UX @ UC Berkeley: SIS Project
UX & Service Design
UC Berkeley's Student Information Systems (SIS) Project is a campus initiative to consolidate all of UC Berkeley's various student information systems into a one-stop-shop student portal: Cal Central.
I was a UX Design intern for the project, assisting the UX team in transforming the user experiences of 40,000+ campus community members. My work focused on bringing the student voice to the desired future state of the Academic Planning & Enrollment efforts of the project, as well as supporting the UX lifecycle around Cal Central development.
Another intern Drake Myers and I were tasked with creating a map for the archetype journey of what students go through when planning their schedule and enrolling in classes. With the transition to the new system, many of the old campus tools for class planning and enrollment would be retired and replaced. We sought to locate the pain points of current processes and tools, such that the newly implemented student tools would address and improve upon these concerns.
The video below runs through the map that we created.
The Process
We started out by gathering SIS students staff for an extensive discussion and whiteboarding session at the SIS Project office. We looked at the main tools students use, for what purposes, and the degree of usage.
Drake and I then pulled together our whiteboarding session insights and mapped out what we believed to be the archetype journey for students on paper. I later created the first version of the journey map in Illustrator.
To validate what we created, we collected feedback from students and UX team members on the map. In addition, Drake and I planned a Design Studio Workshop: "Planning for My Academic Success" for graduate and undergraduate students, during which we had a segment for them to discuss, study, and make comments on our map.
After many iterations, the flow and content of the journey map was finalized, showcasing what we believed to be the archetype journey that students go through to explore and decide their major, plan their schedule, and enroll in classes every semester.
Takeaways
What was interesting about this task was that the initial scope was to only really discover the typical class planning and enrollment journey, with a focus on locating the pain points of the tools students use during that journey, but over time we had to expand upon that scope. It became more about finding their overarching goals and the key questions students were asking during their academic journey, and how current tools intersected with these goals and questions.
While creating this map, it didn't feel as though I was discovering new insights. Because other students and I know the struggle of planning and enrollment so well, the process outlined in our map felt somewhat redundant. But, what felt obvious to me was actually very valuable and interesting to non-student staff members of the project, opening their eyes and helping them get to know the students they're advocating for. In addition, I realized the importance of having fresh eyes for new perspectives and constant feedback.
Future
Once Cal Central's development is completed, ScheduleBuilder, a website that students currently use for schedule planning and sharing, will become obsolete. During the Spring, I am working on a calendar sharing project that will replace similar functions and features provided by ScheduleBuilder, but will be integrated with the new class planning and enrollment tool provided in Cal Central.