The problem
UCSF’s core web property was outdated, slow, and inflexible. In order to compete with other universities, we needed to completely refresh its look & feel while updating our backend infrastructure.
The solution
Transition the website from Drupal 7 to 8 while revising the website’s content, information architecture, back-end features, and front-end design, ultimately creating a world-class site for a world-class institution.
The process
This was a multi-phase project taking place over the course of one year. While it took an entire team to make it happen, this is how I specifically helped.
Discovery Research
Identified best-in-class websites, experiences, and features that we hoped to emulate as a university.
Audience Research
Defined who we’re talking to, their needs and their likely journeys to and from UCSF’s central web property.
SEO Research
Identified gaps and opportunities that would improve UX/UI while increasing search engine optimization.
Benchmarking
Conducted qualitative and quantitative analysis to establish benchmarks while identifying areas for improvement.
Content Audit
With business and audience goals in mind, reviewed all major pages to clarify which we should keep, remove, or revise.
Taxonomy Audit and Revision
Conducted an audit to establish which taxonomic terms should be retired, combined, or revised.
Navigation Structure
Using techniques like card sorting, restructured our top and footer navigation to better meet user needs.
Agency Onboarding
Provided documentation on goals, discovery, branding and research to our agency, ensuring smooth transfer of knowledge.
Agency Feedback
During all stages of the project, integrated the project team’s feedback before delivering that feedback to the agency.
Agency UI Revisions
After the core design was handed off, revised all deliverables to meet team expectations and audience needs.
Additional UI Design
Designed the front-end display for all remaining features and content types, totaling roughly 75% of the site.
User Testing
Built a high-fidelity prototype to conduct real-time user testing, gauging current effectiveness as well as design opportunities.
Design Iteration
Based on user testing, revised UI design to better accommodate user needs and expected behavioral patterns.
Development Triaging
Using a scrum methodology, met with the dev team to triage tickets and troubleshoot issues.
Development QA
Working with the dev team, tested all new components and features to ensure functionality and design standards were met.
Content Migration
Working with the dev team, supervised Drupal content migration and quality, adding redirects when and as required.
Content Production
Working with marketing and content strategy, laid out pages that could not be easily migrated into the new design.
Site Launch
Coordinated with the dev team and the Office of Communications to seamlessly launch the new version of the site.
Analysis
Post-launch, conducted qualitative and quantitative analysis to measure KPIs against established benchmarks.
The result
The website received a regional Grand Gold CASE award and an international Silver CASE award. The judges praised the site, saying they “could not stop talking about it.”
Analysis also showed increases across the board:
Perception of Technological Innovation: +21.3%
Perception of Academic Excellence: +7.2%
Perception of High-Quality Healthcare: +6.2%
Perception of Subject Matter Expertise: +11.8%
Time on Page: +15.4%
Likelihood to Return: +8%
Understanding of UCSF: +30.9%
Ease of Use: +8.5%
Information Finding: +16.5%
Design: +11.9%
Quality of Information: +11.8%