Project Context

Overview

Challenge

Campus Connect website is cluttered, overwhelming, and difficult to navigate, which avoids DePaul university students to access information such as grades through a single link. This project intended to alleviate those issues by reorganizing the menu structure, decrease confusion by reworking the page flow, and creating a modern and responsive layout. Specific problems were discovered through heuristic evaluations and early usability studies performed on the original Campus Connect, the menu was updated into 6 categories total based on a card sort, and a second usability study performed on the first prototype allowed the researchers to provide a finalized prototype based around a single task: Finding grades.

Project Duration:

June 2016 - August 2016

Tools:

Axshare (Wireframes)

Before our redesign, using Campus Connect was like trying to find your way through a maze with too many dead ends. Students were bombarded with too much information, making it hard to find what they needed. Our challenge was to make it simpler to navigate, like following a clear path, so students could easily find what they were looking for without getting lost in the clutter.

Solution

To arrive at the redesign solution for Campus Connect, we conducted a heuristic evaluation based on Jakob Nielsen's 10 usability heuristics. We began by defining three common tasks that students frequently perform on the website: registering for a class for the summer quarter, checking grades for the spring quarter, and acquiring an unofficial transcript. These tasks served as benchmarks against which we evaluated the current design's usability. Based on the feedback received during iterative testing, we refined the redesign solutions to further optimize usability. This iterative process allowed us to fine-tune the interface based on user

Project Brief

Transitioning from the prior Campus Connect design posed several challenges, notably the complexity of navigation and the clutter caused by an overabundance of information. Students frequently encountered confusion due to the overwhelming volume of content, making it difficult to find what they needed efficiently. Our task was to streamline the interface, simplify navigation, and create a cleaner flow to alleviate this confusion and enhance the overall user experience.

Heuristic Usability Tasks
To arrive at the redesign solution for Campus Connect, we conducted a heuristic evaluation based on Jakob Nielsen's 10 usability heuristics. We began by defining three common tasks that students frequently perform on the website: registering for a class for the summer quarter, checking grades for the spring quarter, and acquiring an unofficial transcript. These tasks served as benchmarks against which we evaluated the current design's usability.

1. Task Definition: We precisely defined each task to ensure clarity and consistency during the evaluation process. For example, for the task "Register for a class for the summer quarter," we specified the steps involved, such as selecting the desired course, checking availability, and completing the registration process.

2. Heuristic Evaluation: With the tasks identified, we systematically assessed the current design of Campus Connect using Nielsen's 10 usability heuristics. This involved analyzing the interface to identify any violations or areas where improvements could be made to enhance usability. We documented our findings and observations for each heuristic, noting both strengths and weaknesses of the existing design.

3. Identifying Issues: During the evaluation, we identified specific issues or challenges within the interface that hindered user experience. These issues ranged from unclear labeling and inconsistent navigation to lack of feedback and error prevention mechanisms.

4. Redesign Solutions: Based on the heuristic evaluation findings, we proposed redesign solutions to address the identified usability issues. For example, if we found that the current design lacked clear feedback for completed actions, we recommended implementing visual indicators or confirmation messages to provide users with immediate feedback about their actions.

5. Iterative Testing: After devising the redesign solutions, we conducted iterative testing to validate their effectiveness. We simulated user interactions with the redesigned interface, focusing on the tasks identified earlier. Through user testing sessions, we gathered feedback from participants regarding the usability and effectiveness of the proposed solutions.

6. Refinement: Based on the feedback received during iterative testing, we refined the redesign solutions to further optimize usability. This iterative process allowed us to fine-tune the interface based on user

Consistency and Standards

The header remained the same on every page, which is to be expected given that it’s similar to an frame website, unless the menu item directed the user to a new window. The body of the page, while similar, was not entirely consistent. It had the same font, same link style, and same icons, but not the same number of columns or header design.

User control and freedom

Users had control when registering for classes, but the rest of the website had a lack of freedom. The dashboard front page looked like a user should be able to customize every field on it, but some fields were required and unable to be moved or deleted.

Aesthetic and minimalist design

the design is simple: It is primarily text-based and has very few images. However, it is extremely outdated and the text is often very cluttered on each page. The information often confuses the user. Slimming down the text and providing bullet points would assist with the minimalist aesthetic.