Download to read offline
Uploaded byIWMW
Grassroots & Guerrillas: The Beginnings of a UX Revolution
This document summarizes Kat Husbands' presentation on the beginnings of a UX revolution at the University of Glasgow. It describes how over time, UX has progressed from being unrecognized to becoming more embedded in the organization's culture and practices. It provides examples of projects where UX methods like surveys, testing, and workshops were used to redesign pages like the staff homepage and student printing pages. Feedback shows these projects improved users' experiences. The presentation urges others to start small with UX work, iterate based on testing, and communicate results to continue progressing UX maturity within their organizations.
More Related Content
Similar to Grassroots & Guerrillas: The Beginnings of a UX Revolution
Grassroots & Guerrillas: The Beginnings of a UX Revolution
- 1. #iwmw2019 #P7 @KatHusbands Grassroots& Guerrillas The beginnings of a UX revolution Kat Husbands, UX Content Specialist IWMW 2019, 26 June, London
- 2. #iwmw2019 #P7 @KatHusbands#iwmw2019#P7 @KatHusbands
- 3. #iwmw2019 #P7 @KatHusbands#iwmw2019#P7 @KatHusbands
- 4. #iwmw2019 #P7 @KatHusbands Younever change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.” “ R. Buckminster Fuller #iwmw2019 #P7 @KatHusbands
- 5. #iwmw2019 #P7 @KatHusbands Userexperience encompasses all aspects of a user’s interaction with a company, its services, and its products.” “ Don Norman UX Architect, Apple What is UX?
- 6. #iwmw2019 #P7 @KatHusbands Howto UX Bring together user needs and business goals through research, design and testing.” “ Neil Scott Glasgow-based UX Designer UX Week motto
- 7. #iwmw2019 #P7 @KatHusbands 2006 Project Administrator 2009 CourseAdministrator & School Web Editor 2016 Internal Comms Officer 2017 Digital Content Officer 2018 UX Content Specialist 100% 0% 50% UX & User-centred design Web Admin How I got to UX
- 8. #iwmw2019 #P7 @KatHusbands 2017 Unrecognised UXis not understood or not considered important Interested UX is considered valuable but gets little attention or resources Considered UX is sometimes prioritized and gets ad-hoc funding Committed UX is critical & formalised; executives actively involved Engaged UX is one of the pillars of strategy Embedded UX is a core part of company culture 1 0 3 2 5 4 The stages of UX maturity
- 9. #iwmw2019 #P7 @KatHusbands Whereto start? Choose your target Start small & iterate Shout about it
- 10. April 2018 Redesigned MyGlasgowStaff homepage November 2017 UofG UX project funded Considered UX gets ad-hoc funding… Making progress on UX maturity
- 11. #iwmw2019 #P7 @KatHusbands Casestudy 1 of 3 MyGlasgow Staff homepage UX methods • Top Tasks survey • Card sorting • Top Task Testing
- 12. #iwmw2019 #P7 @KatHusbands MyGlasgowStaff homepage: Top Tasks survey 300+ staff voted for their top 5 most important tasks Web tasks Logged-in tasks Top tasks top 25% of the vote 1. MyGlasgow Portal login 2. Staff details 3. Policies & procedures 1. Annual leave 2. Payslips Medium tasks next 25% 4. Contact details for a unit 5. Dates 6. Job vacancies 7. MyGlasgow News 8. Maps 9. Salary scales 10. Room finder 11. User guides 3. Report a fault or request a job 4. WebMail 5. Room bookings Small tasks next 25% 14 tasks 5 tasks Tiny tasks bottom 25% 47 tasks 13 tasks
- 13. #iwmw2019 #P7 @KatHusbands Toptasks Medium Small tasks Tiny tasks MyGlasgow Staff homepage: before and after
- 14. #iwmw2019 #P7 @KatHusbands MyGlasgowStaff homepage: impact Pageviews up 7% Entrances up 22% Average time on page down 4 seconds Google Analytics data 1 Apr 2018 - 31 March 2019 compared to same period in previous year 1.1 FTEs 100,793 minutes £54,792
- 15. #iwmw2019 #P7 @KatHusbands MyGlasgowStaff homepage: what next? Keep testing and iterating Keep shouting about it... ...can we save a million minutes?
