CIRTL Network
Role
UX research, UX designer
What is CIRTL?
Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching, and Learning (CIRTL) is an NSF funded organization to improve STEM learning for all students at every college and university, and increase the diversity in STEM fields and the STEM literacy of the nation.
The CIRTL network empowers instructors to come together in STEM fields across universities to share best practices and improve the classroom experience.
Problem
The CIRTL website was a homegrown Drupal site that was put together with limited resources and time. As the network of schools grows, communication is integral to keep everyone informed and share ideas. A new website was needed as a platform for a network of 25 Universities around North America (now 40+ Universities).
Solution
To build a new platform from the ground up, with significant input from the users via UX research interviews and iterative testing with prototypes. The end result is a site to share resources, create learning communities, and offer courses to current and future STEM faculty committed to advancing evidence-based teaching practices. We were awarded with a grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to complete this work.
UX Process
Using the RITE method (Rapid Iterative Testing and Evaluation) and scenario-based design carried out in 3-day sprints
Day 1
Interviews on site with key stakeholders
Day 2
Scenario creation and design
Day 3
Usability A/B testing with new design vs. current system
We visited 6 schools around the nation conducting interviews, designing prototypes and usability testing. We developed a fully functional prototype built on Rails, HTML5 and CSS 3. The design was iterated and tested in all 6 schools we visited. Influences were drawn from respected news websites to develop a serious and fact-based feel to the system to attract academics.
Design Evolution
Multiple iterations based on user feedback and testing
Information Architecture Innovation
After discussion with the development team, we realized we were already collecting resource tags when users uploaded resources to the site. So we added a "Topics" page where we listed in alphabetical order all the topics used for tagging resources - creating the concept of "Resource Collections."
Original Site
The Drupal site we started with. It was slow loading, had a myriad of plugins that broke most times, and difficult to create spaces and organization for users.
Final Design
The final iteration bringing News, Announcements, Discussions, and Communities information front and center.