New City Media

In an earlier post I wrote about how we have adapted the KJ Method for getting consensus on site architecture. We used this approach extensively when we worked with various administrative and academic departments at Virginia Tech, to revamp their parts of the overall vt.edu site. The people in the Financial Aid office did a great job rethinking their site during our session, and I wanted to share their story.

The IT team from Financial Aid had been maintaining the web site up until this point, and were actually in the midst of a redesign when we began working with them in the Spring of 2006. The old site had links to:

• About Us
• FAQ’s
• Flash Mail
• Lingo
• Links
• Aid Programs
• Applying
• Forms
• Requirements
• Special Interest
• OSFA Calendar

The new site in development (not pictured here) began with several paragraphs of text about the mission of the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid. We conducted usability tests with this site and watched students struggle to answer basic questions.

The IT team wanted to provide a better user experience, but we didn’t have a solid grasp of audience needs yet. We hosted a KJ session and included the three people from the IT team and two of the financial aid counselors who spent most of their day on the phone talking to students and parents.

1. We brainstormed answers to the question “What would people come to the financial aid web site to FIND or DO?,” writing each answer on a post-it note and sticking them on the wall. People wrote things like “What do I need to do to get/keep my aid?” or “Check status of my application.”
2. Next we grouped them according to similar goals. So for example, “Which is the best loan?” went with “What’s the difference between a loan and a grant?” under the general goal of “Understanding Types of Aid.”
3. Finally, each participant placed six dot stickers on the questions or groups they thought were most important. We ended up with this list:

At the end of the session, everyone agreed that these were the right priorities for the site. The question at the top of the list was “How much help might I get?” If you’ve ever applied for financial aid, you know that the application forms are second only to the 1040 in terms of pain factor. Many people were calling just to find out if it was worth their time to apply. Unfortunately the site did nothing to answer this question.

The IT team saw an immediate opportunity to solve this problem by building an online calculator. With 8 simple questions they could let you know how much aid you might qualify for. It was a quick win for everyone. We had to laugh when a few months later we saw the report “E-Expectations of the Class of 2007″ published by Noel-Levitz. In their survey of 1,000 high school students, the #1 thing they were looking for on college web sites was “Complete a financial aid estimator form.” The VT financial aid office already knew this, the KJ session just helped them bring it into focus.

Following the KJ session we drafted wireframes of the home page and second-level pages, and conducted user tests. In the screenshot below you can see how each of the goals from the KJ session were handled.

We put the schedule in an easy to read timeline right at the top.

Next, we grouped the major questions into three overall topics:

1. The Process - how does this all work?
2. Applying for Aid - starting with the estimator, we walk you through the steps to apply.
3. Receiving Your Aid - everything you need after aid has been awarded.

In usability tests, students were able to scan the page quickly and find answers in one or two clicks. Feedback has been great.

Hey, it only takes an hour or two. Give it a try!

(To see the E-Expectations report, go to https://www.noellevitz.com/Papers+and+Research/ and look for Engaging the “Social Networking” Generation: How to Talk to Today’s College-Bound Juniors and Seniors.)