What would a good uPortal sample user experience include?

Owned by Gary Thompson
Last updated: Mar 07, 2008Version comment
1 min read

Role Scenarios

General

  • Receive alerts
  • Read news and announcements (on- & off-campus news)
  • Check university email
  • Check today's schedule
  • Access information on upcoming events
  • Bookmarks
  • Campus maps and buildings
  • Bus and shuttle schedules
  • Parking and transportation
  • Personal information

"We plan to continue hiding a lot of detail until requested by the user... (i.e. we might show a quick "you have 8 new email messages in your university box, 15 new g-mail messages, 2 facebook messages, 3 myspace messages" – and then click on one of those to see the headers/previews)."

Student

  • Check status of social networking websites
  • Check balances on accounts (dining plans, flexible spending accounts, printing, etc)
  • Course offerings and registration
  • Check class schedule
  • Check official grades when they come out
  • Register personal computer with the university network
  • Financial information
  • Dining menu

"Increasingly, students are using the portal as their home page, and logging in frequently. They now expect it to be the place where they'll see any breaking/important information - and in return we've promised to keep the noise as low as possible."

Faculty

  • Access resources related to the courses they are teaching (CMS, web sites, library reserves, class lists)
  • Access grading system
  • Look up advisees

Staff

  • Links/integration to administrative applications
  • Find HR documents
  • Vacation & sick leave balances
  • View their own open Help Desk cases

Resultant Sample uPortal layout ideas

Guest Layout

Tab Name 1

  • Content 1
  • Content 2

Tab Name 2

  • Content 1
  • Content 2

Personalized Layout

Tab Name 1

  • Content 1
  • Content 2

Tab Name 2

  • Content 1
  • Content 2