Requirements, Anyone?...

So, the stage is set for large scale collection of the precious bits of information we'll need to build a new site properly. In Project Management lingo, we're at the Execution phase. In Information Architecture language, we're in between the Research and Strategy phases. If you have no clue what I'm blogging about - no worries. I probably don't either! (just kidding)

Requirements collection is where we ask you, the stakeholder, what's most important to you - what's on your wish list of things you'd like changed, added, deleted from the website as well as suggestions on those ethereal qualities (color, balance, tone, etc) that you think will make the new website a more appealing place to visit.

Since this is a wish list, there is no restriction on what you can suggest. Of course, later in the process, realities like necessity, time, cost, and available skill will ultimately determine what gets bumped up the priority totem pole but for now let's cram all the available suggestions in there.

Student Focus Groups

So, This is Your Site, Right?...
The answer to that is yes. Oh, and I was speaking to Coppin's prospective and current students, grad students, undergraduates, and even unborn future enrollees. We would love to hear from you, what works, doesn't work, likes, dislikes, and a general wishlist of the kinds of features and information that will make the new site useful to you.

Out of respect for your all-important academic schedule, we'd like to know what's the best non-infringing time, so please email the webmaster (webmaster@coppin.edu) with a schedule of your free time so that we can coordinate calendars accordingly (try to say that really fast five times!). NOTE: For verification that you are a student, please send an email from your student.coppin.edu email account.

Initially - Two Groups
We are forming a 25 and up group and a below 25 group. Classification is immaterial at this point, so Freshmen, Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors as well as grad students can join either group as long as the age is right.

Ignore this fine print --> (we might even spring for pizza...)

So whaddya say?...

CLEAR!!!!

Well, That Was a Long Rest
OK, So I admit it. This blog has been dead for a little while now. I'm actually surprised that I remember the password! Stand back while we breathe life into this post. Get the defibrillator pads ready ... ... ZAP!!

Here are the updates:

Content Management System
We have procured a CMS from the wonderful folks at Jadu Inc. Among other reasons for choosing this CMS is its power, ease of use, and agility. We'll talk more on this later.

Information Architecture Strategy
It's not quite complete yet, but we've hammered out most of the IA strategy we'll use for the remainder of the project. In Geek-Speak, that means we're rolling right along: We will form an amalgam of data collected from a Top-Down view (administrators, deans, chairs, etc) with that from the Bottom-Up view (prospective students, current students, staff, faculty, etc.), and resolve them. The primary objective is to determine the information needs of the site's visitors and the tasks they are attempting to complete. In other words, the site must be useful at all levels.

Reduced Scope: Here come the 86s
As with any major project, tough decisions have to be made when budgets, time crunches, and good old-fashioned politics are factored in. Therefore, these items were cut from the script:

Mobile Site - This is a separate beast in its own right, so we've decided to make that a priority project after the launch of the main www site. It was costing a significant amount of time and pretty soon it was clear that we were chasing two rabbits.

Faculty Server - Similar situation to the Mobile site. It became evident that this introduced an unacceptable quantity of scope creep, therefore it will become its mini project after the all-important www project is launched.

Come Back Soon
I will keep you up to date on the progress of the site and try my very best not to bore you to tears, ... well maybe I shouldn't make promises I cannot keep :)

Apply Online: Mobile Edition!

I'm excited to report that after a pretty good meeting with some stakeholders, they were able to see the wisdom in investing in the development of an online version of the college application (Apply Online) that will work not only for the desktop but also for mobile devices. We currently have an Apply Online service but it is in need of updating. The objective is to create a streamlined application process that can be completed and submitted in 5-7 minutes by requiring essential-only data needed to make an admit decision.

Among the concerns discussed were

Is it even viable?
Shouldn't the focus be on developing mobile apps to serve the current student population then branch out to prospective students?

Considering our enrollment challenges, it would be advantageous to capture the attention of many minorities and others who do a considerable amount of shopping for services and products (including education) online and via mobile devices. This way, we maximize our ROI by increasing our visibility and reach. Expectations can be managed by providing accurate information as to what other digital services are currently offered on campus.


App vs. Optimized Website
Should we use a mobile app or an optimized website to apply online?

