The S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) is a global Think Tank and platform for international studies, and public policy research. We were tasked to revamp a few touchpoints of the website, to improve the user experience and increase sign ups and SEO.
The following is a brief breakdown of my approach and design process for this project. Please contact me, if you need a more detailed deep dive into this project.
I led the project in the end-to-end UX design process, from research, ideation to prototyping, defined the UX strategy, created the Design System and worked closely with an engineer, a designer, and a project manager. I also engaged directly with the stakeholder in close collaboration.
At first glance, the old RSIS website had a couple of issues showing poor usability, confusing navigation, hindering access to vital information, no clear sign ups and overly cluttered pages, leading to cognitive overload for the users.
How might we improve the user experience of RSIS for our users and reach the business goals?
These are some estimated outcomes from the final product we delivered:
Due to budget constraints for user research, I made the best of the situation and leveraged other research methods to inform the decision making process, such as heuristic evaluation of the previous website, stakeholder interviews, web analytics utilisation and competitive analysis.
To understand what caused the poor user experience and why users are dropping off, I first tried to understand who the users are, and what usability issues they might face with the old website, and studied what the competition is offering.
I performed an heuristic evaluation of the old RSIS website, based on DSS (Digital service standard, Govtech) & Nielsen Norman's 10 Usability Heuristics guidelines to:
🔍 Evaluate overall effectiveness and performance of the website
🔍 Identify issues & bugs, and areas for improvement
🔍 Ensure the website adheres to best practice
Our client informed us that the user base is made up of mainly Researchers and Students. I used these user persona assumptions to guide me towards finding a solution.
👤 Busy users have no time, TLDR
👤 Users need to quickly complete their tasks or sign up
From the research, I identified 3 key areas of improvement:
Minimise irrelevant or seldom-used information in interfaces to optimise visibility and user experience.
Show useful information to users so they are informed about what is going on.
Consistent UI is key to a great user experience. I standardised the design language for the redesign and set up the Design System.
To improve the user experience, I used these design principles to guide me when designing the solution:
I designed clear Call-to-Actions, simplified navigation, simplified user flows to help lead users to complete their tasks/sign up.
To boost SEO and improve user experience, I proposed to include a footer. They did not have a footer on the old website.
Embracing uncertainty fosters adaptability and innovation, allowing for creative problem-solving and growth. Thankfully with open communication, and close collaboration with the stakeholder, I was able to resolve any ambiguity quickly, ensuring project success.
At first I was worried about the absence of user research affecting the project. However it turned out ok, as not all design processes are the same. The other research methods helped me with solutioning. Moving forward, I would still encourage user testing to iterate and enhance the product in the future.
At times, I found that the stakeholders were resistant to change, but thankfully I managed to persuade them to align in the end, resulting in a much improved user experience leading to increased user acquisition.
Clear communication is important. I engaged with the engineer early on and communicated as often as possible to ensure a seamless handover. Cooperative teammates also ensured a successful delivery of the project.
I hope these examples demonstrate my potential as a valuable contributor to your company. To find out more on how my skills can add value to your team and contribute to positive outcomes, please contact me with the details below.
