User-centered thinking in higher ed
communications Batu Sayici Melissa Zuroff

Hello!
@batusayici
@MelissaZuroff

Let’s talk about • Using
research and data to establish a user-centered strategy • Determining the tools and team needed • Recognizing and exploring how to approach potential challenges

User-centered design Designing a product
or service around how users want or need to use it, rather than forcing them to change their behavior to accommodate your product or service.

Before
flickr.com/photos/remembertobreathe/14351037195

Internally driven communication mimicking organizational
structure and language!

The problem?

Now

A user-centered design and content
strategy reflecting students’: 1. mental model 2. priorities 3. language

How to get there in
4 steps

Get management support and sponsorship.
1

Challenges you might face •
No budget/staff • Low awareness of benefits • Resistance to act • Organizational change

Overcome the challenges • Show,
don’t just tell. • Focus on projects that produce tangible results. • Involve stakeholders throughout the process of planning, execution, analysis, and reporting.

Make your argument.

Emphasize what a user-centered strategy
enables • More effectively meeting organizational objectives • Better serving user needs • Better accountability

Some resources on getting leadership
buy-in:

Build the right team.
2

Identify the right people and
skill sets… Visual Design UX Content Analyst

…and foster their skills.

Involve users (early) in the
design process. 3

Determine your process. Interviews Social
Media Surveys Analytics Brainstorming Card sorting Surveys Analytics Usability tests

Use your data to find
what’s not working.

Understand current experience and pain
points.

Simplify
their journey.

Talk their language. Avoid jargon
and internal terminology.

Check rough
prototypes early.

Test & iterate Quick and
dirty is better than none.

Here’s an example

Tips for user tests •
Use social media and email to create a pool of participants. • Offer desirable incentives. • Run small tests often. • Aim to make things better, not perfect.

Some resources on
testing:

Measure and
communicate results.
4

3 3.25 3.5 3.75 4
easy to find easy to understand enjoyable Before After Results

To be more user-centered… Get
management support and sponsorship. Build the right team. Involve users early in the design process. Measure and communicate results.

–Steve Krug “When fixing problems,
try to do the least you can do.” But also…

Questions?
@batusayici
@MelissaZuroff