The purpose of this memo is to outline, analyze, and reflect on the process of researching

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1 Ohrenberger 1 To: Dr. Janine Solberg, Instructor of ENGL 796 From: Juliana Ohrenberger, graduate student Subject: An Analysis, Reflection, and Recommendation on a Redesign of Three Undergraduate English Department Website Pages through Research and User Testing Date: April 30, 2017 Purpose: The purpose of this memo is to outline, analyze, and reflect on the process of researching solutions to the non-user oriented UX design of the undergraduate English Department website by conducting research, creating sitemaps and wireframes, and performing user testing. Summary: This memo describes the process of performing user research, creating original sitemaps, and creating wireframes for three webpages which include a Prepare for Your Career page, an Internship page, and an Alumni Mentor Profiles page. It also offers a recommendation for further action on the redesign of the Undergraduate English Department website at The University of Massachusetts Amherst. Background/Discussion: Research/Sitemaps I began this process by first studying the Undergraduate English Department website where multiple user experience issues were uncovered. Dr. Solberg and I noticed a lack of consistency throughout the website which included large amounts of text that were not chunked in a fashion that would be easily skimmed by a user. In addition, we noted that the layout of the pages in the website did not seem to advocate for a career oriented website or English degree. The site felt overwhelming, confusing, and chaotic with too much information that was not direct enough to

2 Ohrenberger 2 help students in their sometimes-stressful quest to find a career that suits their needs and aspirations. The following are a few questions that I used to guide my research from a meeting with Dr. Solberg: How do we come up with the kind of information that students need in order to feel supported? How do we translate that to an appropriate and effective visual presentation? How do we chunk it so they don t feel overwhelmed? How do we label it so that when students are navigating they know/ can guess what that part of the site is going to be about? I began my research by studying the UMass Lowell website. There I found a site that employs twenty first century UX design combined with sharp images, the use of chunking strategies for information, and many avenues for students to find information about future careers and internships. This was the jumping off point for my research and it offered me a good comparison from within the UMass system. Following this, I centered around Midwest Universities for my website studies which specifically included: University of Iowa, Ohio State University, University of Minnesota, and University of Chicago. Attached you will find a detailed PDF of my research and observations. A few of the notable conclusions that came about from this analysis were the following strategies: The use of an interactive bubble graphic with the fields that you can go into with an English major Questions that you can ask yourself throughout the process of being in college and finding a career path Academic year plans that include career advice and steps

3 Ohrenberger 3 Clear organization and pages solely designated for career planning and the English major Clear navigation names that orient students to the fact that the page is about career planning or internships instead of imbedding it under a different tab Alumni profiles with personal pictures and a description of the individuals career path Lists of possible career fields and the job titles Step by step guides to internships and how to get one Wireframes The above list of strategies were the main takeaways that I gleaned from my research, which are exemplified in the wireframes that I created and tested. The Prepare for Your Career wireframe displays a page that combines the main points discussed above. The top of the page incorporates an active title of Prepare for Your Career, that encourages the user to get prepared for their future career and is a direct signal that this part of the website includes career planning information. Below the title is a bubble graphic inspired by the English Department website at the University of Iowa. The center bubble says English Major Pathways and each surround bubble is a career pathway that an English major student could decide to take in their future career. This wireframe is interactive, in order to mimic the UX of the website. When a user scrolls over each bubble, the mouse changes to a hand symbol to show that it is a clickable item and will take you to the part of the page or a linked page with further information. This bubble graphic is a great visual option for the webpage which takes the place of a text heavy page which is currently a main issue on the University of Massachusetts Amherst English department website, in addition to a lack of career planning information in general.

