UE Goals
MODERNIZE THE UE
AJAX
Enchance the current UE by adding an AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) framework into the rendering tier. This will help boost performance by reducing hits to the server as well as provide exciting UE solutions such as drag and drop.
User Type |
Advantage |
Disadvantage |
---|---|---|
Will experience richer and more exciting product interactions with faster refresh rates. |
None |
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Can take advantage of the "buzzword" factor and demo the benefits of AJAX to decision makers. Plus, with a reduction in required server hits, IT may benefit from some performance gains. |
May need to learn new technolgies if they plan to modify or develop AJAX enabled applications. |
|
Better performance = lower maintenance costs. Additionally, the "buzzword" factor will give executives something to brag about. |
None |
|
Uncertain |
These users may be hindered if screen reading technology does not support the latest advances in AJAX UIs. |
Drag and Drop
Drag and drop GUI objects will allow for a more exciting and intuitive user interface.
User Type |
Advantage |
Disadvantage |
---|---|---|
Will now have a more up-to-date, fun, and intuitive experience with the product. |
None |
|
Will also benefit from the intuitive nature of drag and drop, but more importantly, they will feel proud to showcase uPortal to decision makers. |
May need to learn new technolgies if they plan to modify or develop drag and drop enabled applications. |
|
Will appreciate this as a "bells and whistle" feature when performaing a cost/benefit analysis. |
None |
|
Uncertain |
These users may be hindered if screen reading technology does not support dynamic content changes via JavaScript. Motor impaired users may also have difficulty manipulating elements in a drag and drop environment. |
LAYOUT CUSTOMIZATION
Institution Configuration
This feature gives portal administrators direct access to portal user interface configuration options, possibly via a web interface, which would allow them to modify options such as:
- User welcome/identification
- Globally allowing/locking down user customization
- Portal framework links (help, configuration, etc.)
- Quicklinks (persistent navigation to high profile content)
- Link lists (header and footer)
- Legal and copyright information
- Labels
User Type |
Advantage |
Disadvantage |
---|---|---|
No direct advantage, but are impacted by the configrations made by portal administrators. |
May be impacted in a negative way depending on the configurations made by the portal administrator. |
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Will have greater control over the portal UE without needing to modify code. |
None |
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Will empower non-technical administrators to make user interface configuration changes without needing a technical resource. |
None |
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Will allow the institution flexibility in reflecting their brand and servicing students. |
None |
Customized Presentation of Individual Portlets
Portal administrators will have the ability to assign custom presentation options such as: borderless, highlight, callout, with or without icon, etc., to any portlet presented in the layout. More savvy admins will have even greater control over the way a portlet looks by assigning custom/specific CSS (Cascading Style Sheets).
User Type |
Advantage |
Disadvantage |
---|---|---|
Greater customization of their interface. |
May be impacted in a negative way depending on the configurations made by the portal administrator. |
|
Will have greater control over the portal UE without needing to modify code. |
None |
|
Will empower non-technical administrators to make user interface configuration changes without needing a technical resource. |
None |
Preference State Always On
Allowing the preferences state to remain "on" at all times enables the user to make changes to their layout, such as repositioning portlets, without fear of reverting to a previous layout on exit. This feature would also allow users to modify their layout without being forced to go into a specific "preferences mode."
User Type |
Advantage |
Disadvantage |
---|---|---|
Greater freedom and comfort in customizing the interface. |
None |
|
Reduced technical support/helpdesk calls about layout customization. |
None |
|
Fewer frustrated users equals greater adoption and a greater success story. |
None |
IMPROVE USABILITY
Professional Presentation
The out-of-the-box "look and feel" of the portal will represent a high-quality, professional product. Using the right combination of colors, icons, type, and layout, the GUI will reflect elements of "good design" by incorporating a clean, interesting, and relevant presentation. Additionally, the portal will allow institutions to easily change key elements of the design in order to customize a look and feel that represents their unique brand.
User Type |
Advantage |
Disadvantage |
---|---|---|
Much easier to understand what is tradtionally an overwhelming amount of content. The design of the UI will be more conventional, and thereby easier to relate with, by meeting the same standards of "good design" seen in top web portals/sites on the Internet. |
None |
|
Look and feel of the portal will be easier to understand, cleaner and more professional in appearance, and thereby easier work with and present to others. |
None |
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Will feel the portal is a legitimate and professional product to be taken seriously. |
None |
Visual Grid System
As part of the Professional Presentation, defining an aesthetically organized grid system will enhance the look and feel of the portal by making it easier to understand and pleasing to look at. In addition to giving the portal a polished appearance, this modification will draw some distinctions between portlets presented in narrow or wide columns.
