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The Office of the Registrar in conjunction
with the Division of Information Resources wanted to shift its method
of serving students from an archaic, malfunctioning touch-tone phone-based
system to a streamlined Web-based system. As a result, they purchased
a front-end package that would interface with the current student
information system in order to allow students to access personal account
information, transcript and billing information, and register on-line.
Before the system was put into place, it was presented to me with
the expectation that I would make assessments of it according to issues
of security, accessibility, and usability, and make the appropriate
modifications in support the Offices’ original goals.
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- Conducted cognitive walkthrough and think aloud protocol usability
tests with the "out of the box" version of the software
to identify problems in the system
- Used iterative design process, continually reviewing changes
with students, to update error messages, system instructions,
and help information
- Modified over 200 files to remove unnecessary functions and
provide consistent navigational options
- Provided requests for back-end system modifications to programmers
- Conducted usability tests on production version utilizing field
observation and questionnaires
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In the final round of testing, the entire group of 29 randomly selected
students were able to enter the system and make modifications to
their course schedules. A survey conducted following their use of
the system showed that 100% of the students with access to the Internet
would use this system over the touch-tone phone system. The actual
release date of Web for Students was January 2, 2001. In the first
three weeks alone, the system handled 44,028 logins and had100%
uptime, allowing students to check grades, access transcripts, and
look at accounts. As of March 2001, the system will be used for
class registration.
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