Wharton School, Alumni Homepage Redesign

We have redesigned the homepage of the Wharton alumni website to make it easier to alumni to connect with each other and find resources. Our target users are alumni who have graduated from the Wharton undergraduate and graduate programs.

Project Duration

This project began in February 2022 and is scheduled to launch in February 2023.

The Problem

Wharton alumni website users have a undergraduate and / or graduate degree from the Wharton School. They need a homepage to help them network with fellow alumni, find their alumni benefits, continue their education, and attend alumni events because these are the resources that are most valuable to them.

The Goal

Our updated design for the Alumni homepage will let users connect with fellow alumni, find their benefits, and attend Wharton events. This will positively affect our Wharton undergraduate and graduate alumni by giving them a more easy to use homepage with fresh content. We will measure the effectiveness of the design by analyzing survey feedback and completed usability studies.

Wharton Alumni

My Role

Web Designer, UX Designer, Web Designer, Case Study Writer, Project Manager

Responsibilities

Hannah developed a user survey prior to the start of the design process. Then designed and developed digital wireframes, lo-fi and hi-fi prototypes. Then developed SEO and content strategies. Plus, worked with fellow Communications team members to create a homepage that follows the Wharton brand, copy, and accessibility standards.

User Research: Summary

This project began with the creation of a survey that lived on the top of the homepage. Our survey was successful and we have received 142 responses from Wharton alumni. The feedback revealed the homepage is making it difficult for alumni to connect, update their personal information, find resources, career support, and alumni events.

These user goals correspond with other surveys that have been conducted by MBA Admissions. Then I reviewed all of the Wharton alumni resources and connected the data with the goals of Wharton External Affairs.

All of the information was used to build a foundation for the design of the homepage. Sections were place on the homepage base on what is most important to our alumni. We will continue to survey our alumni to measure the success of the design.

Wharton Alumni
Wharton Undergraduates Persona

Persona: Undergraduates

Problem Statement: Wharton alumni website users have a undergraduate and / or graduate degree from the Wharton School. They need a homepage to help them network with fellow alumni, find their alumni benefits, continue their education, and attend alumni events because these are the resources that are most valuable to them.

Wharton MBA Graduates Persona

Persona: MBA Graduates

Problem Statement: Wharton alumni website users have a undergraduate and / or graduate degree from the Wharton School. They need a homepage to help them network with fellow alumni, find their alumni benefits, continue their education, and attend alumni events because these are the resources that are most valuable to them.

Alumni Homepage User Journey Map

User Journey Map

Examining the steps to review review site for Alumni Wharton homepage, identify a webinar event, and sign up for the webinar event, and sign up for the webinar: Wharton MBA Graduate who is on the homepage, needs to identify the webinar calendar, then select a webinar event, sign up for the webinar, and then go back to the homepage.

Emeritus Society Wireframes

Lo-Fi wireframes

Taking the time to draft iterations of the Wharton alumni homepage to ensure the final design will be well-suited to address user pain points. In the final iteration I prioritized the content that was most important to our alumni.

Alumni Wharton Homepage Low Fidelity Wireframe

Digital Wireframes

As the initial design phase continued, I made sure to base screen designs on feedback and findings from the user research.

Alumni Wharton Homepage Low Fidelity Wireframe

Placing the information that is most important to user needs closest to the top. 

Alumni Wharton Homepage Fidelity Prototype

Low-fidelity prototype

The low-fidelity prototype connected the initial strategy developed in the digital wireframes. The prototype was made available to the stakeholders for testing. 

User Survey

Study type:

User Survey

Location:

Virtual Survey on the Homepage

Participants:

Graduates of the Wharton School

Length:

8 months

Identified User Goals

One:

“Check available resources ”


Two:

“Support with career advancement”


Three:

“Find alumni events, search alumni database to reconnect”

Four:

“Build strong connections with people in my industry of interest”

Identified User Pain Points

One

“This website is horrible. I was going to register for an alumni event and have given up. Hire some IT people!”

Two

“PennKey information management is not so easy.”

Three

“This website is terrible. I hope you improve it. The sign-in, search, and navigation are all really subpar. ”

Four

“I have had difficulties with the PennKey”

User Survey Findings

Mobirise

1

Users are having trouble find information on how to network with fellow alumni.

Mobirise

2

Users are confused by the PennKey and MyPenn systems

Mobirise

3

Users are unable to find and identify the free resources available to them.

User Research Summary

This project began with the creation of a survey that lived on the top of the homepage. Our survey was successful and we have received 130 responses from Wharton alumni. The responders shared that current the design of the homepage created pain points in finding resources, support with career advancement, alumni events, connecting with alumni online, and finding alumni in their industries. These goals correspond with other surveys that have been conducted by MBA admissions. After reviewing all Wharton alumni resources, I created a designed based on what was most important to our alumni. I then connected this data driven design strategy with the goals of Wharton External Affairs. We will continue to survey our alumni to measure the success of the design.

Images of before the usability study and after the usability study.

Mockups

The user survey revealed that alumni are having problems location where they can connect and network with fellow alumni. So the section highlights MyPenn, Wharton Women's Circles, Global Clubs Network, and Wharton Young Alumni. 

Images of before the usability study and after the usability study.

Mockups

The user survey revealed Career Development is important to all alumni so I created section dedication to Wharton career resources for all alumni. 

Mockups Iterations

Early designs allowed for bucketing alumni resources based on identified categories, but after the user surveys, I added placed content in a specific hierarchical order. I also revised the design based on stakeholder feedback.

Key Mockups

Accessibility Considerations

Mobirise

1

Page design meets the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) AA standards. Which is a requirement of University of Pennsylvania.

Mobirise

2

Reduced and minimized motion graphics to make the page more comfortable for any user sensitive to motion, flashing, or looping graphics.

Mobirise

3

There is a clear hierarchy of text and information. Every image has meaningful alt-text. This will help users who use screen readers. It will also help users that struggle finding information on crowded webpages. 

Wild Stems High Fidelity Prototype

High-fidelity
prototype

 

View Live Website

Next Steps

Mobirise

1

We will have a new user survey with a baked in unmonitored usability study to validate whether the pain points users experienced have been effectively addressed.

Mobirise

2

Conduct more user research to determine any new areas of need.

Mobirise

3

Continue to evaluate the total overall experience users have on the alumni website. 

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hurkowitz@designurk.com
+1 856 701 7503

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