Taking the Recreational Sports website from good to great!
The U-M Recreation department fosters health, fitness, and community through gyms, classes, sports, and outdoor activities, promoting active, balanced lifestyles for the university.
Responsibilities
Brain Storming, User Flow, Info Architecture, Recruiting and Interviewing participants, Comparative and Heuristic Analysis, Usability Testing
Duration
Jan 2025 - Apr 2025
Team
UofM Rec, 5 UX Researchers and Designers
Interaction Map and Information Architecture
Purpose of UofM Recreation
With the upcoming Hadley Family Recreation Center, the UofM Recreations plans to rebrand it from UofM Recreational Sports to UofM Recreation, focusing on health and appealing to the broader student community. Our client reports that 70% of students use the Recreational Facilities and aims to boost this figure by enhancing the website's usability and appeal.
The first step towards the research was by navigating throughout the site to map the layout of the pages such as Group-X, Adventure Leaderships, and Login pages.
After we took the screenshot of the pages, we made the Information Architecture and then the Interaction Map and put them into a Figma file.
Website Areas of Focus
UofM Recreation believed the term "Sports" emphasized athletics over student inclusivity, they shifted towards promoting health and wellness for the broader university community
Rebranding & Content Updates
While many students are aware of the website, most primarily use it to check facility hours, with limited awareness of the programs available through the website and facilities
Website Discoverability & Engagement
User Experience (UX) & Usability Improvements
The client recognizes that the design, dating back to 2016, has outdated elements and requires insights on which aspects are effective and which need improvement
Information Architecture
Interaction Map
Interview Analysis
Participants
To better understand how users interact with UofM Recreation Facilities, we initially aimed to recruit at least five participants for this phase of the project
Since the facilities are spread across North and Central Campus, we wanted diverse input from users
Ultimately, our team chose to interview ten participants, recognizing that while many individuals utilize these spaces
Only a select few are aware of branding changes
Too much information about the participants, make it shorter plz
Goal
The objective of this research was to explore
How and why users engage with the facilities
Identify gaps in both the physical spaces and the website
Gather their perspectives on prioritizing health and well-being over sports in the branding
Methods
We developed a consent form and structured interview questions to gain insights into how students utilize the Recreation Facilities
Bold specific methods relevant to UXD
After conducting interviews with all participants, we analyzed the data using Dovetail, identifying key themes, categories, and user preferences, including likes and dislikes
Construction of Survey
Goal
We conducted a survey to gather insights on students' usage of the Recreation Facilities, identifying their preferred locations, proximity to different facilities, and the reasons behind their choices
Some of the questions we designed were
Focusing more on equipment and programs rather than addressing the website’s content
Additionally, some questions contained typos and were arranged in an inconsistent order
Pilot Testing
We intended to gather responses from a larger pool of users but were limited by time constraints
Our findings showed that many students were somewhat satisfied with the website; however, our survey included only five participants.
With input from a greater number of students and faculty members, the results could have varied significantly
Limitations
Comparative Evaluation (Combine CE, HE, and UT into one)
Goal
In our comparative evaluation report, we analyzed five fitness websites to
Examine their layout
Identify their strengths and weaknesses
Assess how they cater to their users
Methods
Our team developed
Functional Analysis and Comparative Analysis Matrix
To identify the features present in each website and highlight any missing elements
Findings
In our report, we highlighted that while the UofM website contains a vast amount of content, it lacks robust filtering options
Additionally, we found that the website does not require users to log in before making a purchase
This was different from how other websites function
Heursitic Evaluation
Goal
We conducted a heuristic evaluation of the UofM Recreational Sports website to assess which of Nielsen’s usability principles were upheld and which were violated.
Methods
Our team created a Google Spreadsheet to document findings related to each of Nielsen’s usability principles
We assigned severity ratings on a scale of 1 to 4
1 indicates a minor issue
4 represents a severe problem and need to fix immediately
Finding
In our report, we identified numerous issues with the website, though none were critical enough to disrupt its functionality.
We also highlighted specific areas that could be easily improved to better align with Nielsen’s usability principles.
Usability Testing
Goal
The aim of this study is to analyze how users navigate the website and identify its strengths and areas for improvement
Methods
We personally recruited five participants to conduct usability testing.
Our team utilized Zoom to record and transcribe the sessions while documenting key observations and insights
Finding
Most participants navigated the website successfully, but certain sections—such as rentals—caused confusion
Additionally, inconsistencies in the site’s structure impacted the overall user experience
Final Report and Recommendation
Final Report
We provided three recommendations to enhance the website
Improve the visibility of the search button by integrating a search bar directly into the main navigation tabs
Fixing the contrast errrors to meet WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines)
Fix the content layout of the pages
Recommendations for Future
Mobile - First Testing
New Facility Launch
Accessibility and Inclusion
Voice Search Exploration
