1. Alumni Website: Tree Jack Debrief
Research Lead: Angela Boodoo
Digital Team
May 2015
Tuesday, September 15, 2015 1
2. • There were 5 key areas that participants struggled to locate in the tree:
• Q1 – Careers mentoring via other Alumni
• Q2 – Corporate giving
• Q7 – Ex-academic staff volunteering
• Q9 – Social enterprise event sponsorship
• Q13 – Continuing professional development
• Support Surrey
• This section contained Level 3 pages which led to participants spending
extra time navigating within the structure
• 3/5 topics that participants struggled to locate were under this category
• Participants gave feedback that there were too many options in this
category, which could result in missing vital details
• Reunions
• Are considered both part of “Keep in touch” and “Events and Awards”
Executive summary
Tuesday, September 15, 2015 2
3. The Alumni & Relations team want to optimise their current website to better
serve their audiences.
Project background
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Objectives:
1.To create an identity for the Surrey
Alumni Network
2.Make donor material accessible via
digital channels
3.Make lifelong relationships (learning,
giving, volunteering) easier to manage
via the website
4.Use the website to engage an active,
vibrant community of Surrey Alumni
This will be achieved through:
•Bringing the Surrey Alumni website
into a consistent look & feel with the
main website
•Migrating existing content from
NetCommunity to Drupal
•Optimising content and navigation
structure through application of user-
centred design techniques
5. Using Optimal Workshop
software we conducted an
online remote Tree Jack
study.
Research methodology
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Tree Jack testing is a usability
technique for evaluating the
findability of topics within a
defined navigation structure.
Tree Jack testing aims to answer
the following:
- Is your content hierarchy well
structured?
-Is the taxonomy and labelling
appropriate?
-Can users find what they’re
looking for ?
We based the Tree Jack structure
in this test on the prior Card Sort
recommendations.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tree_testing
We gave participants 13
scenarios and asked them where
in the structure they would most
likely to find a topic.
Participant number/validity
As recommended by Jakob
Nielsen, we opted to find a
minimum of 15 participants to
achieve a 0.90 correlation in
similarity scores
6. A total of 16 participants from the Surrey Alumni community were invited to take part
Participants
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11 Male
5 Female
10. Key:
Success = % participants who
selected the correct location in
the tree
Directness = % confident
selections (without going back
up/down the tree)
Score out of 10 = an overall
weighted average of success &
directness at a ratio of 3:1 and
scaled to a value out of 10. Scores
of 5 and below should be
considered fails.
Hover over the scores to see a
recap of the question topic.
Results overview
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3/10
1/10
7/10
7/10
6/10
9/10
2/10
7/10
1/10
9/10
7/10
7/10
5/10
11. It is assumed that career support is
open to all Alumni. Are there
differences in support for recent
graduates vs general alumni?
1. You've been working for 5 years and are considering a career change. You want to connect with fellow
Surrey alumni who may be able to support or advise you. Where would you go?
What we found
Careers mentoring with fellow alumni
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12. Tuesday 15 September 2015 12
1. You've been working for 5 years and are considering a career change. You want to
connect with fellow Surrey alumni who may be able to support or advise you. Where
would you go?
What we found
Careers mentoring with fellow alumni
This topic best suited to:
-Professional development
-Careers support
13. What we found
Corporate giving partnership
Tuesday 15 September 2015 13
2. You work for a multi-national technology company which is looking to establish a
corporate giving partnership with a reputable academic institution, such as Surrey.
Where would you go find out how to do this?
There was confusion about where
to locate content for corporate
audiences
14. Tuesday 15 September 2015 14
2. You work for a multi-national technology company which is looking to establish a
corporate giving partnership with a reputable academic institution, such as Surrey.
Where would you go find out how to do this?
This topic best suited to:
-Support Surrey
-Global partnerships
What we found
Corporate giving partnership
15. What we found
Leaving a legacy
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3. You have fond memories of your time studying at Surrey and would like to
leave a donation in your will. Where would you go to do this?
16. What we found
Leaving a legacy
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3. You have fond memories of your time studying at Surrey and would like to
leave a donation in your will. Where would you go to do this?
17. What we found
Career mentoring from the University
Tuesday 15 September 2015 17
4. You're a recent graduate and are looking for a career mentor from the
Surrey Alumni network. Where would you go to find a mentor?
The differentiation between “services”
supplied by the University and
connecting to fellow alumni should be
made distinct.
Networking is facilitated through
events.
18. What we found
Career mentoring from the University
Tuesday 15 September 2015 18
4. You're a recent graduate and are looking for a career mentor from the
Surrey Alumni network. Where would you go to find a mentor?
This topic best suited to:
-Careers support
-Professional development
-Mentor a student
19. What we found
Forever Surrey Magazine back issues
Tuesday 15 September 2015 19
5. A fellow alumni tells you about an interesting article in an old edition of the Forever
Surrey magazine from 2014. Where would you go to see if you can track down the
article?
20. What we found
Forever Surrey Magazine back issues
Tuesday 15 September 2015 20
5. A fellow alumni tells you about an interesting article in an old edition of the Forever
Surrey magazine from 2014. Where would you go to see if you can track down the
article?
This topic best suited to:
-News & Publications
-Forever Surrey Magazine
21. What we found
International events
Tuesday 15 September 2015 21
6. You live and work in California and are wondering whether there are any
upcoming Alumni events near you. Where would you go?
22. What we found
International events
Tuesday 15 September 2015 22
6. You live and work in California and are wondering whether there are any
upcoming Alumni events near you. Where would you go?
