Board of Nursing Redesign
UX / UI / Web Design
The Board of Nursing protects the public from unsafe nursing practices. They also approve nursing education programs and issue licenses. Public trust is the most important aspect of the Board’s work.
The Problem
The Board of Nursing website was becoming difficult to navigate and maintain. Since the creation, which was over ten years ago, only content had changed. The homepage contained a heap of information and users were unclear of its purpose. Some pages had no branding and the value proposition was located at the bottom of the site, so there was no sign of trust. Also, it didn’t adapt to smaller screens.
My Goal
- Improve the overall look and feel to make the site more engaging.
- Organize content so that it’s easy to navigate.
- Drive users to utilize the Online Services for nursing business.
- Gain the trust of viewers.
Discovery
To get an edge on the company and their goals, I provided the client a questionnaire in preparation for the Kickoff Meeting. Then I met with the client along with our Product and Project Manager to gather requirements. We interviewed users from different roles about their frustrations, the history and purpose of the website. After our conversation with the client, I determined that the target audience was nurses, students, employers and citizens of all ages. I also noted that some of the 300 registered members have never used the Online System. Staff received a lot calls and had to inform users that the website exist.
User Research
PERSONAS
I used information I gathered from the session to make assumptions about some of the users that represented the primary audience:
April Davis – 38 years old Registered Nurse
Goals – April is a Registered Nurse who cares for people recovering from surgery. She likes having the opportunity to make people feel better. Her shifts are long and she is very busy. Crisis is a regular part of April’s day.
Needs – April loves her job and have been actively practicing for years. Her nurse’s license is in good standing. When the time comes to renew, she needs the ability to do so online due to her tight schedule.
Frustration – Overtime for April is a must at the hospital. It’s almost impossible for her to miss work and make it to the Nursing office to renew her license.
Will Hemington – 49 years old Hospital Administrator
Goals – Will is a hospital administrator who makes sure that the operations of the hospital are running smoothly. He also oversees and recruit staff.
Needs – Will post openings for new nurses to join the team frequently. Once he finds potential employees, he must follow legal procedures and verify their license. He also needs to check to see if the licensee has been disciplined by the Board of Nursing.
Frustration – Hundreds of nurses apply for positions on a daily basis and takes too much time out of Will’s schedule to check the status of licenses.
Quantitative Analysis
SURVEY RESULTS
The client provided survey results, which was submitted by more than 400 users. According to the results for each question:- 56% users had questions about license renewal.
- 62% wanted to verify a license online.
- 75% of the users visited the discipline section of the site.
- 83% of users were looking to apply for a license.
ANALYTICS
I was given access to analytics and found pages with the highest traffic: Licensing, Online Services, Forms, Education and Nurse Practice Act.CONTENT INVENTORY
I performed a content audit using a tool called Screaming Frog which organized all of the data into a spreadsheet. I reviewed the information and found that the hierarchy was flat, there were duplicate pages, some links were broken, and a lot of the information was outdated. I decided to conduct a card sorting activity with the client to help me define the architecture of the site.
Card Sorting Activity
I wrote down information/page titles from the content audit on labels, stuck them on individual cards and numbered them to prepare for the session. During the session, I provided instructions to guide the participants through the activity. They organized information into categories that made sense to them. I observed and noted down their frustrations and comments while they were working. At the end of the activity, I photographed the piles and used numbers on the cards to record what the participants did. I analyzed the information by adding the relationship of cards in Optimal Sort and generated reports.
Comparative Analysis
I explored the market segment to see what solutions other nursing sites provided their users. A few sites that I viewed: Florida Nursing Board, Arizona Nursing Board and NC Nursing Board.
Features
I thought about what features will best meet the user’s needs and allow them to complete their goals on the site. I organized the features based off of the business goals and what’s most important to the users. The following priorities were revealed:
- Brand Identity
- Clear Call To Actions
- Visual Engagement
- Clear Value Proposition
- Value Added
Sitemap
I created a hierarchy that matched the user’s needs and displayed it through a sitemap.
Brief
After gathering evidence from research, I met up with the client and provided a briefing. I scheduled to meet with stakeholders on a bi-weekly basis to keep them updated when I accomplished milestones.
Sketches/Wireframes
I came up with the following solutions for the home page using Sketch:
- I promoted the 4 pages with the highest traffic, applying terms that our users use and these are the followings: Apply/Renew, Online Services, Verify a License and Discipline Cases.
- Moved the value proposition closer to the top of the page.
- Simplified the navigation system.
- Created a section for News to increase credibility by displaying updated information.
Style Guide
I used Sketch to create a style for consistency throughout the site. I also referred to the guide for styles when I designed new pages.
Mockups/Prototypes
For finer design, I used Sketch to create mockups. I then imported the mockups into lnvision for collaboration with stakeholders. As a result, I came up with a clickable prototype, that covered most of the important user flows. I like to do formative testing to catch and resolved issues before development, so I provided links to stakeholders for usability testing. I provided them steps to take, took their feedback, improved the prototype and presented it to them again. After a few iterations, we came up with the final design.
Development
Once the concepts were approved, I translated teh designs into a WordPress website.The Solution
I took a number of measures to improve the Board of Nursing website:
- Added designs for smaller screens for accessibility on all devices.
- Updated the site’s architecture by reorganizing the content and simplified the navigation.
- Added branding throughout the site to gain user’s trust.
- Improved search engine rankings by adding prime SEO keywords.
- Made the site visually compelling.
Measuring Results
The results of the redesign were immediate and productive.
- Users found the new site easier to navigate and use. Now they’re able to locate information and complete tasks very quickly.
- The site is also easier to view and use on more devices beside the traditional desktop computer, such as smartphone, tablet and laptop.
- After comparing the new design against the old, it has exceeded performance goals in the following areas: 20% decrease in web related phone calls, 24% increase in visits to the site.