Content Analysis and Usability Research
Website of the Institute for Advanced Analytics
The Institute for Advanced Analytics (IAA) at North Carolina State University offers one of the best graduate programs in Analytics and Data Science. Students from all over the world benefit from this program, filled with practical experience, and are able to stand out in the market as data scientists, analysts, and engineers.
This project was a major part of my internship at the IAA (March - April 2019). A series of tests were conducted to analyze the content on, and the performance of, the website of the institute. After developing an understanding of the needs of the audience and the goals of the website, a detailed plan was proposed to improve the performance of the website.
Objectives
- To understand the flow of information by creating an Information Architecture
- To reorganize the information by proposing a new Information Architecture
- To conduct a comprehensive content audit and analysis
- To analyze the needs and expectations of the audience
- To conduct a competitor analysis
- To identify the issues and shortcomings in the usability of the website
- To recommend improvements with the purpose of meeting the needs of the audience effectively
Content Audit and Analysis
The entire content on the website of the IAA was thoroughly analyzed. Some of the key findings of this analysis are as follows.
- A number of webpages were found to have missing Meta Descriptions and Title tags, having a negative impact on the SEO score of the website
- Some of the top keywords, as reported by Google Analytics, were not found in the Title and Heading tags
- The score reported by Google PageSpeed Insights was lying in the "average" zone indicating a lot of room for improvement
- Some images were found to have missing alternate texts, thus affecting the accessibility score of the website
- There were numerous gaps observed between the needs of the users and the availability of content, highlighting a significant opportunity for improving the website
User personas for the analysis
Audience Analysis
The website of the IAA, based on the structure of the graduate program, is designed for certain groups of audiences. The needs and expectations of these groups were analyzed to get a better understanding of the gaps in the availability and presentation of the content.
- The primary audience consisted of three groups: Prospective Students, Employers, and Sponsors
- The audience was found to be from different geographical regions, highlighting the need for a global content strategy
- The creation of two personas for each audience group, with a focus on their goals and expectations, helped in putting their needs into perspective
- Audience analysis, along with the results of the content analysis, helped in formulating a plan for the usability analysis
Usability Analysis
To understand the pain points and frustrations of the audience and to get their feedback for the improvement of the website, a series of usability tests were designed. A total of six such tests (two for each audience group) were conducted, adding value to the overall project.
- The participants had to do excessive reading and scrolling while navigating on the website to get valuable information
- The main menu was found to be duplicated on certain pages, thus confusing and frustrating the users
- Some important pieces of information (such as projects and research) were missing, validating the findings of the content audit
- The images on the webpages did not provide any valuable information regarding the content
Proposed information architecture for IAA's website
Summary
A comprehensive analysis, starting from understanding the needs of the audience to conducting formal usability tests, helped in highlighting key issues with the existing website. This then ensured that the new design is more user-centered, meeting the needs and expectations of different audience groups.
