A Usability Study for a College Prep Website

User Research, Project Management and Reporting

Client: Washington Student Achievement Council, ReadySetGrad Website
Project Duration: 3 months

Research Components

  • Ready Set Grad home page

    Heuristics Study

    The study started with a site analysis that evaluated ReadySetGrad.org in three main areas: web development, user interface and user experience.

  • UX matrix comparing similar websites

    Landscape Study

    The research included a review of other college and career readiness websites to show where the Ready Set Grad site stood in terms of usability best practices against its peers.

  • Survey outreach graphic

    Social Promotions

    To encourage participation in the study an outreach campaign through email, social media, and statewide communications targeted students, caretakers and educators across Washington state.

  • Screenshot of the Landing Page for the Study

    AB Testing

    The study wanted to address how users navigated the website using the existing site navigation (which was organized by grade level) compared to a new content-focused navigation. Additionally we wanted to see if the UI impacted navigation at all. The survey launched participants into the different tests randomly, separated by persona.

  • Existing site map vs experimental

    Tree Testing

    Here is a side by side comparison of the existing site navigation and the experiment. The original repeated parent/child labels yet pointed to all of the same content pages seen in the experimental site navigation.

  • Survey

    A survey at the end of the tree test allowed our team to address participant opinions on the user interface, navigation, and content. It also allowed for a collection of demographics to ensure that the survey was well represented across various attributes.

Analysis & Reporting

The experimental site navigation outperformed the existing across all user groups by 15%. Our team concluded that the experimental navigation was a viable proof of concept to further explore a content-forward site navigation.

Participants also expressed a very strong desire to change both the site navigation and design.

Recommendations

    1. Move away from an audience-focused site and towards a content- driven site

    2. Keep promoting diversity through inclusive photography

    3. Consider adding a language translation feature

    1. Incorporate a visible and connected navigation system

    2. Omit the Ready Set Grad labels from the navigation

    1. Improve navigation by creating a visual hierarchy

    2. Allow more screen space for content

    3. Consider an updated color palette

    1. Leverage conventional Content Management Systems patterns to streamline administrator workflow

    2. Incorporate UI Patterns that are established and intuitive for users to follow