Bentley University's Undergraduate and Graduate Admission offices didn't just want new web sites, they wanted increased enrollment. So when it came time to build new admission sites, we implemented a user-centered design model that resulted in increased traffic and increased leads for both undergraduate and graduate programs.

1. Usability Bootcamp
Driving Enrollment Results with
User-Centered Design
Val Fox
Bentley University | Office of Digital Engagement
eduWeb Conference
Social: #higheredusability #eduwebconf13 @valeriefox

2. By 3:45, you will learn to:
• Apply focus groups, usability testing, online
surveys, personas and Google Analytics to
develop user insights

3. By 3:45, you will learn to:
• Run focus groups and usability testing, launch
online surveys, develop personas and apply
Google Analytics to develop user insights
• Increase online conversion by an average of
25-30%

4. By 3:45, you will learn to:
• Run focus groups and usability testing, launch
online surveys, develop personas and apply
Google Analytics to develop user insights
• Increase online conversion by an average of
25-30%
• DIY for ~ $3,000

5. Business school in Waltham, MA
• 4,000+ undergraduate students; 1,400 graduate students
• 20 undergraduate majors; 10 masters programs
Digital Engagement Office
• 7-person team
• Supports ~80 sites
Infrastructure
• Managed cloud hosting by Acquia
• Powered by Drupal CMS

6. “It doesn’t matter what I
think about your website”

7. User-centered design begins with
understanding your users
Photo source: webcoursesbangkok.com
Make it easy to
find academic
program info
I use my mobile
device for all my
web browsing
Design for me
NOT you!
Your website will
affect what I think
of your school
You can text me
relevant info
Source: 2013 E-Expectations Report

8. Making a case for users begins
with NOT talking about users.

9. Admissions doesn’t care about “users”
So we offered them what they DO want:
• More info session and tour attendees
• More “request info” leads
• More applicants

10. Wake Up Call
Mobile traffic was doubling every
8-10 months
Source: Google Analytics

11. Wake Up Call
20% of prospective students said
they would remove a school from
consideration because of a poor
web experience
Source: Noel Levitz
2011 E-Expectations Report

12. Wake Up Call
70% of prospective students said a
school’s web site affects their
perception of the institution
Source: Noel Levitz
2013 E-Expectations Report

13. Admissions
We need a mobile
site by Fall!
We can learn Drupal 7
This is one of our top
priorities

14. Admissions
Design a new site!

15. Traditional Development
Requirements
Design
Development
QA
Launch

16. User-Centered Development
Analysis
Design
Development
QA
Launch
Prototype
Test
Requirements

17. But won’t all this take longer?!
100x more expensive to make
site changes POST launch
Nielson Norman Group

18. User-Centered Development Cycle
Analysis
Design
Development
QA
Launch
Prototype
Test
Requirements
Focus Groups
Online Surveys
Personas
Analytics

19. Focus Groups
Photo source: cartoonstock.com

20. Focus Groups
Best for: Sourcing qualitative feedback
Who: • Prospective undergraduate students
• Parents (undergraduate)
• Prospective graduate students
Source: • Undergraduate Tours
• Graduate Open House
Goal: Gain an understanding of
• General web usage
• College research process
• Priority online content
• Influencers
Photo source: tamarabustos.com

21. Focus Groups
Set up: 1 hr sessions at our research lab
Groups of 5-6 students/parents
Paid $50 each + pizza
Facilitator and note taker
Cost: $2,500
Time: 4 weeks
Output: Summary of findings > shared w/team
Bring personas to life:
“Don’t tweet me after I apply, that’s just weird!”
“My mom loves helping me with the research process, it’s
her way of ‘bonding’ with me.”
Center for Marketing Technology
Bentley University

22. Online Surveys

23. Online Surveys
Best for: Quantitative feedback
• Purpose of site visit
• Able to complete purpose of visit
• Why (or why not)
Who: 500+ site visitors to our Admissions sites

24. Online Surveys
Tool: iPerceptions “Plus” account
• Data export
• Unlimited data collection
• Device-specific
• Adjustable invitation rate
• Multi-language
Cost: $20/mo
Approach: 4 standard + optional questions

25. Online Surveys
Standard
Questions:
Rate your overall site experience (1-10)
Primary purpose of visit (multi-choice)
Were you able to complete purpose of your
visit (yes/no)
• If yes > what did you value most
• If no > why not
How likely are you to recommend
Optional
Questions:
Visit frequency
Source (how you arrived at site)
Demographics

26. Online Surveys
Output: Summary shared via PPT doc
Key
Learnings:
Qualified visitors are most
demanding
Content = meat + potatoes
“Information too vague”
“Couldn’t find average SAT scores”
“I want detailed information on the grad
program curriculum”
Photo source: chefmom.sheknows.com

27. Personas
Source: Forrester Research
Agency: Primacy

28. Personas
Defined as: Hypothetical user developed through interviews &
observations of real users
Use for: Create a common understanding of target audience
Must: • Sound like a real person
• Include compelling narrative
• Call out key attributes & high level goals
• Enable design decisions
• Include scenarios

29. Example Scenario
Persona Prospective graduate student
Goal: Find a part-time MBA program in Boston area
Scenario: • Searches for “Boston MBA programs”
• Reaches Bentley.edu > Academics > Graduate
Programs
• Sees MBA programs but labels aren’t clear
• Visits each program page to learn more but gets
frustrated with time spent

30. Personas
Source: Forrester Research
Agency: Primacy
Photos of Kelly’s items give a feeling for her lifestyle
Infographics convey Kelly’s device usage & tech
proficiency

31. Google Analytics
Best
for:
Cost:
Revealing behavior – NOT
intent
Comprehensive site analytics
AND ad-hoc reporting
Free!

32. Site Performance Measurement
Pre-launch: Tracking out-of-the-box stats:
• Site visits & visitors
• Pageviews
• Pages/visit
• Bounce rate
• Top pages
• Traffic by source
Results: No actionable insights
No ownership

33. Site Performance Measurement
Post-launch: Set up Admission profiles w/dashboards
Tracking KPIs & delivering automated reports:
• Conversion rates by form
• Conversion rates by source
• Cost per visit (search keywords)
Results Regular review w/stakeholders
Ownership & accountability

34. User-Centered Development Cycle
Analysis
Design
Development
QA
Launch
Prototype
Test
Requirements
Focus Groups
Online Surveys
Personas
Analytics
Design team
Stakeholders

35. User-Centered Development Cycle
Analysis
Design
Development
QA
Launch
Prototype
Test
Requirements

36. User Testing

37. Usability Testing
Best for: Finding specific problems (prototype or live site)
Who: 8-10 students for each Admission site
Set-up: Facilitator + note-taker
Camtasia Studio (screen capture)
Cost: $99/license – Camtasia
$15 gift card - tester

38. Usability Testing
Tasks
Tested:
Site navigation (find a major or program)
Sign up for a tour
Find application deadlines
Find link to apply
Find info for accepted students
Output: Summary of findings
Design modifications before handoff to dev
Total cost: $400

39. Launch of BOTH sites
Nov-Dec 2012
bentley.edu/undergraduate
bentley.edu/graduate

40. Results
Year-over-Year: Online leads
Undergrad: 6% increase
Grad: 11% increase
Sign up for tours & info sessions
Undergrad: 17% increase
Click-thru to Common App
Undergrad: 39% increase
Total cost: $3,200

41. Stay in touch
• Twitter:@ValerieFox
• www.slideshare.net/FoxAtBentley
• www.bentley.edu/DE