Last year more than 1,000 staff and students took part in UofG’s first Top Tasks Survey. The MyGlasgow team have now analysed the responses to build a valuable dataset describing your priorities for your homepages and portals, writes Kat Husbands.

We’re learning so much from the thousands of votes and comments, and have had so many assumptions blown away, proving just how important it is to ask good questions and listen to our users.

Insights & impact

While the survey focused on MyGlasgow, many of the insights are relevant to the other websites, systems and services we all use daily.

Some insights will feed directly into work to improve the student and staff experience. Others have highlighted areas for further user experience (UX) research, for example into the ways students access and use Moodle.

The full results are below, but first here are some of the many ways the University can put the survey data to use:

  • Exam timetables is the #1 web task for students, and Dates came in at #4. Both placed highly throughout the survey period of June to November, so students clearly want their calendars sorted as early as possible - an observation we’ve also backed up in user interviews. This has an impact for teams across the University, and could drive a collaborative effort to make this information available sooner and easier to find.
  • Out of 72 student web tasks, Internships came in at #7, while Job vacancies and Career development are #14 and #20. Obviously students are keen figure out what they’re going to do after University, but it seems for many it’s even more important to get relevant experience while they’re still here. This insight could be valuable to Careers staff as they target, develop and promote their services.
  • We relaunched the MyGlasgow Staff homepage last week with a new data-driven layout based on the Top Task Survey results. Staff now have access to more relevant links on a less cluttered page. This should improve user journeys and task completion, and later this week we’re starting a programme of regular testing and tweaking to ensure that's the case. A similar redesign is underway for the MyGlasgow Students homepage.

A comparison of the MyGlasgow Staff homepage layout, before and after the data-drive redesign in April 2018

MyGlasgow Staff homepage before and after the redesign, with links to Top, Medium, Small and Tiny Tasks highlighted.

Results in full

Student web tasks


Top Tasks
top 25% of the vote
  1. Exam timetable
  2. MyGlasgow Portal login
  3. Library resources
  4. Dates

Medium Tasks
next 25% of the vote
  1. Room finder ​
  2. Wi-Fi ​
  3. Internships ​
  4. Staff details​
  5. Opening hours ​
  6. Maps​
  7. Societies ​
  8. Sports / gym ​

Small Tasks
next 25% of the vote
  1. Study skills
  2. Job vacancies
  3. Course catalogue
  4. Registration & enrolment guidance
  5. Events
  6. ID card
  7. Scholarships & funding
  8. Career development
  9. Contact details for a School/College/Research Institute/Service
  10. MyGlasgow News
  11. Password (change, forgotten, expired)
  12. Mobile apps
  13. Study abroad & exchange
  14. Accommodation

Tiny Tasks
bottom 25% of the vote
  1. Computer clusters & study spaces
  2. Transcripts, certifying letters, confirmation of status
  3. Counselling
  4. Graduation
  5. International student support & visas
  6. Research support
  7. Cafes & restaurants on campus
  8. University news & press releases
  9. Job profiles / role definitions
  10. User guides for University systems
  11. Culture on campus (music, museums, galleries)
  12. Disability support
  13. Healthcare
  14. Campus development updates
  15. Living in Glasgow
  16. Policies & procedures
  17. Regulations
  18. English for academic study
  19. Health & safety
  20. University governance
  21. Alumni
  22. Best practice
  23. Parking permits
  24. Summer school
  25. Local transport information (bus/cycle routes, subway etc)
  26. Magazines
  27. Room booking guidance
  28. Salary scales
  29. Recycling & energy efficiency
  30. Blogs & RSS feeds
  31. Updates from the Principal & management teams
  32. Cycling, bike workshops
  33. University facts, figures & history
  34. University strategy, vision & core values
  35. Emergency contacts & crisis management
  36. External mail guidance
  37. Video conferencing, conference calls
  38. Conference planning & support
  39. Marketing materials (logos, images, templates, design)
  40. Travel advice & bookings
  41. Committee papers & minutes
  42. Organisational charts
  43. Pensions
  44. Staff benefits
  45. Catering for meetings & events
  46. Purchasing & procurement guidance

Small/Tiny doesn't mean unimportant! Every task got at least one vote and all of them need to be achievable. What we’re looking for is a measure of each task's relative importance, to help prioritise user journeys.

Student logged-in tasks


Top Tasks
top 25% of the vote
  1. My timetable
  2. Course handbooks and resources

Medium Tasks
next 25% of the vote
  1. WebMail
  2. Coursework instructions
  3. Upload coursework

Small Tasks
next 25% of the vote
  1. Register & enrol
  2. Assessment results
  3. Library account (reservations, due dates, fines)

Tiny Tasks
bottom 25% of the vote
  1. Assessment feedback
  2. Printing credits (check & top up)
  3. Discussion forums & wikis
  4. Room bookings
  5. Book a training course
  6. Book a meeting
  7. Update personal details
  8. Small ads
  9. Travel insurance
  10. Report a fault or request a job (IT, AV, building fabric etc)

Small/Tiny doesn't mean unimportant! Every task got at least one vote and all of them need to be achievable. What we’re looking for is a measure of each task's relative importance, to help prioritise user journeys.