- 16. April 2018 Redesigned MyGlasgowStaff homepage November 2017 UofG UX project funded Considered UX gets ad-hoc funding… Making progress on UX maturity May 2018 Redesigned student printing pages
- 17. #iwmw2019 #P7 @KatHusbands UXmethods • Stakeholder interviews • Web analytics • Guerrilla testing Case study 2 of 3 Student printing pages
- 18. #iwmw2019 #P7 @KatHusbands Studentprinting: before Stakeholder interviews • Top-3 problem area • Unclear content Web analytics • IA problems • Layout problems
- 19. #iwmw2019 #P7 @KatHusbands Studentprinting: after Rewritten content performs well in user testing Happier heatmap Pageviews down 13%
- 20. #iwmw2019 #P7 @KatHusbands Studentprinting: what next? Nov 2018: more in-depth testing • Problems with macOS set-up • Funds to develop new client, with UX considered from the start Content revisions from Helpdesk Keep testing and iterating… 7th of 12 screens 😱
- 21. April 2018 Redesigned MyGlasgowStaff homepage Interested UX is considered valuable… July 2018 Assistant VP (Digital Education) calls our work “a sea-change in the way ITS approaches Moodle” November 2017 UofG UX project funded Considered UX gets ad-hoc funding… Making progress on UX maturity May 2018 Redesigned student printing pages
- 22. September 2018 Director ofIT Services says they’ll “embed UX practices at every level” Committed Executives actively involved… October 2018 Start of regular UX consultations on new Service Management Platform (ESMP) Interested UX is considered valuable… September 2018 Launched UX Framework November 2018 First permanent UX role created Committed UX is formalized…
- 23. Interested UX is consideredvaluable… December 2018 Cross-College TELT staff get together for first time in 5 years…for a UX workshop December 2018 IT fund the research into Moodle navigation Considered UX gets ad-hoc funding… December 2018 VLE Dev Board gives us remit to “improve the UX of navigating Moodle” Committed UX is formalized…
- 24. #iwmw2019 #P7 @KatHusbands UXmethods • Touchstone Tours • Review of related research • Ideation workshops Case study 3 of 3 Moodle
- 25. #iwmw2019 #P7 @KatHusbands Moodle:2018 upgrade • Touchstone Tours with 8 students • Review of related research • Workshop with key staff 21 UX recommendations • 7 were implemented…
- 26. #iwmw2019 #P7 @KatHusbands 55% Agree 43.9% 33.3% Neutral 37.3% 11.7% Disagree 18.8% 2018-19 2017-18 Ican easily find things on the VLE Jisc Student Digital Experience Survey Moodle: impact of 2018 upgrade
- 27. #iwmw2019 #P7 @KatHusbands •First TELT meet-up in 5 years! • Defined 4 key UX priorities • VLE Dev Board gave us remit to improve navigation Moodle: December 2018
- 28. #iwmw2019 #P7 @KatHusbands •Dedicated budget! • Touchstone Tours with 7 students & 4 staff • 13 staff observed sessions 20 nav recommendations • 16 technical … 11 being implemented! • 4 best practice … 2 in progress Moodle: 2019 upgrade
- 29. #iwmw2019 #P7 @KatHusbands Moodle:what next? Sharing best practice recommendations First structured UAT - script includes UX changes Keep testing and iterating…
- 30. Interested UX is consideredvaluable… December 2018 Cross-College TELT staff get together for first time in 5 years…for a UX workshop December 2018 IT fund the research into Moodle navigation Considered UX gets ad-hoc funding… December 2018 VLE Dev Board gives us remit to “improve the UX of navigating Moodle” Committed UX is formalized… February 2019 ESMP developer directly involved in usability testing Interested UX is considered valuable…
- 31. #iwmw2019 #P7 @KatHusbands April2019 ESMP accessibility testing with disabled students May 2019 Moodle best practice recommendations catch on further afield Interested UX is considered valuable… June 2019 Information Services send 6 delegates to UX Scotland Considered UX gets ad-hoc funding… May 2019 College of Sci&Eng recruit a Digital Content Officer and start using Top Tasks method Committed UX is formalized…
- 32. #iwmw2019 #P7 @KatHusbands Unrecognised UXis not understood or not considered important Interested UX is considered valuable but gets little attention or resources Considered UX is sometimes prioritized and gets ad-hoc funding Committed UX is critical & formalised; executives actively involved Engaged UX is one of the pillars of strategy Embedded UX is a core part of company culture 1 0 3 2 5 4 2017 2019 The stages of UX maturity
- 33. #iwmw2019 #P7 @KatHusbands Chooseyour target How to communicate the value of UX - 25 experts, User Zoom Start small & iterate Why you only need to test with 5 users - Jakob Nielsen Minimum Viable Ethnography - Erika Hall Shout about it UofG UX blog | UX Framework Where to start?
