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Summary
Over the last three years Southampton University in the UK has been doing a complete website redesign following an Agile process; user research and performance analytics have been an integral part of the Agile process from the very start. The website has a variety of products aimed at potential students and research collaborators. Performance analytics informed the business case and objectives and qualitative research in Discovery uncovered the user needs to improve the user experience. During alpha qualitative research informed the design of the early prototypes and in beta analytics and user research integrated qual and quant in a variety of metrics around performance and the user experience. The same metrics have been taken forward and enhanced in Live to ensure continuous improvement which sits alongside the new product roadmap. The presentation will outline the integration of qual and quant and give examples of what has been done, the metrics, and how they are informing the user experience and business objectives.
Key Insights
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The previous website had over 4 million URLs with inconsistent content quality leading to high bounce rates—85% left after one page.
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Replacing 1000+ diverse content authors with a smaller specialized team improved content reliability and maintainability.
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Integrating quantitative analytics (GA4, funnels) with qualitative research (heat maps, recordings) allowed a holistic view of user behavior.
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Mapping 30 detailed user journeys and directly linking them to analytics funnels was key to tracking user progress and success.
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Beta testing with 4,000+ volunteer users enabled large-scale testing and informed decisions before full launch.
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Applying a regression formula to derive System Usability Scale scores from just two questions simplified usability benchmarking.
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Heat maps revealed 'click rage' where users mistakenly believed non-clickable elements were interactive, highlighting UX issues not visible in pure analytics.
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Combining research insights with analytics enabled proactive monitoring and continuous improvement rather than reactive fixes.
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Stakeholder engagement, especially involving them in observing user sessions, is crucial to overcome resistance and build trust in data-driven design.
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The project balanced commercial pressures with academic complexity by framing success through clear KPIs focused on user needs and business goals.
Notable Quotes
"We are not collecting vanity analytics here, this data is doing real work informing design decisions."
"Some people prefer their beliefs to data even in academia, which may surprise you."
"The website redesign is much more than a redesign; it’s a complete change in content and design strategy."
"85% of people were leaving after just looking at one page on the old site—that was a huge problem."
"Over 4,000 users volunteered to look at the beta version, giving us excellent data at scale."
"Heat maps don’t just show where people click; they show where people think something is clickable but it isn’t, which causes frustration."
"We use a magic R studio button that, with one click, processes all the survey data automatically."
"Stakeholders often have strong opinions; our job is to back decisions with solid, evidence-based data."
"The System Usability Scale is a powerful benchmarking tool, and reducing it to two questions makes it easier to collect."
"Bringing stakeholders to observe user sessions helps them see that user-centered design isn’t just a cult."
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