University of Toronto Human Biology Department — Experience Mapping Project
Background
The University of Toronto's Human Biology department came to our student team requesting a website evaluation and redesign. The main goal of this project was to represent UX design to our client and demonstrate the user's journey via experience maps, with both an “As-Is” scenario and an improved “To-Be” scenario.
The Human Biology department requested "a revamped version of [their] current website that’s easier to navigate. It was first released 5 years ago, and this is a great opportunity to refresh [their] look and make sure that both [their] information and styling are up-to-date."
After looking over the website and talking with students, we found that there were four main issues:
It was difficult and time consuming to find information
Users were unaware of most features that the website offers
Important information is not easily accessible
Users were unable to plan ahead for upcoming academic years
As-Is Scenario
We first created an As-Is scenario in the form of an experience map with four distinct stages in the user journey: research, plan for the future, seek advice, and stay connected. In each of these stages, we looked at the various actions, thoughts, feelings, and pain points that users would typically have based on our research. We also evaluated the specific touchpoints a user would have with the Human Biology department, and how they align with the department's goals and opportunities. The issues that users encountered were integrated into the experience map, and provided us with a way to present to the organization what users specifically wanted and needed, as well as where they were getting most frustrated.
To-Be Scenario
We then created a new experience map with four new stages: find a source, browse options, find courses, and pick a course. The top half of the chart is the initial As-Is scenario, with the new and improved To-Be scenario underneath it along with a storyboard of the improved navigation workflow for the website. We made several improvements to the website and the user journey:
Increased findability: we decreased the amount of time a user needs to spend on the site to get to the information they are seeking.
Organized navigation: we redesigned the main menu so that information is easier to access.
Improved information hierarchy: we reorganized information into more appropriate categories to eliminate distractions and give users a more straightforward and logical information hierarchy.
Eliminating oversized visual information and charts: we brought more important information above the fold by eliminating large and confusing images that were overwhelming users.
Updated information: users were having trouble finding updated information about all newly available Human Biology courses, so we added and updated the information in a more accessible location.
Adding more contextual links: we added more descriptive context and labeling to links so that users could save time and effort to find additional information.