Open University: Designing a great digital enrolment service.
Setting up & executing an agile user research capability to support the newly formed digital product and design functions.
Brief
Plan & execute a user research programme to support the OU digital transformation & design of the enrolment service. Set up processes & artefacts for an agile UR function + a rapid & efficient participant recruitment process. Train OU staff on how to execute user research.
Approach
Evaluation & onboardiung of new recruitment suppliers, including Askable digital recruitment + UR platform. 2 week UR sprint cycles to test concepts and UX prototypes. Mapping out of current enrolment service across numerous internal systems + 3rd parties.
Outcome
Fully trained internal UR resource within the OU. Extension of Askable contract after a successful trial period. Cross-functional team collaboration thanks to the detailed map of the current system. Completed Alpha & Beta research activities.
Alpha design research
4 rounds of iterative UR from early concepts to high-fidelity interactive Figma prototypes.
Outcome: Key user needs identified & concepts evaluated + refined. Specific hypotheses for driving up target KPIs articulated based on the research.
Beta design research
Regular + rapid UX testing + iteration of new enrolment service design & UX with target students. Each round involved playing back the key findings & unmet user needs to a multi-disciplinary team.
Outcome: Presentations on UR findings & design progress at show & tells to bring the wider organisation along the journey. Empowered design team with clear direction and focus for each round of iteration.
Onboarding of UR recruitment partner
The project needed a faster recruitment turnaround to the usual 2 week lead time and greater flexibility with selection criteria & review of participants for each round. After evaluating 6 potential suppliers, Askable was onboarded on the basis they best met the requirements, whilst simultaneously reducing the overall recruitment costs.
Outcome: This decision was a huge success, with recruitment lead times down to just 2-3 days, a better research observer experience, greater control on participant selection + changing needs between rounds and a cost saving of >70% per round.
Current service mapping
A screen-flow map of the end-to-end enrolment journey across 8 stages of the process, covering a range of separate OU systems, as well as the entire Student Loan application process. Various quant data & analytics was then overlaid onto this to show where traffic flowed and where the biggest dropouts occurred.
Outcome: This quickly became one of the most valuable resources for the product & design teams, providing a way to see the exact steps & content a prospective student would see.
User needs repository
A comprehensive database of all user needs uncovered during UR for a digital enrolment service. Created as an Excel document that can be filtered by multiple dimensions. Each need was assessed on effort + value against the project objectives.
Outcome: Used extensively by the design & product teams as a design checklist for each new epic.
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