Résumé of Dey Alexander

This is a selection of projects I've been involved with in the last 3-4 years:

Persona development

I developed a set of personas (fictional profiles, based on real data) for key user groups. The personas were based on user research data including interviews, focus groups, usability testing, demographic data and server log analysis. The personas were focused on informing web writers of the information needs and preferences of their users.

Communities of practice

To identify users' technology needs, I ran a series of interviews with key staff groups involved in a range of communities of practice. After analysing the interview data, I produced a report with technology and related recommendations.

Improving online content

A series of projects aimed at improving the qualify and consistency of specialist online content available to subscribers. Projects included:

• Reviewing and reworking the information architecture of the site
• Running a series of writing workshops and one-on-one sessions aimed at making the content more concise and less cluttered with overly formal vocabulary and sentence structures.
• Developing and a Content Plan, including an editorial style guide, to guide the development of content for the site
• Editing and rewriting some of the content to make it more readable and concise
• Usability testing with members of key target audience groups.

Web accessibility compliance

Most organisations have a policy that states their online resources must meet accessible design guidelines. Few actually achieve that. In this project, through a period of extensive consultation with a wide range of stakeholders, we developed a framework to support the university's goal of making their online resources more accessible. The framework set minimum standards of accessibility for different types of resources and systems, depending on the skillset of the maintainer. It supported these through a series of recommended training programs and online resources, changes to a range of business processes, and included a set of monitoring processes and roles and responsibilities to ensure the standards were reached and maintained.

Publications review

I was involved in this project with two other consulting firms. The department publishes a huge number of publications, largely in PDF format. We evaluated users' experience of the site using eye-tracking, traditional usability testing, and testing with vision-impaired users. I designed the testing methodology, ran two of the three sets of testing, and produced one of the key reports for the client.

Information architecture

This has been a series of projects aimed at improving the information achitecture for a range of the university's websites. I used various user-centred design methods (card sorting, focus groups, interviews, participatory design, usability testing) to design and evaluate information structures and navigation for the sites.

User experience evaluation

As part of a review of the university's web presence, I ran a usability study with prospective students. I tested the existing site with a mix of local and overseas students, at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. I produced a report with a series of prioritised design recommendations for the new site which was being planned.

This is a selection of projects I was involved in during my time in this role at Monash University.

Prospective Students Website Project (2005-6)

This project delivered a new website for prospective students and developed a series of enhancements to the user interface and information provided by Course Finder, an online course database that is a key feature of the site.

I acted as the project manager and design lead on the project. Requirements included:

• Identification of business and end user requirements
• Development of end user profiles and task scenarios
• Assessment of the prospective student experience of university websites
• Conducting a content audit of the existing sites that would provide content for the new site
• Design and evaluation of the information architecture for the new site
• Design and evaluation of a user interface for Course Finder (to incorporate feature enhancements and improve information display)
• Development of a vocabulary to drive Course Finder keyword search
• Design a vocabulary management tool and create associated end user documentation
• Migration of content into a content management system

I wrote a conference paper on one aspect of this project. It won the "Best Paper Award" at the Ausweb conference in 2005. See: How usable are university websites? A report on the prospective student experience

Unit Evaluation Project (2005)

The Unit Evaluation Project developed an online replacement for a paper-based student evaluation of subjects (Monash University refers to them as "units"). The university purchased and customised software to collect and analyse the results of unit evaluations.

I was asked to consult on improving the accessibility of the student interface to the software. Under my supervision, my team constructed three versions of the student interface. While each version complied with the accessibility guidelines specified in the W3C's Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0, our evaluation focused on selecting the most usable of these options, particularly for visually impaired students using screen readers.

Library Catalogue Redesign Project (2004)

Monash University Library sought assistance to update the look and feel of its library catalogue interface.

