Problem:
The advising department and registration department each manage their own live chat systems. Depending on the type of questions a student may have, they can address them by selecting either chat systems. Despite highlighting each chat systems and its unique services on the webpage, students were still selecting the incorrect chat system.
These erroneous chat requests are a result of a number of issues:
- As an institution, SFU should ideally have a main chat system for students to access.
- Students shouldn’t have to decipher which service unit to ask for assistance. The concept of a general help desk area would be more user friendly.
- Unit name such as Registrar and Information Services is not student friendly. Organizational names should be omitted when communicating with students.
Process and Solution
Role: Lead User Experience Analyst and Visual Designer
The previous page design was organized by unit type and then services. We wanted to redesign the page based the students journey and their cognitive state when they arrive on the live chat page.
We decided to de-emphasize the unit name and highlight key concerns a student will have when they are on the live chat page.
Students can read more about the topic by clicking to expand the information below the header. Here, we provide specific types of questions they may want to ask the representative.
These details helped to student to confirm that they have selected the correct topic and perhaps prompt them to click on live chat.
Results
Erroneous chat requests were significantly reduced and an overall improvement in the students experience. Students were able to decipher which chat system to use with ease.
KT 