- 34. #iwmw2019 #P7 @KatHusbands Don’tjudge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds that you plant.” “ Robert Louis Stevenson #iwmw2019 #P7 @KatHusbands
- 35. Thank you! Questions? Emailme: Kat.Husbands@glasgow.ac.uk Join the UX channel in HE-Digital Slack
Editor's Notes
- #2 To be clear, when I talk about revolution and guerrilla tactics…
- #3 NOT combative No guns and explosions
- #4 BUT creative, generative, regenerative Guerrilla gardeners Or squatters who form a commune and turn a derelict building into a home
- #5 Because… For me the new model is user-centred design, starting with UX
- #6 While I’m digital, UX is not just digital: IRL and internal = other contexts where our decisions can effect people’s day Define and solve real problems for real people (John Ellison, Digital PM, OpenGov) UofG = 36,500 people 28,000 students + 8,500 staff Almost 6% pop. of Glasgow (2017 National Records of Scotland: 621,000)
- #7 Data-driven decisions Not just quant data: also qual = observing & listening to people who use
- #8 Skills in 3 areas, balance changed over time Until DCO & UCS in InfoSvcs (not Web Team) = internal websites and systems Access databases, course handbooks, websites: gold of UCD was always there Just didn’t know it had a name and recognised methods until 2016! Books, blogs, online courses Boss recognised growing passion = training
- #9 Across Uni Grassroots / skunkworks A few teams or individuals - unconnected - inconsistent approaches Web Team User interviews, remote testing IT Prob more understanding (Drew banging on about it for ages) but no time or resource given to it Levels 3-5 need management actively making it happen But with no CIO, no execs in the know, how to get their attention Levels 1-3 = grassroots: guerrilla activity * Raise awareness, build understanding, grow demand
- #10 3 case studies to illustrate 3 key actions Choose your target carefully, like a guerrilla = makeshift, limited resources Where will an intervention have the most impact? Return on investment – both of your time and effort, and demonstrable to others Start small, iterate = build momentum Shout about it = spread the word Celebrate even the smallest successes. Tell your users’ stories to help people to put themselves in the shoes of the people whose lives they affect with their decisions, and inspire others to try these methods themselves
- #11 Project Innovative collab 9 months ££ = Uni Svcs Innovation Fund + Library and IT top-up Paid for incentives And UX Research Intern! Wonderful! Inspiring! Exhausting!
- #12 Mixed methods approach Chose target: I own it! IntComms secondment work to restructure internal content left Drew & me owning the top levels of MyGlasgow/staff Appropriate? Who knows?! But we could so we did – mavericks! Start small: single page! But v. important & far reaching First port of call for majority of 8,500 staff 1.4 million hits a year Lots of potential for impact
- #13 Generate long lists of tasks w. input from stakeholders & service providers Invite lots of users to pick their 5 top tasks – we had 311 staff & c760 students Collate and analyse -> top, medium and tiny tasks = ‘Top Tasks’ share top 25% of vote Majority of people prioritise the same handful of tasks Use that data to inform your design decisions
- #14 Survey results > card sorting exercise NOT HEATMAP! Top task position: before & after Tiny tasks can still be important! Top Task Testing to ensure top 10 really are easy to reach Relaunched page April 2018
- #15 Google Analytics comparing year since relaunch with year before Pageviews: staff numbers up by similar amount Entrances…test these assumptions Time on page…woah! First couple of visits ‘Oh look I don’t have to scroll to find that link anymore’ but then prob no-one notices BUT multiply by 1.4m pageviews a year… BIG success = v. visible, broad impact, lots to shout about
- #16 Keep testing… test our assumptions about what analytics mean More TT Testing, esp if big changes to underlying pages Keep shouting: spread the word Robert used same methods to redesign Library homepage College of Social Sciences using now too Million minutes? Looking at building a thing around this - any team can contribute – totaliser - but that’s for another talk!
- #17 After MyG Staff case study: Robert used same TTT methods to redesign Library homepage!
