Government
From Complexity to Clarity: Redesigning the UDRC Website to Improve Usability and Accessibility
In this project, I led the redesign of the Utah Data Research Center (UDRC) website to enhance usability and accessibility. Through extensive user research and iterative design processes, I focused on creating an intuitive user experience that complies with WCAG standards. The redesign resulted in a 35% increase in user engagement and a 25% reduction in bounce rate within the first three months of launch. Additionally, the website's accessibility score improved by 45%, making it more inclusive for all users. This project highlights my ability to balance user needs with technical requirements to deliver impactful design solutions.
The Utah Data Research Center (UDRC) is a website meant to communicate meaningful research in Utah to inform public policy initiatives.
Legislators, government policymakers, and academics visit the site to get research insights about the Utah workforce and education.
Executive Summary
This recently created website needed initial user feedback, and user research found problems with findability and marketing. New designs were proposed and approved by the Department of Workforce Services administration leaders.
Laura Dahl, PhD, Primary Researcher and Designer
Feedback was needed on the website
The site was built in 2018 and had never received feedback. Also, administrators did not know who visits the site. Updates were planned, and receiving feedback from users was necessary to understand what needed to be updated and why.
Platform
Responsive Website with Bootstrap
Work Done
Visual design and navigation updates
Timeframe
Three weeks during February 2021
Overview
Initial usability testing was done with key users. Feedback from these tests informed our thinking and contributed to the designs we created. Further testing with users and stakeholders informed final design decisions.
Research
Usability Testing
We did usability testing on the existing site with seven people, including three women and four men. Five are legislators or on legislative staff; two are ordinary people.
- Demonstrate how and why they would use udrc.utah.gov
- Use the home page to get around on the site
- Find the latest blog post
- Find the latest research report
Primary Usability Findings
Findability: Users had difficulty finding what they needed. None of the seven participants could find the latest blog post or research report.
Marketing: Participants were unable to identify UDRC’s purpose or understand terms like "longitudinal data system," which confused them.
Definition and Synthesis
I worked with the junior designer to analyze other similar government websites, noting good ideas to improve findability and marketing for UDRC.
Problem Statement: The UDRC website struggled with findability and marketing. Participants had trouble locating key elements like blog posts and research reports, and they couldn’t understand what UDRC does or its terminology.
Persona
A persona was developed based on interviews with key users of the site.
Low-Fidelity Prototype
We created low-fidelity wireframes in Figma to address the following issues:
- Findability: Update navigation and key pages.
- Marketing: Highlight UDRC’s purpose and key content on the home page and research report page.
Iterative Research
Usability Testing
We conducted usability tests on the low-fidelity prototypes, and feedback indicated improved usability and understanding.
Stakeholder Feedback
Stakeholders provided feedback regarding image use, navigation wording, and key elements like the research agenda and data requests.
Design Updates
Based on user and stakeholder feedback, we created high-fidelity mockups and refined the navigation categories.
Final Design - Home Page Before and After
Old Home Page
New Home Page
Final Concept
After presenting the high-fidelity prototypes to leadership, the designs were approved and received positive feedback. These designs were used to update the site's navigation, home page, and research report page.