Uplift students experience for hospitality institute,
William Angliss Institute
“The improved user experience has resulted in an approximately 25% increase to visits to key course information pages resulting in increased conversion. ”
To comply with my non-disclosure agreement, I have omitted confidential information in this case study.
All information in this case study is my own and does not necessarily reflect the views of William Angliss Institute.
Role
Lead UX Designer
Team
Account Director
Producer
Visual Designer
Developers
QA
Time frame
3 months
Tools
Butcher paper
Sticky Notes
Sketch
Invision
Keynote
Conducted
Stakeholders workshop
Cognitive Walkthrough
Affinity Diagram
Content Audit
Competitors Analysis
Conceptualisation
Wireframes
How might we improve prospective students’ experience on
William Angliss Institute Website?
Problem
William Angliss Institute purpose is to provide credentials, information for the prospective students but the broken experience and inconsistent information architecture are causing (awkward) road blocks for conversions applications thus enrolments.
Only 9.5% of prospective students that has gone through William Angliss Institute site enquire to enrolment.
Prospective students are unaware of William Angliss Institute brand position or ability to obtain sufficient information to make an informed decision.
William Angliss Institute site international status is not visible.
Sub domains for short courses etc. causes a broken experience for William Angliss Institute prospective and current students.
Solution
Empowering William Angliss Institute prospective and current students to discover the information that they need (to complete their tasks) as easy as possible; Strengthening their opinion of William Angliss Institute.
Providing them the ability to complete the tasks without leaving the current site (to any sub domains) on the go (across devices). Thus eliminating the road blocks for a smooth conversion.
The project kicked off with a three-month UX design process taking into consideration the specific needs of the diverse students that interact with the site. As part of that process, it was discovered that the greatest hurdle students were facing was an overwhelming volume of information. For example, there could be up to six price tiers for any given course, depending on course location and the student’s local/international status.
Design process and timeline
My design process uses the Double Diamond approach where the project is broken down into four phases - Discover, Define, Develop, Deliver. Depending on projects’ constraints (e.g. time frame, budget, etc.) the tasks associated to the different phases have been tailored respectively.
Blueprint
The main screens were determined based on Current/as-is user flows and New/proposed flows were mapped out based on current assumption of user personas and scenarios.
Current/as-is analysis mappings are based on an actual state to uncover existing pain points and identify step up opportunities.
New/proposed mappings are established on an “ideal” state that addresses the user personas’ needs and utilises the step up opportunities uncovered during Current/as-is analysis mapping.
Conceptualisation
This problem was addressed in the new site by presenting students with a self-screening dialogue box at the start of their journey on the site. Students select their status (local or international) as well as where they want to study, and then their entire experience of the site is personalised according to the selected parameters. This includes everything from the content on the home page, right through to the available courses that are displayed.
By reducing the options (and confusion), presenting accurate information that applies for the student’s region or prices related to them; It creates a personalised messaging creating trust, confidence in William Anglisss’ brand, ultimately optimising conversion from prospective students to current students.
Conclusion
The user journey is now a far more streamlined experience, with course information that have previously taken 9 clicks to reach now accessible within 1-2 interactions. The improved user experience has resulted in an approximately 25% increase to visits to key course information pages.
Future state recommendations
Personalised one to one experience
Introduction of chatbot making it easy for William Angliss Institute prospectives (international/domestic) to search for the right course that suits their needs, providing warm leads to William Angliss Institute and present the right information for the customer at the point of interest.
Similarly with current students, staffs, employees, agents etc., the chatbot will make it easy to book an event or find information that would otherwise require a user to browse through the navigation site.
Nurture Customers into Lifelong Advocates
Creating a global community with international campuses between alumni, instructors and hiring partners.