User Type |
Advantage |
Disadvantage |
---|---|---|
Much easier to understand what is tradtionally an overwhelming amount of content. The design of the UI will be more conventional, and thereby easier to relate with, by meeting the same standards of "good design" seen in top web portals/sites on the Internet. |
None |
|
Look and feel of the portal will be easier to understand, cleaner and more professional in appearance, and thereby easier work with and present to others. |
None |
|
Will feel the portal is a legitimate and professional product to be taken seriously. |
None |
Navigational Hierarchy
The portal will support a hierarchy of organization greater than one level (tabs-within-tabs). Further research is needed to understand how institutions would prefer to organize their portal content.
User Type |
Advantage |
Disadvantage |
---|---|---|
No direct advantage, but are impacted by the configrations made by portal administrators. |
May be impacted in a negative way depending on the configurations made by the portal administrator. |
|
Will have greater power and felxibility in organizing portal content. |
None |
|
Will allow the institution flexibility in reflecting their brand and servicing students. |
None |
Modal Interaction Patterns
The portal will provide interaction patterns that are on par with best-of-breed web applications. Patterns may include Bob Baxley's hub, wizard, and guide modal principles, along with fleshing out better methods for dealing with focused and unfocused portlet states.
User Type |
Advantage |
Disadvantage |
---|---|---|
Much easier to understand what is tradtionally an overwhelming amount of content. The design of the UI will be more conventional, and thereby easier to relate with, by meeting the same standards of "good design" seen in top web portals/sites on the Internet. |
None |
|
Look and feel of the portal will be easier to understand, cleaner and more professional in appearance, and thereby easier work with and present to others. |
None |
|
Will feel the portal is a legitimate and professional product to be taken seriously. |
None |
Supporting the Browser Back Button
As the "second-most used navigation feature" on any website, the back button working properly is critical to good usability. Currently, the back button does not always behave in an expected way. Fixing this problem will require analyzing the existing technical issue, identifying the correct/expected behavior for the button, and implementing a solution.
User Type |
Advantage |
Disadvantage |
---|---|---|
Greater comfort and satisfaction with the portal as it supports their #2 navigation feature and operates consistently with other Web expereinces. |
None |
|
Reduced technical support/helpdesk calls. |
None |
|
Fewer frustrated users equals greater adoption and a greater success story. |
None |
Error Reporting and Recovery
The portal will provide better error reporting to help users understand and resolve problems. Error messages need to be well described, written in language that a user understands, and be relevant. Perhaps error messages can provide feedback appropriate to user types. For example: Administrators will be presented with technical details to assist them in trouble-shooting and resolving the problem, while non-administrators will be presented with contact information to assist them in obtaining technical support.
User Type |
Advantage |
Disadvantage |
---|---|---|
Greater comfort and satisfaction with the portal by increasing their ability to successfully recover from errors. |
None |
|
Reduced technical support/helpdesk calls. |
None |
|
Fewer frustrated users equals greater adoption and a greater success story. |
None |
First-Time User Setup
When a new user enters the portal, they will be offered a "setup wizard" to select default settings (theme, skin, language, content, etc.). During this process, the system will setup the user's environment as well as learn about his or her level of expertise – which will then be used to offer suggestions and/or behind-the-scenes support. The system will also point out where to go in order to modify settings after the initial setup or if the user chose to by-pass the setup wizard.
User Type |
Advantage |
Disadvantage |
---|---|---|
Greater comfort with and acclimation to a personalized portal. |
None |
|
Reduced technical support/helpdesk calls. |
None |
|
Greater adoption and a greater success story. |
None |
|
Ability to select an accessible presentation of the portal that meets their needs from the start. |
None |
User Settings
The portal will deepen and simplify customization and personalization by providing individual user settings that tailor the user experience. Various configurable features could be selected or toggled on or off by the user through a single point of access to the full collection of user settings. Settings available to individual users (via group membership) should be managed globally by the portal administrator. Examples of possible user settings could be theme/skin selection, mobile device access, alert preferences, help preferences, expertise selection, accessibilty options, and others.
