Many of you filled out the user experience survey we issued to WebJunction members earlier this summer. Although we enjoyed reading your kudos for the site refresh and other aspects of what is working well for you, we especially appreciate your helping us understand what is not quite satisfactory. I’d like to let you know of a few examples of the changes we’ve made the site as a result of your feedback. Keep in mind that these are changes that we could implement quickly; meanwhile, we are doing the big work behind the scenes to take WebJunction to that proverbial “next level.”
What You Said: You sure like those Management and Technology Competencies! Now if you could only find them…
What We Did: Added links to the competencies from:
* Homepage – look for “Core Competencies” under Tools
* Technology Resources landing page – see Key Resources
* Library Management landing page – see Key Resources
* Public Access Computing – see Key Resources
What You Said: You have a hard time finding the Discussion Boards and library lists.
What We Did:
* Added a direct link to the Discussion Boards from the Homepage (see the Community box)
* Stopped trying to be all fancy. References to “message boards”, “discussion forums”, “fresh forums”, etc., have been changed to simply “Discussion Boards.”
* Updated the instructions for using the Discussion Boards, and put those instructions in easier-to-find locations.
* Moved Library Lists link to under Discussion Boards, so it’s not so buried.
What You Said: It’s hard to see what new content has been added since the last time you visited WebJunction.
What We Did:
* When new articles are added to the site, you will see them in the Resources box on the homepage (under “New Resources”) for about a month. They will also cycle through as the Feature on the Resources landing page.
* You can also use RSS to be informed of new content.
* We added “Popular Topics” links in Community box on the homepage to spotlight currently active discussion boards.
* We added to Spanish Language Outreach page a preview box of recents discussion posts. Look for more of this to come on other sections of the site.
* Created an Events page that includes an RSS of upcoming events and webinars, plus a link to the new WebJunction Calendar.
What You Said: The webinars are scattered around the site, and you’d like to get at the archives of these events.
What We Did: The Events page mentioned above has links to archived as well as to forthcoming ones. You can directly access this page from the Homepage–look for the Webinars link under Tools.
What You Said: You aren’t always sure what an article is going to be about, just from reading the title.
What We Did: Well, we haven’t made any changes to the site yet, but I’d like to share a tip. Click on Show Description at the top of any Key Resources list, and you will see the author and summary of the article. This might help you make a more informed “click decision.”
What You Said: You are not sure how to help your colleagues engage with WebJunction.
What We Did:
* Made a list of 13 easy ways to get involved with WebJunction, and put the link “Get Involved” right on the homepage.
* Simplified the instructions for how to contribute content to WebJunction.
This kind of work is ongoing, so thank you for contributing to the success of WebJunction through your participation in the member survey. And keep telling us what you think.