- #18 Chose target: Refreshing IT Services website This was in top 3 of c40 sections for pageviews Shocking large majority of 28,000 still have to hand in printed coursework
- #19 Stakeholder interview – where to focus? What are IT Helpdesk staff most often asked about? And which bits of IT website do they think could most use improving? They refer to website while advising students! Analytics Problems around location and structure of content And how others were linking to it = collab with Library and Student Services EXPLAIN HEATMAP Hottest spot way down on right 1 in 5 clicks = confusion or frustration
- #20 Prototyped new page, stuck on an iPad and sent our intern out guerrilla testing Rewritten content: in collab with IT Helpdesk staff 12 out of 13 test participants completed tasks with little or no difficulty Published in May 2018 - results were great! Shouted about in talks for IT Forum and UX Show & Tell, wrote up for UX Framework. Heatmap now more F-patterny! Still linkless clicks but at least on actual information! Investigate in future testing… Section pageviews DOWN: awesome!!! (Managers often assume more = better, but no!) #Pages down from 8 to 5 and structured more helpfully in own section = less pogo-ing, easier to navigate, comes up higher in search results
- #21 Next iteration: more in-depth usability testing Flagged up problems with Mac print set-up Tested with 6 students, completion times 2:30 to 8:00 – see 7th of 12 screens! Compared to Windows 3-step process, 30 seconds More than 6,000 people visited the macOS set-up page in the last year, so potentially lots of time and frustration to be saved I shouted about it a bit End User Computing team already knew but I like to think I helped them get funds released to redevelop… Content revisions: as things change + as Helpdesk staff encounter recurring problems
- #22 After Student printing: Kelly used same web analytics methods to rework College of Arts website, including whole new homepage Clickthroughs to the ‘Study with us’ pages for prospective students Before: 1.65% of clicks on page After: 13.97%! Also did some work on VLE which I’ll cover later, but at this point…”sea change”
- #23 Framework launch also marked end of UofG UX Project and bye bye to Intern First perm: JD includes ‘to develop policy & processes’
- #25 Offered target!! Great example of a small start leading to BIG momentum. VLE used by all 28k students and at least 4,500 staff Business goal: VLE represents a huge portion of the student experience, in some cases (distance / blended learning = almost all of it) so reputational impact
- #26 Started small & late: in Spring last year our developers were well on the way to finalising the 2018 upgrade, when UX project team was asked to get involved Broad remit: make recommendations to the Developers UX research method: Touchstone Tours 21 recs … 7 implemented July 2018: Assistant VP (Digital Education) called it “a sea-change in the way ITS approaches Moodle”
- #28 1 Speed & search: work underway to improve server hardware 2 & 3 Marking & gradebook: core Moodle + moratorium while WCGT team runs project on Assessment & Feedback 4. Navigation!
- #29 Budget thanks to Business Systems 13 observers, inc academics, LTs, Devs, IT managers & randoms Practical help to me but also great way to spread understanding of range of experiences Recommendations include 4 that expand on some of last year’s unimplemented ones
- #30 Sharing best practice recs with TELT staff, Moodle User Group and anyone who’ll listen – esp re Collapsed Topics course format People asking for more & asking for our involvement in redesigning their local course template Keep testing: Oct/Nov: test impact of latest changes, test with disabled students
- #31 ESMP: Ran pop-up session together, now he’s doing them himself!
- #32 ESMP accessibility – maverick! No-one asked for it Lots of important 1sts Moodle recs catching on in other Unis – being asked to do talks for Jisc, SMUG, Heriot Watt Reinforces to UofG the value of user-centred approach SciEng DCO: also Arts recruiting a junior to Kelly
- #33 Still a ways to go until ‘Engaged’ or ‘Embedded’, but a lot more people are talking that way Committed IT & Info Svcs getting there – management saying the right things – staff starting to adopt methods or to ask for UX support – also UX Service on way! Engaged Culture change Org-level KPIs People’s approaches and priorities changed based on what they’re being measured on, so choose metrics carefully Embedded…v long way to go! This is all high-level: if you’re a manager, this is the stuff you need to think about I’m not, but I think I’m pushing the right way and making the right kind of noises from the grassroots And for those in the grassroots, let’s go back to where to start
- #34 Links if you download slideshow What neglected patch of web estate could you chuck a seedbomb of UCD into?! Choose one where you will be able to: Show concrete results with tangible evidence Improve something that’s related to a stakeholder’s current focus Show what good UX design looks like: lead by example Start small & iterate Paul Boag “doing any usability testing is better than doing none at all, as long as you recognise that your results might not be perfect. If you start doing even a little bit you’ll quickly see the value and it will encourage you – and others - to do more.” Shout: Yammer group, Show & Tells, talks…find & share interesting details that might spark conversations
- #35 Have patience! Keep at it! On the wall at The Lighthouse gallery in Glasgow Chimed with ‘grassroots’ & ‘guerrillas’