Designing GSU Websites Around the User Journey

Georgia State’s websites and systems may be organized around colleges, departments and administrative units, but users do not necessarily experience the university that way.

A prospective student might begin with one simple goal: I want to study at Georgia State.

Answering that question can require information from many different parts of the university.

Designing around the user journey means helping users move naturally between those resources rather than expecting them to understand GSU’s organizational structure.

Think About the User’s Goal

A prospective student may need to answer several questions:

·      What programs are available?

·      How much will it cost?

·      Are scholarships available?

·      Where would I live?

·      How do I apply?

·      What requirements apply to me?

Internally, those answers may be maintained by several different GSU units and systems. To the student, however, they are all part of one journey.

Do Not Make Users Understand Our Systems

People who work at Georgia State understand many of the distinctions between colleges, departments, offices and university systems. Students may not—and they shouldn’t have to.

They are not necessarily asking, “Which GSU system contains this information?” They are asking:

·      What program is right for me?

·      Who studies this?

·      How much does this cost?

·      Who can help me?

Your website should help answer those questions and guide users toward the next appropriate step.

When Reviewing a Page

Ask:

1. What is the user trying to accomplish?

2. What information do they need at this point in their journey?

3. What are they likely to need next?

4. Does another GSU unit own that information?

5. Can we create a clear path to that resource?

This helps move website management from maintaining individual pages toward improving complete user journeys. The workshop describes this broader shift as moving from “my website” toward “our GSU ecosystem.”

Example

A prospective student exploring an academic program may eventually need tuition, financial aid, housing, admissions and career information.

Your program website does not need to recreate all of those resources. Instead, it should help the student understand the program and create clear connections to the authoritative GSU resources they need next.

One Student One Journey

Each GSU unit may own only one piece of a user’s journey.

When those pieces connect well, users can move naturally from a question to an answer, from an answer to a resource and from a need to the appropriate next step.

To us, these may be different units. To the student, this is one journey.

Keywords: user journey, student journey, user experience, website navigation, prospective students, user goals, user needs, next steps, cross unit linking, connected resources, program pages, admissions, tuition, financial aid, housing, GSU websites