New directions for the UTSWeb
The UTS website will be redeveloped during 2006 - 2007. The first phase of redevelopment will define the new information architecture (IA).
Summary of proceedings from the Development of the UTS website - Open Forum 23/3/2006.
An open forum to discuss options for changes to the information structure of the site was held on the 23 March 2006. The forum provided opportunity to introduce the UTSWeb IA proposal for change and gather initial feedback on some of the recommendations outlined in the the redevelopment of the UTSWeb Information Architecture briefing paper (PDF document 656KB). An audio recording (MP3 23.5MB) of the forum enabled the discussion to be documented. This webpage provides a summary of the forum proceedings as well as some further explanation in response to the various issues that were raised.
A UTSWebDevelopment mailing list has been created to enable feedback to be gathered on this project as well as communicate announcements to stakeholders.
To subscribe to the list, please enter your email address in the box below:
Presentation: Introduction to Forum (Shirley Alexander, Director, IML)
- Welcome and purpose of the forum.
- Screen shots of competitor universities websites – Group of Eight, Australian Technology Network and Innovative Research Universities.
- Identification of a change in the way universities are presenting information, the "Information for" and "Information about" approach.
- The website is an important communication tool – seen as the main source of information for prospective students.
Presentation: Overview of UTSWeb IA change proposal (Scott Bryant, Information Architect, IML)
The UTSWeb information architecture needs to be redeveloped for the following reasons.
- Organisational needs have defined new categories of information.
- User expectations have changed.
- New UTSWeb policies have come into place.
- New UTSWeb project developments need to be made more accessible.
- New web technologies have become available to enable better access to information.
A review of the current UTSWeb information architecture identified the following types of information, tools and services that need to be accommodated by a new, improved and consolidated structure.
- Temporary and regularly occurring promotional events, academic and administrative announcements and news items.
- Temporary information items communicating UTS internal or external activities.
- New and existing online core tools and services for students and staff.
The proposed new UTSWeb IA structure is based on:
- The "Information for" and "Information About" method of categorising UTS Information.
- The identification of an emerging industry standard for the categorisation of information accessible from university homepages (as outlined in research done by Melbourne University).
- The need to break down the "silo-based" approach to providing information on organisational subsites via consolidation of key information categories for profiled user groups.
- A need to provide more "profiled" access to core online tools and services via an authenticated entry point (such as "MyUTS" for students or staff).
The new UTSWeb IA would be need to be complemented by a redesigned navigational system and interface design for the UTSWeb that might include:
- A "global navigation" element for every UTSWeb page.
- Areas on the homepage to adequately display and promote key UTSWeb promotional items and announcements.
- The ability to "subscribe" to certain subsets of information.
As required by newly identified UTSWeb IA categories, new content areas will need to be developed and existing ones reviewed. It is recommended that this process is conducted to further consolidate "silo-based" information. Future phases of this project would involve focused discussion with key stakeholders responsible for specific information areas.
The development of the new UTSWeb IA structure will be refined by user testing conducted with key target audiences.
Questions from attendees:
Q: Many of the faculties are currently redesigning their sites in the same timeframe - should they hold off on the redesign while future decisions are made?
Response: The faculties, and any other area of the university, can continue with their redesign projects. Any solution that is proposed for the new UTSWeb will take into consideration existing development projects.
Q:Is there an assessment of the Course Information System (CIS) and how it is used to promote courses and can they be further up in the navigation?
Response: CIS is managed by an operational team that includes faculty representation. Improvements based on feedback are ongoing. IML is working with clients to develop solutions which meet their needs to display course information and related content on their websites. The IA Blueprint proposes to address the accessibility of course information by adding a link within the "About" grouping of links on the home page.
Q: What if students are not accessing the home page of UTS? Many students come from UAC to specific pages on the site.
Response: The aim of the new UTSweb is to try and implement a unifying user experience that can be accessed from all pages – such as a global navigation system. This would provide a consistent experience for all users regardless of their starting point.
Questions to attendees:
Q: Is there anything that you want to keep absolutely on the UTS website? What is essential?
Responses:
- Staff directory
- Events calendar/student life info
- Special days - one click to access sites like Info Day, Orientation, etc is great Contrasting colours help these buttons stand out
- Maps - crucial to new people
- Indexes - not used that widely
- Show more than one news item on the home page
- Prospective students think that the UTS site is better than other unis
- Easy to get to faculty sites
- Working at UTS - important from a staff perspective
- Quicklinks
What extra functionality would you like to see?
- Use of global navigation seems like a good idea - like the proposed suggestion from Scott
- Use RSS feeds/subscriptions as much as possible
- Different clustering of information to help break down the silos
- Wider use of News & Events - can it be used to flag new things?
During the discussion of new functionality, a number of comments, questions and issues were raised as follows.
What is myUTS?
MyUTS is a concept that represents a customised view of UTS information. For example, a staff member might access their email, salary information, relevant forms and documents and have access to commonly used applications from a single page. A student may have links to their faculty, SAU forms, calendar of student-related messages, etc.
- Would be nice to have a place where reports can be uploaded and know that the right people would see them
- Would be good for students as they get too many emails at the moment
Communication with users
- HSS has found that email is still the best communication tool. Inbrief is read "excessively" and some students hardly even know there is an HSS website
- Hard to communicate using the web - email seems to be the best way despite the flyers, leaflets, etc
- Do students have a different perception of the way course information should be presented depending on whether they are an engineering or design student? Are their expectations different?
- Important to realize that students still want to talk to someone
- University of Wollongong has a global utility - however it was easy to get lost as you can choose an audience-based pathway into the site but then you click somewhere else and you get lost as the audience-specific information disappears.
Breaking down the silos
- Remove web home pages? Labeling system doesn't remove identity, just extract the key tasks to the top and make them available
- Web applications vs web information is another form of silo. Another important division is internal vs external audience requirements. These people have different needs. Engineering have tracked vists from UTS home to the faculty and then back to UTS
- Need for a sense of ownership of the information once it is removed from the silos. Each area currently pays for their own sites and therefore there is a greater sense of ownership. This helps reinforce the silos. If it becomes part of the UTS site then the content owners don't necessarily want to pay for that.
- Perhaps the information can be added once and published to many places?
- Review of student admin resulted in the emergence of the e-information manager role. SAU should have one source of information and this role is designed to help move in this direction
Please join the mailing list (above) to contribute more ideas.