Driving Enrollment Results with User-Centered Design

Val FoxBentley UniversityOffice of Digital Engagement

Acquia WebinarAugust 22, 2013

By 2:00, you will learn to:• Apply focus groups, usability testing, online

surveys, personas and Google Analytics to develop user insights

By 2:00, you will learn to:• Run focus groups and usability testing, launch

online surveys, develop personas and apply Google Analytics to develop user insights

• Increase online conversion by an average of 25-30%

By 2:00, you will learn to:• Run focus groups and usability testing, launch

online surveys, develop personas and apply Google Analytics to develop user insights

• Increase online conversion by an average of 25-30%

• DIY for ~ $3,000

Business school in Waltham, MA• 4,000+ undergraduate students; 1,400 graduate students• 20 undergraduate majors; 10 masters programs

Digital Engagement Office• 7-person team• Supports ~80 sites

Infrastructure • Managed cloud hosting by Acquia• Powered by Drupal CMS

“It doesn’t matter what I think about your website”

User-centered design begins with understanding your users

Photo source: webcoursesbangkok.com

Make it easy to find academic program info

I use my mobile device for all my web browsing

Design for me NOT you!

Your website will affect what I think of your school

You can text me relevant info

Making a case for users begins with NOT talking about users.

Admissions doesn’t care about users

They DO care about and want:• More info session and tour attendees• More “request info” leads• More applicants

Wake Up Call

Mobile traffic was doubling every 8-10 months

Source: Google Analytics

Wake Up Call

20% of prospective students said they would remove a school from consideration because of a poor web experience

Source: Noel Levitz2011 E-Expectations Report

Wake Up Call

70% of prospective students said a school’s web site affects their perception of the institution

Source: Noel Levitz2013 E-Expectations Report

Admissions

We need a mobile site by Fall!

We can learn Drupal 7

This is one of our top priorities

Admissions

Design a new mobile-ready site!

Traditional Development

Requirements

Design

Development

QA

Launch

User-Centered Development

Analysis

Design

Development

QA

Launch

Prototype

Test

Requirements

But won’t all this take longer?!

100x more expensive to make site changes POST launch

Nielson Norman Group

User-Centered Development Cycle

Analysis

Design

Development

QA

Launch

Prototype

Test

RequirementsFocus GroupsOnline SurveysPersonasAnalytics

Focus Groups

Photo source: cartoonstock.com

Focus GroupsBest for: Sourcing qualitative feedback

Who: • Prospective undergraduate students • Parents (undergraduate)• Prospective graduate students

Source: • Undergraduate Tours• Graduate Open House

Goal: Gain an understanding of• General web usage • College research process• Priority online content• Influencers

Photo source: tamarabustos.com

Focus GroupsSet up: 1 hr sessions at our research lab

Groups of 5-6 students/parentsPaid $50 each + pizzaFacilitator and note taker

Cost: $2,500

Time: 4 weeks

Output: Summary of findings > shared w/team

Bring personas to life:“Don’t tweet me after I apply, that’s just weird!”

“My mom loves helping me with the research process, it’s her way of ‘bonding’ with me.”

Center for Marketing TechnologyBentley University

Online Surveys

Online Surveys

Best for: Quantitative feedback• Purpose of site visit• Able to complete purpose of visit• Why (or why not)

Who: 500+ site visitors to our Admissions sites

Online Surveys

Tool: iPerceptions “Plus” account • Data export• Unlimited data collection• Device-specific• Adjustable invitation rate • Multi-language

Cost: $20/mo

Approach: 4 standard + optional questions

Online Surveys

Standard Questions:

Rate your overall site experience (1-10)Primary purpose of visit (multi-choice)Were you able to complete purpose of your visit (yes/no)• If yes > what did you value most• If no > why not

How likely are you to recommend

Optional Questions:

Visit frequencySource (how you arrived at site)Demographics

Online Surveys

Output: Summary shared via PPT doc

Key Learnings:

Qualified visitors are most demanding

Content = meat + potatoes

“Information too vague”“Couldn’t find average SAT scores”“I want detailed information on the grad program curriculum”

Photo source: chefmom.sheknows.com

Personas

Source: Forrester ResearchAgency: Primacy

PersonasDefined as: Hypothetical user developed through interviews &

observations of real users

Use for: Create a common understanding of target audience

Must: • Sound like a real person• Include compelling narrative• Call out key attributes & high level goals• Enable design decisions• Include scenarios

Example Scenario

Persona Prospective graduate student

Goal: Find a part-time MBA program in Boston area

Scenario: • Searches for “Boston MBA programs”• Reaches Bentley.edu > Academics > Graduate

Programs• Sees MBA programs but labels aren’t clear• Visits each program page to learn more but gets

frustrated with time spent

Personas

Source: Forrester ResearchAgency: Primacy

Photos of Kelly’s items give a feeling for her lifestyle

Infographics convey Kelly’s device usage & tech proficiency

Google Analytics

Best for:

Cost:

Revealing behavior – NOT intent

Comprehensive site analytics AND ad-hoc reporting

Free!

Site Performance Measurement

Pre-launch: Tracking out-of-the-box stats:• Site visits & visitors• Pageviews• Pages/visit• Bounce rate• Top pages• Traffic by source

Results: No actionable insightsNo ownership

Site Performance MeasurementPost-launch: Set up Admission profiles w/dashboards

Tracking KPIs & delivering automated reports:• Conversion rates by form• Conversion rates by source• Cost per visit (search keywords)

Results Regular review w/stakeholdersOwnership & accountability

User-Centered Development Cycle

Analysis

Design

Development

QA

Launch

Prototype

Test

RequirementsFocus GroupsOnline SurveysPersonasAnalytics

Design teamStakeholders

User-Centered Development Cycle

Analysis

Design

Development

QA

Launch

Prototype

Test

Requirements

User Testing

Usability Testing

Best for: Finding specific problems (prototype or live site)

Who: 8-10 students for each Admission site

Set-up: Facilitator + note-takerCamtasia Studio (screen capture)

Cost: $99/license – Camtasia$15 gift card - tester

Usability Testing

TasksTested:

Site navigation (find a major or program)Sign up for a tourFind application deadlinesFind link to applyFind info for accepted students

Output: Summary of findingsDesign modifications before handoff to dev

Total cost: $400

Launch of BOTH sites Nov-Dec 2012

bentley.edu/undergraduatebentley.edu/graduate

Results

Year-over-Year: Online leadsUndergrad: 6% increaseGrad: 11% increase

Sign up for tours & info sessionsUndergrad: 17% increase

Click-thru to Common AppUndergrad: 39% increase

Total cost: $3,200

Stay in touch

• Twitter:@ValerieFox• www.slideshare.net/FoxAtBentley• www.bentley.edu/DE