The University sought to improve the efficiency of their Digital IT SharePoint platform to deliver a better user experience.
Our goal was to maximise accessibility for all staff members within the SharePoint platform, ensuring a streamlined process for swiftly locating necessary resources. By prioritising ease of navigation, we aimed to minimise the time spent searching for information, thus enabling staff to work with greater efficiency and productivity.
Problem
The existing Digital IT SharePoint housed more than 20 pages containing essential information for each department within Digital IT, with numerous subpages nested within. However, locating information had become increasingly challenging due to the absence of a standardised naming convention and a clear layout. The primary concern was to prevent the "element of least astonishment," wherein users accustomed to specific behaviours suddenly encounter confusion or unexpected behaviour following updates. This required careful consideration to ensure seamless navigation and usability post-implementation.
Solution
The approach involved collaborating with the Digital IT project manager to reverse-engineer the existing SharePoint setup. This entailed identifying pain points, assessing successful components, and pinpointing areas requiring enhancement. Furthermore, the team scrutinised the overarching objectives and outlined the desired achievements within the allocated timeframe.
Tools
Adobe XD
Teams
Trello
Team
UX Designer (Myself)
Project Manager
My Role
UX Design
UX Research
UI Design
Timeline
Overall: Around 4 weeks
Research: 2 weeks
Design: 2 weeks
Reporting
Throughout this project, documentation was maintained via comprehensive reports. These reports served multiple purposes: firstly, to provide a clear overview of the project's current status, enabling stakeholders to gauge progress accurately. Secondly, they highlighted areas requiring further attention, facilitating focused efforts where necessary. Lastly, these reports served as condensed archives of the entire project, invaluable for future reference and reflective analysis.
Documenting processes is crucial not only for ensuring transparency and accountability but also for preserving institutional knowledge and facilitating continuous improvement. It allows teams to track progress, identify challenges, and make informed decisions, ultimately contributing to the project's success and fostering organisational learning.
01
Project management
02
Research
03
Sketches
04
Wireframing
05
Hi-Fi Prototype
06
Next Steps
Backwards Engineering
Prior to commencing user research and design endeavours, we began a comprehensive backwards engineering process. This involved deconstructing the current SharePoint infrastructure to its core elements, sketching out each part of the user journey. Additionally, we compiled a comprehensive inventory of all pages within the existing SharePoint framework.
Backwards engineering proved indispensable as it provided us with a profound understanding of the platform's intricacies, functionalities, and user interactions. By peeling back the layers of complexity, we gained invaluable insights that informed subsequent phases of the project. This approach not only facilitated the identification of pain points and areas for improvement but also served as a foundation for innovative solutions tailored to the specific needs of our users.
Content sitemap
In order to gain a comprehensive understanding of the content housed within the page, I opted to create a detailed site map. This strategic approach allowed me to visualise the scope of the content and identify areas where consolidation could streamline the user journey effectively.
By organising the content into a structured map, we could identify patterns, redundancies, and opportunities for optimisation. Moreover, this method enabled us to centralise all content in one accessible location, facilitating efficient grouping and enabling us to refine naming conventions for clarity and consistency.
Site mapping played a pivotal role in not only providing an overview of the existing content but also in laying the groundwork for an improved and more user-friendly digital environment.
Prototype Example:
Notable alterations include:
Implementation of a banner situated at the page's summit, drawing inspiration from earlier examples. This banner will serve as navigational buttons leading to commonly accessed pages, enriching the page's visual appeal while enhancing functionality.
Quick links have been reorganised into a single row beneath the banners. This layout adjustment reduces the need for extensive eye movements, streamlining the process of locating desired information along a singular axis.
Incorporating a brief survey onto the Sharepoint to gather user feedback regarding their experience can be immensely beneficial for several reasons. Firstly, it provides direct insight into the user's journey, allowing businesses to understand the strengths and weaknesses of their website from the user's perspective. This feedback can highlight areas of improvement, such as navigation issues, content clarity, or technical glitches, which may otherwise go unnoticed.
Additionally, surveys can uncover valuable insights into user preferences, behaviours, and pain points, informing strategic decision-making and guiding website optimisation efforts.
Hi-Fi Prototyping
Before proceeding with the construction of a webpage, it's advantageous to utilise hi-fi prototyping, which involves the creation of detailed mock-ups incorporating imagery and prominent titles that reflect the intended final design.
This approach serves multiple purposes: firstly, it provides stakeholders with a realistic preview of the proposed changes, facilitating informed decision-making and alignment on design elements. Secondly, hi-fi prototypes enabled us to identify potential design flaws or inconsistencies early in the process, minimising the need for extensive revisions later on.
Additionally, these prototypes serve as valuable communication tools, effectively conveying the envisioned design direction to all involved parties. By leveraging hi-fi prototyping, teams can streamline the development process, ensure design coherence, and ultimately deliver a more polished and user-friendly end product.
