When the University of Ottawa made the decision to redesign its website, it embarked upon a thorough analysis to understand the needs of its key stakeholders. The result of this work was revealed in November 2013.

1. uOttawa.ca
Putting users first:
The overhaul of uOttawa.ca
• PSEWEB 2014
Presented by: Nichole McGill, Web Communications Director, uOttawa, July 29, 2014

2. uOttawa.ca
Tweet-out
@nicholemcgill
#pseweb
#uOttawa

3. 1997

4. 2000

5. 2003

6. 2009

7. 2012

8. 2013

9. uOttawa.ca
About uOttawa
Largest bilingual* university in the world
– 40,000 students
– 5,000 staff
– 10 faculties
uOttawa.ca
- 3 million pages
- 400+ subsites
*Français-English

10. uOttawa.ca
Why a Web overhaul?
#1 To improve user experience

11. uOttawa.ca
#2: Accessibility (AODA)

12. uOttawa.ca
#3: Implant new technology

13. uOttawa.ca
#4: uOttawa = uOttawa.ca

14. uOttawa.ca
A “minor” project
– New navigation
– New visual design
– New Web CMS
– Mobile responsive
– Accessible
– Sign off from critical stakeholders
+ launching campus-wide migration
project

15. uOttawa.ca
Project launch
• April 2012
• Two firms
• Site live Nov.
2013
• 6 months: UX

16. uOttawa.ca
Ambitious projects can work…

17. uOttawa.ca
…but only if you do this:
1. Lay the groundwork
2. The 3C’s:
– Collaborate,
– Consult,
– (get) Consensus
3. Data-driven decisions

18. uOttawa.ca

19. uOttawa.ca
Areas of Governance
Stakeholder
Stakeholder
Stakeholder
Myteam
Stakeholder
Stakeholder
Stakeholder
Stakeholder
Stakeholder
Stakeholder
Web Governance
A
C
C
R
C
C
C
C
I
Web Strategy
I
C
C
R
C
C
C
A
C*
*
Process
I
C
C
A / R
C
I
C
C
Performance Management
I
C
C
A / R
C
R
C
I
Content Strategy
R
I
A / R
C
R
C
I
Structure and Design
R
I
A / R
R
C
R
C
Content Creation
C
R
C
A* /
R
C
Content Life-Cycle
Management
C
A / R
C
C
Web Application Development
C
R
R
R
I
A /
R
C
Infrastructure
C
C
I
A /
R
C
Groundwork: Decide who does what

20. uOttawa.ca
Get agreement on Web tools
+ others
being used
on campus

21. uOttawa.ca
Get agreement on Web tools
Adopted Drupal
as official
platform

22. uOttawa.ca
Listening

23. uOttawa.ca
Analyzing
Top tasks on
uOttawa.ca
UX
studies
Web
analytics
Interviews

24. uOttawa.ca
Analyzing
400!
UX
studies
Web
analytics
Interviews

25. uOttawa.ca
Collaborating
400! 75
UX
studies
Web
analytics
Interviews

26. uOttawa.ca
Validating >> Polling

27. uOttawa.ca
Voici une liste de tâches qu’il est
possible d’effectuer sur le site
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
1 6 11 16 21 26 31 36 41 46 51 56 61 66 71 76
Vote
Tasks

28. uOttawa.ca
Below is a list of tasks that people can
do on uOttawa.ca
Tasks
1457
Voters
2914
Voters
4371
Voters
5829
Voters
1 Fees / tuition / costs 5.6% 5.7% 5.8% 5.9%
2 Course timetable 5.7% 5.9% 5.8% 5.7%
3 Find a program/course 4.3% 4.4% 4.4% 4.5%
4 Grants, loan, scholarships 4.5% 4.6% 4.3% 4.4%
5 Registration (dates, process) 4.3% 4.1% 4.2% 4.1%
6
Search library catalogue (articles, journals, books,
DVDs) 5.2% 4.6% 4.4% 4.1%
7 Important academic dates and deadlines 4.4% 3.9% 3.7% 3.6%
8 Adding, dropping and changing courses 3.6% 3.6% 3.6% 3.4%
9 Admission requirements/criteria 2.7% 3.0% 3.1% 3.3%
10 Exam timetable and information 3.1% 3.3% 3.2% 3.1%
11 Faculties and Departments 2.7% 2.8% 2.9% 2.9%
12 Jobs at uOttawa 2.7% 2.6% 2.6% 2.5%
13 Jobs for students 2.7% 2.6% 2.5% 2.5%
14 Contact the University 1.9% 2.1% 2.0% 2.1%
15 How to pay fees (where, when, how) 1.7% 1.9% 2.0% 2.0%
16
Library services (borrowing, research help,
printing/copying) 2.2% 1.9% 1.9% 2.0%
17 How to apply 1.4% 1.6% 1.8% 2.0%
18 Apply to graduate studies 1.6% 1.8% 1.9% 1.9%
19 Admission deadlines 1.5% 1.8% 1.8% 1.9%
20 Library – hours, locations, services 1.8% 1.7% 1.7% 1.7%
Top 25%
26-50%
51-75%

29. uOttawa.ca
What do we need to improve?
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30%
Menus et liens
Recherche
Mise en page
Contacts
Complet
Rapidité
Participation
Attrait visuel
Recommandations
Mise à jour
Ouvert
Langage
Exactitude

30. uOttawa.ca
Informs the Web roadmap
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30%
Menus et liens
Recherche
Mise en page
Contacts
Complet
Rapidité
Participation
Attrait visuel
Recommandations
Mise à jour
Ouvert
Langage
Exactitude

31. uOttawa.ca

34. uOttawa.ca
Those other 70 tasks…

35. uOttawa.ca
What if I know the name of the service?

36. uOttawa.ca
A word on bilingualism

37. uOttawa.ca
Bilingual side-by-side editor

38. uOttawa.ca
Reactions

39. uOttawa.ca
Greatest success – student satisfaction

40. uOttawa.ca
Tweets from #uOttawa students

41. uOttawa.ca
Launched student portal earlier in 2013

43. uOttawa.ca
Responding to feedback continually

44. GOING FORWARD…

45. uOttawa.ca
What wasn’t in for 2013 launch
• Content “hub”
• Faculty and service sites
• Academic and research sites

46. Faculty of Arts
arts.uottawa.ca
Jan. 28, 2013

47. Faculty of Arts –
Jan. 29, 2013

49. uOttawa.ca
More usability; iterative improvement

50. uOttawa.ca
Merci