User Type |
Advantage |
Disadvantage |
---|---|---|
Greater customization and personalization of the portal. |
None |
|
Management of user settings from the institution level down to the per group level. |
Will probably add managment repsonsiblity to the portal administrator role. |
|
Greater adoption and a greater success story. |
None |
|
Able to configure a presentation of the portal that meets their needs. |
None |
Contextual Help
The portal will provide context specific help for users as they navigate features in the product. This feature could be toggled on and off by the user as well as the portal admin. The contents of the contextual help could be controlled by a content management system to allow for easy customization by individual institutions.
User Type |
Advantage |
Disadvantage |
---|---|---|
Quicker and greater acclimation to the portal. |
None |
|
Reduced technical support/helpdesk calls. |
Probably will increase the responsibility of the portal stakeholders to customize, support, translate, and potentially author contextual help |
|
Greater adoption and a greater success story. |
None |
Portal Administration
As a traditionally undervalued part of the portal, the administration tools are pivotal to the overall impression the portal makes in the marketplace. More over, intuitive and feature rich administration tools make the portal administrator's job easier and hassle-free – therefore increase institutional adoption. The first step in fixing the existing issues with the administration tools is to develop a dashboard-esque view of the tools so that administrators have one central place to access them. Step two would require an in-depth analysis and redesign of UI's and flows to reduce the learning curve and make completion of tasks quicker and easier.
User Type |
Advantage |
Disadvantage |
---|---|---|
Better user experience due to well-administered portal. |
None |
|
Will experience more useful and efficient portal administration with rapid acclimation to intuitive tools. |
None |
|
Greater adoption and a greater success story. |
None |
Web Standards
Web standards are technologies and the guidelines and specifications for technologies, established by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) and other standards bodies, which are used to create and interpret Web-based content.
Web Standards that apply to the portal are:
- XHTML 1.0 transitional for markup
- CSS Level 1 and Level 2 for presentation
- JavaScript for scripting
- Semantic markup
User Type |
Advantage |
Disadvantage |
---|---|---|
Faster download and rendering of Web pages. Less HTML results in smaller file sizes and quicker downloads. Modern Web browsers render pages faster when they are in their standards mode than when they are in their backwards-compatible mode. |
Variance of interpretation of and compliance to Web Standards by Web browsers can result in inconsistent user experience. |
|
Simpler development and maintenance. Using more semantic and structured HTML makes it easier and quicker to understand code created by somebody else. Compatibility with future Web browsers. Using defined standards and valid code future-proofs your documents by reducing the risk of future Web browsers not being able to understand the code you have used. Simpler adaptation. A semantically marked up document can be easily adapted to print and alternative browsing devices, like handheld computers and cellular phones, just by linking to a different CSS file. You can also make site-wide changes to presentation by editing a single file. |
Variance of interpretation of and compliance to Web Standards by Web browsers may necessitate additional knowledge and skill to develop Web Standard solutions for multiple brands and versions of Web browsers. |
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Able to declare Web Standards compliance and the positive associations that come with it (currency, best practices, good citizenship, etc.). Greater adoption and a greater success story. |
None |
|
Better accessibility because semantic markup makes it easier for screen readers and alternative browsing devices to interpret the content. |
None |
Accessibility Law Compliance
In the context of the Web, accessibility is the concept that any user can access all the content of a Web document. Accessible Web content is an important goal for the portal because of:
- Government laws that apply to higher education institutions (ADA Section 508, for example)
- Diversity of user agent (browser), language, and culture of the portal users.
- Users with disabilities
In addition to the American Disabilities Act Section 508 of the United States, disability laws of Canada and Europe (and possibly other countries) should be considered in the development.
User Type |
Advantage |
Disadvantage |
---|---|---|
Greater access and usability. |
None |
|
Will be able to check off accessibility law compliance when pitching the portal to stakeholders. |
Not really a disadvantage, but will necessitate knowledge and application of Accessiblity Law as it applies to Higher Education and the Web. |
|
Able to declare accessibility law compliance and the positive associations that come with it (the right thing to do, servicing all persons of their instiution, good citizenship, etc.). Greater adoption and a greater success story. |
None |
|
Greater access and usability with consideration for their special needs. |
None |
WCAG 2.0 priority 1 compliance
The portal should meet WCAG 2.0 Priority 1 Guidelines as a means of accessibility law compliance and to ensure a good user experience for users with disabilities.
