The University diligently pursued the enhancement of its CRM system, designed to streamline the registration process for prospective students eager to enroll and become part of the University community.
In collaboration with another team member, my responsibility was to conduct a comprehensive stress test on the upcoming system before its launch. This endeavor aimed to pinpoint and address any potential challenges in the user journey that could arise with the implementation of the new system.
Prior to embarking on this project, we conducted a thorough analysis to outline our testing objectives, anticipate potential challenges, and deliberate on the transformative impact we aimed to achieve. This process established clear overarching goals and a well-defined management structure for the project.
Tools
Adobe XD
Teams
Team
UX Designer (Myself)
Project Manager
My Role
UX Design
UX Research
Timeline
Overall:Around 4 weeks
We identified three user stages.
By conducting user research encompassing personal perspectives, word-of-mouth insights, and qualitative investigations, we identified three primary phases that prospective students typically undergo. The overarching objective was to discern how we could simplify these processes, ultimately attracting and engaging a greater number of students.
01
02
03
Enquirer
Prospect and application
Interview
We delved into a more profound understanding of the cognitive journey a prospective student undergoes when considering potential university courses. This entailed exploring thoughts around the choice between a degree or apprenticeship, determining the specific course to pursue, recognizing the fluctuating emotions they experience throughout the process and the underlying reasons, anticipating their potential actions, and identifying any challenges they might encounter.
We proceeded to examine more refined personas, aiming to pinpoint the distinct characteristics of individuals who might be interested in applying to the University. This meticulous approach was geared towards gaining a comprehensive understanding of the diverse users who could potentially engage with the platform.
Looking at personas
Let's look at this in more detail.
Segmenting the prospect student journey into three key stages proved invaluable in precisely identifying the pivotal milestones. This segmentation facilitated a comprehensive view of the entire journey, enabling us to discern potential pain points as well as areas of excellence that distinguished our approach from other universities.
User Testing
What are we looking for?
Our objective was to assign a variety of tasks to multiple users, specifically designed to mirror the application process for the University. This approach proved instrumental in uncovering both pain points and strengths for users unfamiliar with the system or those who had not previously explored the University.
The first task was simply to use Google to find the University, without searching specifically for it. Phrases such as "Universities near me" "Universities in XYZ". The results below showed that it was around a 50/50 chance of seeing the University as a result from these searches.
50%
Results for the University
50%
No results for the University
Task one: What were the users feeling when on the website?
While meticulously timing users during the account registration process, we went beyond mere observation. We prompted them to articulate their thoughts, frustrations, and reflections aloud, seeking to glean deeper insights into the intricacies of their journey. This approach aimed to unveil the unspoken aspects of their user experience, providing us with a nuanced understanding of the motivations and considerations influencing their actions throughout the registration journey.
Task two - find the course finder
We subsequently tasked users with locating the course finder on the University website, yielding diverse outcomes. Some swiftly located the information, while others encountered challenges, showcasing a spectrum of user experiences. Observing this task provided valuable insights into what users found intuitive and straightforward, as well as areas that presented challenges.
Task three -
Register for the application portal on the University site
Subsequently, we delved into the patterns governing user registrations on the application portal hosted on our website. The findings revealed a consistent and balanced outcome, as each user exhibited comparable durations during the registration process.
Final Task: Change your interview date
The concluding challenge involved interview management, exploring scenarios where users needed to either cancel, reschedule, or ascertain the details of their upcoming interviews. Guiding users through this process, we requested them to articulate their thoughts, methodically vocalising the steps they took while sharing their reflections and frustrations.
The outcomes revealed a spectrum of completion times, ranging from 1-minute to a more considered 3-minute duration for altering interview dates.