I proposed a series of activities designed to address a range of concerns about the design and usability of the interface. These included a search log analysis and competitor analysis which were completed by the client. We used this data and a list of issues solicited from library staff to direct a usability study of the catalogue. In the study, paper prototypes allowed us to change screen elements and test iteratively until we found the best solution.

My clients gave a conference paper on this project: A usability study of the library catalogue at Monash University (PDF)

One of my team members presented a conference poster on his experience: Paper prototyping: first experiences and lessons learned

ask.monash (2004)

This project involved a review of the user experience of the Monash University’s online customer self-service system, ask.monash.

My role was to advise the client on a user research strategy, assist with the development of some of the research tools and facilitate a design and content evaluation based on a series of user tests.

ARROW Project (2004)

The ARROW project aims to identify and test software or solutions to support best practice institutional digital repositories comprising e-prints, digital theses and electronic publishing. It is funded by the Australian Commonwealth Department of Education, Science and Training, under the Research Information Infrastructure Framework for Australian Higher Education.

My role in this project was to evaluate the ARROW Project website for conformance against the World Wide Web Consortium's Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0. I delivered a detailed report that resulted in accessibility enhancements to the site.

ePress Project (2004)

The ePress Project established an electronic press to publish scholarly material. I acted in an accessibility consulting role on this project, providing periodic accessibility reviews of the user interface and ongoing advice on improving accessibility.

my.monash Portal Accessibility Evaluation (2004)

my.monash is Monash University's enterprise portal, providing personalised access to information and resources based on the user's role and geographical location. I was asked to evaluate the ARROW Project website for conformance against the World Wide Web Consortium's Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0. I provided a detailed report and a series of prioritised recommendations for design enhancements.

iKiosk Project (2004)

The iKiosk Project involved the replacement of touch screen information kiosks located at various campuses. My role was to consult on the usability and accessiblity of the touch screen designs designed using Macromedia Flash.

Course Finder Project (2003)

This project developed an interactive online course database to replace the existing course catalogues published as static web pages and in PDF versions. My role on the project was to design and evaluate the user interfaces. We used a paper prototyping approach that allowed us to evaluate two design approaches without tieing up development resources.

I wrote a conference paper on my involvement in this project: Using paper prototyping as a user-centred method of informing web design decisions: a case study.

Together with one of my team members, I wrote a conference paper on testing design concepts. See: Testing web page design concepts for usability.

Monash University Timetable System (2003)

Monash's timetable system is a complex application that manages staff, student and room allocations for a range of teaching activities including lectures, tutorials and practicums, across a multi-campus university. I was asked to advise on improvements to the design of the user interfaces for staff and students and conducted a series of user tests to identify design improvements.

Accessibility Benchmarking of University Websites (2003)

In early 2003 I did an extensive study to benchmark the level of accessibility offered by Australian university websites. The results of the study were published and presented at the Ausweb 03 conference. See: How accessible are Australian university websites?

Monash Website Redesign Project (2002-3)

This was a large project that involved redesigning the university's entire web presence. The key goal of the project was to improve the usability and accessibility of the site, largely through the development of web templates and the restructuring of the top levels of the site to provide better access to the content on a range of sub-sites beneath.

I acted as the design lead on the project and co-ordinated the activities of a 4-person user experience team. We used a range of user-centred design methods to elicit user requirements and to design and evaluate solutions.

A short conference paper I wrote provides an overview of the user-centred design activities we used for this project. See: Redesign of the Monash University website: a case study in user-centred design methods.

CUPID Project (2002)

The CUPID Project developed an enterprise database for the university's course and subject offerings, providing administrative access for data management. I was asked to redesign the interfaces to make them more attractive and usable.

Accessibility Evaluation of WebCT (2002)

The university purchased WebCT to provide a learning management system for online subjects and those with online elements. I was asked to conduct an accessibility review of the product to assist the university identify whether it complied with Australian legal requirements and to advise on the development of training for academic staff using the product.

The report was eventually turned into a conference paper: An accessibility audit of WebCT.