User Type |
Advantage |
Disadvantage |
---|---|---|
Greater access and usability. |
None |
|
Will be able to check off WCAG 2.0 Priority 1 Guidelines when pitching the portal to stakeholders. |
Not really a disadvantage, but will necessitate knowledge and application of WCAG 2.0 Priority 1 Guidelines. |
|
Able to declare WCAG 2.0 Priority 1 Guidelines compliance and the positive associations that come with it (the right thing to do, best practices, good citizenship, etc.). Greater adoption and a greater success story. |
None |
|
Greater access and usability with consideration for their special needs. |
None |
Text-only rendering
By inplementing an AJAX rendering model, the portal will likely become inaccessible to users with disabilities. According to accessibility laws and guidelines, such a condition necessitates and alternate, accessible version of the same content. Providing a "text-only" version of the content allow users with disabilities to access the content with current assistive and screen reader technology.
User Type |
Advantage |
Disadvantage |
---|---|---|
An optional, more simplistic rendering of the presentation that some users may prefer over the default. |
Will have to accomodate means of accessing the text-only rendering in the default, rich interface. |
|
Will be able to check off accessibility when pitching the portal to stakeholders. A possiblity of the text-only rendering also being used for mobile devices. |
Will have to maintain (and possibly develop on) an additional presentation layer. |
|
Able to declare accessibility compliance and the positive associations that come with it (the right thing to do, best practices, good citizenship, etc.). Greater adoption and a greater success story. |
None |
|
Greater access and usability with consideration for their special needs. |
None |
Access keys
Access keys are keyboard short-cuts to navigate to specified links that enhance both usability and accessibility.
User Type |
Advantage |
Disadvantage |
---|---|---|
Greater usability and efficiency. |
None |
|
Will be able to check off accessibility when pitching the portal to stakeholders. |
None |
|
Able to declare accessibility compliance and the positive associations that come with it (the right thing to do, best practices, good citizenship, etc.). Greater adoption and a greater success story. |
None |
|
Greater access and usability with consideration for their special needs. |
None |
RSS and WebProxy Content Addition
Portal users without access to portlet management should be given access to add RSS and WebProxy content to their layout. This kind of personalization is vital to end-user portal adoption. A tool needs to be provided to allow users to add personalized RSS and WebProxy content apart from administration-level portlet management. Additionally, this feature would also need to be enabled or disabled at the institution level.
User Type |
Advantage |
Disadvantage |
---|---|---|
Able to pull in content of personal interest. Will change the portal to be a place they want to go as opposed to a place they have to go. |
None |
|
Will be able to demonstrate personalization and aggregation of content when pitching the portal to stakeholders. |
None |
|
Greater adoption and a greater success story. |
None |
Bookmarking and Deep-linking
The portal will provide page bookmarking and deep-linking from within the portal as well as from external websites. Additionally, it would be worth exploring bookmarklets as a means to pull bookmarks into the portal when surfing the Web.
User Type |
Advantage |
Disadvantage |
---|---|---|
Able to link to and share with others content inside and outside the portal. |
None |
|
Will be able to demonstrate bookmarking and deep-linking of content when pitching the portal to stakeholders. |
None |
|
Greater adoption and a greater success story. |
None |
External Linking
The portal should allow portal administrators to add external, non-portal links to link lists and navigation menus to better connect the portal with other institution Web properties.
User Type |
Advantage |
Disadvantage |
---|---|---|
Ability to access other institution Web properties from within the portal. |
None |
|
Will be able to demonstrate linking to other institution Web properties when pitching the portal to stakeholders. |
None |
|
Increased institution cohesion. Greater adoption and a greater success story. |
None |
- Professional Presentation
- Visual Grid System
- Navigational Hierarchy
- Modal Interaction Patterns
- Supporting the Browser Back Button
- Error Reporting and Recovery
- First-Time User Setup
- User Settings
- Contextual Help
- Portal Administration
- Web Standards
- Accessibility Law Compliance
- WCAG 2.0 priority 1 compliance
- Text-only rendering
- Access keys
- RSS and WebProxy Content Addition
- Bookmarking and Deep-linking
- External Linking
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uPortal 3 UI - 2005-04-28 (Archived Portal Exploration)
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uPortal 3 UI - 2006-06-19 (Archived Portal Exploration)
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UP3 Logo Concepts (Archived Portal Exploration)
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UP3 Theme & Skin Concept 1 (Archived Portal Exploration)
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UP3 Theme & Skin Concept 1.1 (Archived Portal Exploration)
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UE Goals (Archived Portal Exploration)
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User Experience (Archived Portal Exploration)