4 Ohrenberger 4 The next part of this page includes chunked sections that break down information into digestible sections that work to not overwhelm students. These sections are entitled Questions to Ask Yourself, Internships, Resume Building and Job Searching, and A View Into the Life of an Alumni Mentor. These are grab and go sections that give students a snippet of information to begin thinking about and working towards their goals in those areas. I included the Questions to Ask Yourself section because the University of Iowa, among other Midwest universities listed above used the strategy of having multiple question sections that prompt students to begin thinking about the details of career planning in a way that is interactive and not authoritarian. The Internships section is a general summary of why internships are important during college and how the department offers many opportunities. The Resume Building and Job Searching section includes bulleted information on key points in this area. Finally, the A View Into the Life of an Alumni Mentor section is a preview of a different page in the proposed website, the images of mentors would be clickable and linked to the Alumni Mentors page to give students an idea of where other English majors have ended up in their careers after graduating. Following this are bulleted lists with section headings of each English Major Pathway with detailed information and suggestions regarding each career direction/field for English majors written by Dr. Solberg. These sections would be further refined and detailed in the final website. Next, the second wireframe I created depicts the proposed Alumni Mentor Profiles page. This page underwent considerable revision in my drafting process. I decided to go with a more up to date design which included a summary/synopsis of the alumni mentors and what service they

5 Ohrenberger 5 provide to current English major students, which was text from the current site. Under this, I wrote a section entitled Questions to Ask Your Mentor because Dr. Solberg noted that mentors were running into issues with students not knowing what information is appropriate and beneficial to ask their mentor. I feel like these few questions could work as a guide or platform for more conversation in the future. Under this section the page moves on to the Featured Mentors section which includes photos and descriptions of three mentors that could be swapped out every few months for variety. Beneath this part of the page is the biggest redesign that I am suggesting. I propose that each English Major Pathway be broken down into a photo of each field that is clickable to a downloadable PDF of mentors that are in that field. This would save the user time from scrolling through a long page that is also textually overwhelming and not aesthetically pleasing. In addition, the third wireframe you will see is for the proposed Internships: Where do I start? page. This page should include information on how to prepare for an internship and land one with guided steps and explanations of the process of obtaining an internship while being an English major. I used the text that is currently on the undergraduate English website regarding internships and co-ops because I don t feel that I know enough about the program in order to describe it in exact detail as it would need to be explained to students. The second part of the Internships page includes the Internship Preparation table which incorporates freshmen and sophomore year plans with bulleted lists of suggested actions in the internship process, in addition to a FAQ s and Possible Topics to Discuss with your Advisor section. Two graphics of current students in their internships would finish off the page.

6 Ohrenberger 6 User Testing I completed user testing with undergraduate English and Computer Science major students from the University of Massachusetts Lowell. The main results of this testing were that students liked the more direct and clear approach of having pages on the website that distinctly represented career planning help and advice. They noted a dislike of having to dig for information on a website which takes up more of their time and can be frustrating. One English major noted that the interactive bubble graphic with the fields that an English major could get into through their degree was a visual aid that they had not seen before and would use because it made scrolling through information easier because you can return to the graphic and check out other fields with ease. This type of action coincides with the often times confusing process of trying to find a career path with many possible choices and avenues. In addition, the participants noted the necessity for having alumni profiles and how that gives them an idea of where they can see themselves in the future once they graduate from school. The redesign of the mentors page was thought to be a good idea because it makes the page less overwhelming with lists and lists of mentor names and their workplaces. Instead the new design lets the user pick and choose which list of mentors they would like to see via PDF based on the field they are interested in. This also allows them to keep the list on their computer for future reference which was noted as a positive aspect of the future design. Conclusion/Action:

7 Ohrenberger 7 In conclusion, the results gained from the user testing and creation of these wireframes for three additional/refined pages of the UMass Amherst Undergraduate English website display a need for the presented changes that will both aid the department and its students. These changes will not only make for a website that is stylish and employing modern UX design, it will also serve a functional need for students. Students will be able to obtain information about career planning, internships, and alumni mentors that is necessary for the department to run more smoothly in this area and to help students in a more direct way. These wireframes and suggestions from my research are a beginning step in a fuller re-design of the website to make it easier to navigate for users and also provide them with the vital career centered information that the work environment currently demands of English majors.

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