Staff web tasks


Top Tasks
top 25% of the vote
  1. MyGlasgow Portal login
  2. Staff details
  3. Policies & procedures

Medium Tasks
next 25% of the vote
  1. Contact details for a School/College/RI/ Service
  2. Dates
  3. Job vacancies
  4. MyGlasgow News
  5. Maps
  6. Salary scales
  7. Room finder
  8. User guides

Small Tasks
next 25% of the vote
  1. Library resources
  2. Regulations
  3. University news & press releases
  4. Wi-Fi
  5. Course catalogue
  6. Staff benefits
  7. Job profiles / role definitions
  8. Marketing materials (logos, images, templates, design)
  9. Events
  10. Password (change, forgotten, expired)
  11. Purchasing & procurement guidance
  12. Sports facilities & gym membership
  13. Committee papers & minutes
  14. Career development

Tiny Tasks
bottom 25% of the vote
  1. University strategy, vision & core values
  2. Health & safety
  3. Research support
  4. Campus development updates
  5. Catering for meetings & events
  6. Exam timetable
  7. Pensions
  8. Scholarships & funding
  9. University governance
  10. Best practice
  11. International student support & visas
  12. University facts, figures & history
  13. Opening hours
  14. Parking permits
  15. Study skills
  16. Updates from the Principal & management teams
  17. Recycling & energy efficiency
  18. Cafes & restaurants on campus
  19. Registration & enrolment guidance
  20. Room booking guidance
  21. Summer school
  22. Organisational charts
  23. Video conferencing, conference calls
  24. Culture on campus (music, museums, galleries)
  25. Cycling, bike workshops
  26. Healthcare
  27. ID card
  28. Social clubs & societies
  29. Study abroad & exchange
  30. Transcripts, certifying letters, confirmation of status
  31. Travel advice & bookings
  32. Accommodation
  33. Graduation
  34. Living in Glasgow
  35. Magazines
  36. Mobile apps
  37. Internships
  38. Computer clusters & study spaces
  39. Disability support
  40. Alumni
  41. Blogs & RSS feeds
  42. Counselling
  43. Emergency contacts & crisis management
  44. English for academic study
  45. External mail guidance
  46. Local transport information (bus/cycle routes, subway etc)
  47. Conference planning & support

Small/Tiny doesn't mean unimportant! Every task got at least one vote and all of them need to be achievable. What we’re looking for is a measure of each task's relative importance, to help prioritise user journeys.

Staff logged-in tasks


Top Tasks
top 25% of the vote
  1. Annual leave
  2. Payslips

Medium Tasks
next 25% of the vote
  1. Report a fault or request a job
  2. WebMail
  3. Room bookings

Small Tasks
next 25% of the vote
  1. Expenses
  2. Manage student records
  3. Staff benefits
  4. Book a training course
  5. Purchasing & procurement

Tiny Tasks
bottom 25% of the vote
  1. Course handbooks and resources
  2. Timetabling
  3. Library account (reservations, due dates, fines)
  4. Update personal details
  5. Small ads
  6. Assessment feedback
  7. Discussion forums & wikis
  8. My timetable
  9. Assessment results
  10. Travel insurance
  11. Timesheets
  12. Course/programme approval
  13. Coursework instructions
  14. Book a meeting

Small/Tiny doesn't mean unimportant! Every task got at least one vote and all of them need to be achievable. What we’re looking for is a measure of each task's relative importance, to help prioritise user journeys.

 

Top Task Testing

To keep the improvements coming, the UofG UX project team will be carrying out regular tests to make sure you can complete the top and medium tasks as quickly as possible. The Top Tasks Management method we’re using will clearly quantify the performance of our websites and systems, and help us monitor the effects of any changes.

Our first round of testing kicks off later this week, focusing on staff tasks. If you’d like to take part in this paid research, join the MyGlasgow User Panel and you’ll be the first to hear about opportunities.

We’re also starting to apply UX methods to Moodle, and will be using them extensively as we work on bringing in the new self-service platform.

Thanks

For their support in gathering tasks - and in whittling down the 186 task longlist! - the MyGlasgow team would like to thank: Student Services, HR, LEADS, RIS, the Library, Estates, Sport, the SRC, Internal Communications and the University Web Team.

Interested in the raw data?

Contact Kat.Husbands@glasgow.ac.uk for access.


First published: 16 April 2018