Just because an app is faster doesn't mean it's great for every situation. In this case it was almost a no-brainer that we should seek the utility of a Mobile Optimized Website as opposed to a device specific app. The MOW can be built more quickly, can be deployed for multiple devices with minimal customization, does not need to be upgraded when updates are made to specific machines. This is the clincher: Since prospective students are likely to use it once, there is no need to download an app that will never be used again.


Are other schools doing this?
As of the date of this blog, no other schools were doing this. It was raised that schools must be shying away from this for a reason.

Most likely that reason is the challenge posed by most college online applications: Significant content bloat and redundant information that may be verified elsewhere. Our goal is to streamline the process to bare essentials and to provide a form akin to what many businesses are already doing with e-commerce, online trading, online banking etc. Since many consumers (in the business world) already fill out forms of considerable length (on mobile devices) to attain convenient services, our theory is to make our form just as user-friendly if not more so.


e-commerce Considerations
It was raised that e-commerce is not being widely utilized on mobile devices.

Research shows that the use of e-commerce is on the rise on mobile devices and that capturing the attention of this growing market will be to our advantage. Many of the attendees admitted to having done some form of mobile banking or other e-commerce operation already. Having a student being able to complete an application and gain immediate consideration by submitting the application fee facilitates immediate customer contact and increases the likelihood of moving a prospective "customer" to an admitted student.


Won't we lose valuable information?
It was raised that "scaling down" the college application to work on a mobile device will increase the likelihood of losing valuable information needed to be captured for admit decisions to be made.

Scaling down the information needed for any online form leads to increased task completion. Surveys that are long are less likely to be filled out than those that are short and more concise. The discussion then centered on removing unwanted and redundant information from the application process period, and streamlining this to accommodate the shrinking attention span of online users.

Share your thoughts and ideas and help us make a better product for Coppin State University.

12 is the Magic Number

In creating a concept for the Mobile version of the website, it is determined (I think) that for wide screen smart phones (iPhones, Droids and others), 12 icons can fit on the screen (4 x 3). Twelve icons = twelve major topics. I'll give you my impression of the 12 most important things to display. What's your 12?

Academics * Admissions * Tuition * Financial Aid
Apply Now * Calendar   * News    * Contact Us
Directory * About CSU  * Current * Emergency Info
                         Students


There is no need to fill all 12 if each item isn't critically important

...and the Survey Says...

Yes, this line was taken from the "Family Feud" gameshow, popular for surveying average people and using the results to determine where contestants ranked.

The Survey group met today to hash out the appropriate questions needed to get the maximum benefit from the campus feedback. Information overload (ergo unnecessary useless data) is a common pitfall of projects this size. We hope our questions will give us the quantifiable, granular data needed to build a site suited to the specific needs of the Coppin Family.

Among the subjects considered were:

• An audience based set of questionnaires focused on Task Completion*
• Harnessing the information needs of those served by the pages we create

The final questions will be rolled out in a day or two, keep posted.

^*Task Completion is a phrase you'll encounter several times here. It refers to the operation of a web page by purpose. Most individuals go to a site to do something, complete a task. Rarely do people read all the data on a website, but people seek out "hot zones" where their functionality is concentrated and perform the action they set out to do. Building a site with this in mind leads to better results.

Mobile Presence: Which one do we need?...

Here's the big question: Do we commit resources to the creation of a Mobile App or funnel our energies into a Mobile Optimized Website?

When the web phenomenon exploded in the mid nineties, it was no longer a question of whether or not you needed a "homepage" - it was what kind of web presence did you need and how quickly could you get it out there. Fast forward just 15 years (in internet terms that's a lifetime) and the same can be said about a mobile presence.

Specialized Mobile Apps have become popular and are used for a variety of functions. Mobile optimized websites are also on the rise and are taking advantage of increasing support for HTML5 and CSS3 capabilities.

Reasons for Native Mobile Apps:

• High Performance - taking advantage of the device's capabilities
• Offline Mode
• Findability
• Device Attributes - Camera, GPS, etc
• Monetization

Reasons for Mobile Optimized Web

• Rapid deployment and update cycle
• Lower deployment/maintenance costs
• Universally available (with caveats) on a majority of devices

Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/purplelime/2848782746/ by PurpleLime