INDIVIDUAL CONTRIBUTOR WORK

WSU online - simplifying communication between consultant and user

Introducing a new, online offering for one of the highest ranked universities in the world required innovative ways of communicating as well.

the project

WSU Online is the online arm of Western Sydney University, ranked in the top 2% of universities worldwide.

I worked with WSU Online for 18 months during its inception. My main focus was the university's website, with the goal to simplify applying for courses and giving a step-by-step guide to users.

my role

I supported the development of WSU Online as the Content Designer.

This project took place from February 2017 to August 2018.

My main tasks included:

  • interviewed internal stakeholders and team members to understand pain points.

  • facilitated user research across website and shadowing user consultations.

  • designed and tested new information sections for websites and email campaigns, based on detailed information provided by subject matter experts.

  • communicated the changes and process of the new information sections with internal stakeholders, supported the email marketing specialist in a targeted campaign and monitored user behaviour across the websites following launch.

WSU Online’s starting point into its digital learning experience.

the process

Being part of the team from the project's inception, I established a Content Design flow early on to help navigate the amount of information necessary for a product launch and task-driven user experience.

The content design flow followed the double diamond design process:

Part 1: Discover and define

  • Intro chat: Get to know stakeholders, users and SMEs.

  • Problem statement: Hypothesise the main pain points for each group.

  • User stories: Define at a high level what needs to be addressed and prioritise stories accordingly.

Part 2: Ideate and implement

  • Content ideation: Move on from the blank canvas and start creating based on the collated knowledge.

  • Content design: Review suggested content with stakeholders and SMEs.

  • Test: Test accessibility and understanding with users.

  • Live: Share findings and finalised copy with stakeholders and business and go live.

Visualisation of the content design flow at WSU Online.

outcomes and learnings

Through a well-structured information architecture and clear communication I managed to introduce a more task-driven navigation for users through the websites and applications.

By giving users access to more information, at the right time and in the right place, WSU Online consultants managed to reduce their initial consultation time on the product by 30% and, within 6 months, even managed to cut down the overall number of phone calls with an individual user by 20%.

While working on WSU Online I took some important lessens with me:

  • Cross-departmental communication is important: No one can be an expert at everything, so communicating with experts and including them in the process early on helped me understand products I wasn't comfortable with a lot faster.

  • Get everyone together: Early on in the project I established a weekly, 15-minute standup with team members who weren't used to working in an agile team, allowing us to give updates and avoid confusion

  • Small changes can have big impact: Don't discount small details as they might be the key to solving a central pain point users experience.