This topic best suited to:
-International Events
23. What we found
Former academic staff volunteering
Tuesday 15 September 2015 23
7. As an emeritus professor, you would like to support the faculty you previously
worked in - both financially and as a volunteer speaker. Where would you go?
“Giving back to Surrey” will replace
Support Surrey.
Ensure there is a clear information for
how former professional staff can
contribute in both time and money.
Consider the link back to Faculty &
Department/Schools sites
24. What we found
Former academic staff volunteering
Tuesday 15 September 2015 24
7. As an emeritus professor, you would like to support the faculty you previously
worked in - both financially and as a volunteer speaker. Where would you go?
This topic best suited to:
-Support Surrey
-Create specific content for this
audience
25. What we found
Volunteer – time-limited
Tuesday 15 September 2015 25
8. You're looking for opportunities to volunteer at Surrey but have limited
time available. Where would you go to find suitable opportunities?
26. What we found
Volunteer – time-limited
Tuesday 15 September 2015 26
8. You're looking for opportunities to volunteer at Surrey but have limited
time available. Where would you go to find suitable opportunities?
This topic best suited to:
-Volunteering
-Current opportunities
27. What we found
Social enterprise event sponsorship
Tuesday 15 September 2015 27
9. You work for a start-up social enterprise and as part of your marketing activity would
like to sponsor a Surrey Alumni event. Where would you go to find out how to do this?
28. What we found
Social Enterprise Event sponsorship
Tuesday 15 September 2015 28
9. You work for a start-up social enterprise and as part of your marketing activity would
like to sponsor a Surrey Alumni event. Where would you go to find out how to do this?
This topic best suited to:
-Support Surrey
-Creation of new content
focused on corporate
sponsors
29. What we found
Regular donor thanks
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10. You currently make a regular donation to the university totalling £100 or more per
financial year. Where would you go to find out how the university recognises its
supporters?
30. What we found
Regular donor thanks
Tuesday 15 September 2015 30
10. You currently make a regular donation to the university totalling £100 or more per
financial year. Where would you go to find out how the university recognises its
supporters?
Donor Circle tiers (Acorn and Oak)
were not well understood terms by
all participants.
31. What we found
Organise a reunion
Tuesday 15 September 2015 31
11. It's 10 years since you graduated and you'd like to organise a reunion with
your classmates on campus. Where do you go?
Reunions are secondarily
considered as Events.
32. What we found
Organise a reunion
Tuesday 15 September 2015 32
11. It's 10 years since you graduated and you'd like to organise a reunion with
your classmates on campus. Where do you go?
This topic best suited to:
-Keep in touch
-Events & Awards
33. What we found
Past events
Tuesday 15 September 2015 33
12. You missed a recent Alumni event and have come to the website to look for details
and pictures of the event to see if anyone you knew attended. Where would you go?
34. What we found
Past Events
Tuesday 15 September 2015 34
12. You missed a recent Alumni event and have come to the website to look for details
and pictures of the event to see if anyone you knew attended. Where would you go?
This topic best suited to:
-Events & Awards
-Past events
35. What we found
Continuing professional development
Tuesday 15 September 2015 35
13. You are considering doing a further course of studies and are wondering
whether you are entitled to any fee discounts. Where would you go?
36. What we found
Continuing professional development
Tuesday 15 September 2015 36
13. You are considering doing a further course of studies and are wondering
whether you are entitled to any fee discounts. Where would you go?
This topic best suited to:
-Benefits & Discounts
-Professional Development
37. User feedback
Tuesday 15 September 2015 37
“ I almost wonder whether the current
structure has too many options? I can
see that I might miss the information I
want because I have picked the wrong
option. I wonder whether the list could
be shortened, with more information
and links on the landing pages. A good
search facility could help to answer
questions similar to those used in the
exercise.”
--David P
“ I almost wonder whether the current
structure has too many options? I can
see that I might miss the information I
want because I have picked the wrong
option. I wonder whether the list could
be shortened, with more information
and links on the landing pages. A good
search facility could help to answer
questions similar to those used in the
exercise.”
--David P
“There isn't an obvious place
to find information on how to
hold a reunion. I found it hard
to choose/navigate to the
correct place re event
sponsorship - I chose 'make a
corporate gift' but this isn't a
particularly good match.”
--Lucy E
“There isn't an obvious place
to find information on how to
hold a reunion. I found it hard
to choose/navigate to the
correct place re event
sponsorship - I chose 'make a
corporate gift' but this isn't a
particularly good match.”
--Lucy E
“Some of the items may
appear in one place, but
pages were still easily
identifiable within only
a few levels.”
--Lewis Y
“Some of the items may
appear in one place, but
pages were still easily
identifiable within only
a few levels.”
--Lewis Y
39. • Streamline Level 3 content under Support Surrey to 2 levels:
• Consolidate sections “Support our students”, “Support our facilities”,
“Support our Projects” under Ways to Volunteer / Upcoming opportunities
• Create tailored content for Corporate donors and sponsors under Support Surrey
and consider other areas of the site such as Business
• Create tailored content for ways in which ex-Academic staff can get involved with
their former faculty/school/department. This content could also live on Faculty sites
• CPD course discounts/opportunities for Alumni should be located in Alumni &
Community > Professional Development
• Make the distinction between Career support provided by the university for recent
graduates vs Alumni careers mentoring as the total Careers support proposition for
all Alumni
Recommendations
Tuesday 15 September 2015 39
40. • Monitor site traffic for reunions in the new “Alumni Networks & Benefits” section to
evaluate suitable fit for Alumni forum planned for the “Keep in touch”
Future opportunities
Tuesday 15 September 2015 40
