutions team.
Where
Employees access the myUniversity learning portal from their smartphone and desktop computer, working remotely or from the office.
Identifying
Problems
Empathetic Interviews
One-on-one conversations that use open-ended questions to elicit stories about specific experiences that help uncover unacknowledged needs. A protocol allowing me to probe more deeply into stories than a more traditional interview.
Usability Testing
Research Methodology:
- Remote, moderated sessions via WebEx.
- Sessions last 60 minutes and are conducted using two prototypes.
- Designs are counterbalanced.
Potential
Solutions
Platform
The new corporate intranet platform offers modern social and collaborative learning features and functionality and serves as a central and findable presence for myUniversity.
Interface
MyUniversity provides a user-friendly, web-based experience with intuitive menus, and clear and simple navigation. Users can complete tasks in a minimum amount of time and effort.
Prioritizing
Options
Value for user
Users feel empowered when they can reduce the time and frustration of finding the most relevant courses and learning resources.
Business goals
Promote featured learning and professional development opportunities. Provide a launch point for informal learning. Enable every employee to connect with the company culture.
Reach
Providing access to 74,000 employees working for one of the largest providers of pharmacy benefits and insurance plans in the United States.
Implementation effort
Solutions were prioritized on the basis of which had the most value for users, provided the greatest business impact while also minimizing implementation time and effort.
Product
Design
User flows
User flow is the path taken by an employee to complete a task. The user flow takes them from their entry point through a set of steps towards a successful outcome and final action, such as registering for a myUniversity course.
Template
Templates display all of the necessary page components functioning together in the context of layout to prove the parts add up to a well-functioning whole.
Templates focus on the page’s underlying content structure:
- Image size
- Character length for headings and text passages
- Navigation and interactivity
- Call-to-action buttons
Mid-fidelity mockup
A medium-fidelity mockup is a step up from its low fidelity counterpart. Medium-fidelity mockups will have more detail — including accurate spacing, headlines, icons and buttons.
Using medium-fidelity mockups is a good idea if you want a realistic visual design that resembles what the new product functionality will look like to facilitate more detailed critiques of visual elements and functionality so changes can be made.
Prototype
Mockups are static yet realistic renderings of what a product or feature will look like and how it will be used. Prototypes are representations that demonstrate how a user will interact with the new product or feature.
Defining
Success
Task success rate
Can users achieve their goal or task quickly and easily? Task success is measured by factors like efficiency (how long it takes users to complete the task) effectiveness (percent of tasks completed), and error rate.
Adoption
How many people complete their skills profile and become regular users? Adoption is measured by number of new users over a period of time or percentage of employees using a new feature.
Engagement
How often are people coming back to use the product? Engagement can be measured by number of visits per user per week, session length, or a key action, like course completion, videos viewed or articles read.
Retention
What percentage of users are returning to the myUniversity site? Retention can also be measured by dwell time.
Project
Result
Employees found the myUniversity website helpful and easy to use. They enjoy the content and see value in it. Users are able to complete their goals quickly and easily.
User flow
User flow is the path taken by an employee to complete a task. The user flow takes them from their entry point through a set of steps towards a successful outcome and final action, such as registering for a myUniversity course.
Click image to enlarge.
Page Specifications
Page specifications display all of the necessary page components functioning together in the context of layout to prove the parts add up to a well-functioning whole.
Specifications focus on the page’s underlying content structure:
- Images
- Photography
- Iconography
- Typography
- Navigation
- Layout
Click image to enlarge.
Mid-fidelity mockup
Medium fidelity mockups are specific instances of templates that show what a User Interface (UI) looks like with real representative content in place.
During the design process I create wireframes, and mockups, to validate the design with stakeholders.
The mockups have most of the necessary design elements in place. However, they’re still just screens.
Wiring up the screens and creating functioning, interactive prototypes for usability testing is the next step in the process.
Click image to enlarge.
High-fidelity prototype
Prototypes are developed when usability testing and user feedback sessions are needed.
- Not every feature of the prototype needs to work. My goals/objectives are to:
- Conduct A/B testing to determine how two design concepts perform in terms of navigation/ flow and content placement/ labeling.
- Understand the path users are taking to access information.
Click image to play video.
