U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION REDESIGN
IMPROVING A RESPONSIVE GOVERNMENT WEBSITE
MOBILE & DESKTOP PROTOTYPES
This redesign aims to empower users to easily navigate and find any education resources they seek on the Department of Education’s website.
GOALS
Identify the needs of Ed.gov users (students, parents, and teachers) in relation to UI accessibility and usability
Design a responsive solution enabling them to navigate the website effectively
TIMELINE
The project was to be completed in roughly 5 weeks, with work spanning from December 12, 2022, to January 26, 2023.
TEAM SIZE
During this project, I independently assumed the role of a UI Designer and a UX Researcher to execute the process of redesigning a government agency website.
TOOLS USED
WHAT I DID
During this project, I conducted 11 usability tests, 5 five-second UI tests, and produced 5 iterations of responsive prototypes, employing UX research methods to guide design decisions. I also performed card sorting and created a sitemap redefining the site’s IA, in addition to a mood board and style guide defining the UI’s branding.
THE PROCESS
I was tasked with auditing a government agency’s website via research, testing, and analysis, in order to create a responsive prototype of their site’s homepage and navigation, redesigned for usability and accessibility.
My process followed the “Design Thinking” framework, including initial user research, heuristic evaluation and definition, IA ideation, iterative prototyping, and testing.
USER RESEARCH & FINDINGS
The Department of Education website was chosen for redesign due to my interest in their mission statement (equal access to education for all), as well as observable usability issues. Target users were identified as students, parents, and teachers, and a proto-persona of a high school teacher with student loans named Douglas Coukart was developed to better understand their needs.
After performing a heuristic evaluation and color assessment analyzing the site’s usability and accessibility, a total of 9 remote user tests were conducted – 7 of the desktop interface, 2 of the mobile interface.
Findings revealed that users believed the site was overloaded with information and poorly organized, with elements of navigation appearing overwhelming, insufficient, or confusing. To get to the root of these pain points, a card sorting was conducted in evaluation of the site's information architecture.
DEFINITION & IDEATION
To create a more effective navigation for Ed.gov, the new hierarchy of web pages sorted 86 secondary pages into 6 primary pages of logical categories. The card sorting structure was leveraged to produce a sitemap, which divided the site's navigation into three main sections: primary navigation, utility navigation (search bar), and footer navigation.
Additionally, a mood board compiling government agency branding and UI pattern inspirations was used to develop a UI Style Tile, which was expanded into a comprehensive UI Style Guide soon after, providing a cohesive visual identity for the site's redesign.
INTERACTIVE PROTOTYPE
Using the sitemap and research data, I progressively designed 5 responsive iterations of Ed.gov’s homepage and navigation. Each iteration consisted of UI components, wireframes, and interactive prototypes for mobile and desktop alike. The first iteration was influenced by initial research and testing results. The second was shaped by a 5-second user test of the first iteration. The third iteration adopted the style tile’s branding colors globally, while the fourth adhered to the style guide. A test of the fourth iteration generated user feedback leading to the fifth and final iteration of the interface.
USABILITY TESTING & FINDINGS
Guerilla user testing was conducted remotely over Zoom or Google Meet, with participants matching the target users. Testing of the first prototype consisted of five 5-second user tests. Users felt the primary navigation lacked concise labels and clear functionality, while the homepage lacked visual elements. This was addressed by shortening labels and adding arrow icons, as well as adding an image slider. Testing of the fourth prototype consisted of seven user tests and yielded a 97.62% average success rate - or 14% greater than the last testing average of the site’s navigation. As such, the redesign is an empirical improvement to the current interface.
INSIGHTS & OUTCOME
My user-centered design approach enabled me to identify significant usability and accessibility issues on the site’s navigation, while addressing UI pain points through testing. Though some research activities were conducted with a partner, working alone on the interface redesign allowed me to take greater ownership of the visual design process. If time constraints weren’t a factor, one thing I may have done differently is testing each and every prototype. If this project continued, I would conduct further research and testing to better understand why users visit the site, given how much research was already conducted about how they experience and interact with its navigation.
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