Portfolio

The following are a number of recent projects on which I have worked. All had a major problem to fix and I will be explaining my solutions to fix them with and techniques used to implement them.
Code sample from our web standards cased templates

Web standards implementation

The project also saw the start of my push towards using web standards for our website templates. By doing this our site automatically became:

  • In line with current best practice in web design.
  • Complaint to WCAG accessibility guidelines so to be accessible for a larger user base.
  • Displayed consistently in all web browsers due to the use of valid XHTML and CSS.
  • Usable for people using devices other than a web browser to access it with.
  • Ranked higher on search engines

The use of web standards also made it easier to implement emerging technologies such as RSS, blogs and microformats that allowed for easy access for both users and machines to our data. This has substantially raised the profile of the University site.
The LSBU homepage utilising the CSS template I worked to create.

LSBU homepage

Problem

The LSBU homepage had no focus, was difficult to navigate and failed to promote the University and its services.

Solution

  • Analysis of web stats and focus group statistics to ascertain the key areas of our website.
  • Provide a simple IA that would highlight these key areas to our users.
  • Utilise existing systems to provide dynamic content promoting what is currently going on to LSBU and to encourage further exploration of our site.
  • Providing access to our course prospectus directly from the homepage.

www.lsbu.ac.uk

Online application form

Problem

The quality of applications from our online system was of a poor standard. Many were incomplete and many were from countries from whom we do not accept direct applications.

Solution

  • Filter users on their country of application by providing a question about their country of residence. This also provided a higher success of applications from our International Students, they were pointed towards the correct agencies and recruitment companies in their country through which they should apply to us through.
  • Provide a user account through which applicants can log off and return to their application as needed until they feel it is ready to submit.

My work almost doubled the success rate of our online applicants.

www.lsbu.ac.uk/php4-cgiwrap/apply/online/index.php
The LSBU online prospectus - with highlighted key information and microformats.

Online prospectus

Problem

Students would search for a course from our homepage, read the course information but leave the site without reading further about the University.

Solution

  • Providing contextual links to further information found throughout our site, such as to our fees site, recruitment events, information on how to apply and entry requirements.
  • Promoting key facts to provide a quick summary of each course - enough to allow a user the ability to decide if a course is for them or not.
  • Proving a quick question box at the bottom of each course page. This will not only provide users with a feeling of us being their to help them but also allow for simple gathering of user data for the faculties.

www.lsbu.ac.uk/prospectivestudents/courses/search.shtml
The LSBU Alumni website - on which I am creating a number of interactive features.

LSBU Association (Alumni)

Problem

Having sat dormant for a number of years we needed to re-engage our Alumni.

Solution

  • Provide easy access to the LSBU Association by providing a contact form of some sort for every section of the site.
  • Providing a university wide friends network for Alumni that will allow for our alumni to get back in touch with old friends and also provide the University with up-to-date contact information about our alumni users.
  • Through this obtain current contact details and information about Alumni.

Having created the interaction design I am now working alongside an agency to provide technical development work. I will be responsible for managing the project from our side of the development team. The new features are planned for launch in September 2007.

www.lsbu.ac.uk/alumni/
The LSBU Estates website, a project I worked on in partnership with Clear:Left, Brighton

Estates development

Problem

We needed to provide a communication method for project stakeholders and interested parties on our Estates Development project – something that was vital in ensuring that acceptance was gained from local planning authorities and government.

Solution

After devising a simple, intuitive IA and having appointed a suitable agency to provide the work for us, Clear:Left in Brighton. I was responsible for:

  • Advising on our corporate ID.
  • Liasing with their development team on technical restrictions and constraints of our web server.
  • Quality assurance.
  • Creating the web site using templates provided by Clear:Left.
  • Providing training on their bundled CMS system.

www.lsbu.ac.uk/estatesdevelopments/