Hardware

Information Architecture (User Experience) Introduction Recognition of audience for a site is the fundamental step towards the its acceptance by alluser groups and an overall successful website implementation. The identification of audiences is an important design step because information requirements, arrangement and presentation of different audience groups may vary considerably. Secondly, the goals defined for the website can only be achieved if audiences can find the needful assistance and information easily. (Webmonkey). It is important to note that knowing your audience can actually help in website content management and you can differentiate between the masses and targets. Diffily (107) states, “ A website audience is unlikely to be a homogeneous mass. Most organizations find they have two or three core audiences.” Defining the Audience The three major stakeholders in BSITM website can be identified as the core audience groups. Students can be ranked as the most important group of audience while instructors and parents follow the ranking respectively. Audience in each group is further categorized into low, medium and high usability personas. These categories are defined on the basis of website visit frequencies, interest and requirement of each group audience for their specific purposes. The design has to accommodate audiences with the lowest usability personas so that they can find the required information readily and can perform the other required actions easily. Describing the importance of audience analysis for education institutions Conrad (60) observes, “ Audience analysis is the cornerstone of instructional design. It provides an opportunity to make sure learners’ needs are truly met rather than becoming subordinated to technological restrictions.” Based on audience categories defined in the previous section three audience scenarios with highest usability for BSITM student Jhon, his Professor Adam and father Joseph are created below; Student: Jhon Scenario Jhon is a very active student of BSITM. He used to login into the BSITM student area regularly. He uses the website irrespective of a working day or a holiday to find out the news update on BSITM before he leaves for his regular classes. He found it quite useful because it eliminates the chances of surprise activity at BSITM for the day and he can plan in advance for the his activities. Moreover he will upload all documents that he may use in the latter part of the day or he is required to send to his professor Adam. More importantly he can interact with fellow students to share important information and discuss various course contents. The availability of online assignments, handouts and other related material has made the life quite convenient along with an assignment uploading facility which saves time and effort to submit hard copy. He has recently suggested for the BSITM discussion board and online quizzes. Professor: Adam Scenario Professor Adam had been on the BSITM faculty for last ten years but the induction of BSITM website has changed the way he used to educate and assess his students previously. Now he sends online assignments and receives the responses online. He can respond to various student queries in a convenient and effective manner. He has recently asked the webmaster for the incorporation of private forum area for faculty where he can share experiences with other professors and instructors. Father : Joseph Joseph was quite excited when John told him about the BSITM website. He found it quite lacking as far the online submission of dues was concerned but yet he liked the idea of online student reports for which used to drive all the way to the BSITM premises. He was also very please to see the online results for the last quarter and performance and participation history of his son Jhon. He also liked the increased parent teacher interaction through emails and advance notifications for future activities that require parent participation. He has suggested for the provisioning of parent teacher video conferencing and online payment facilities. Competitive Analysis Summary The competitive analysis of the three other websites has provided a useful comparison and a way forward. It was evident that the goals are correctly set for the BSITM website. However, the competitive analysis has also provided a useful insight into the features that can be added to the BSITM website in order to increase its usability and effectiveness. Most of the sites of universities and colleges do have forums to share information and experiences of particular audience groups. Online quizzes were also found quite effective to increase the students’ participation in their courses. Some sites have also provided a common space for course materials where professors upload instructions, related materials and assignment with an open or limited availability. The online dues collection was not found as a common practice among such web sites. Works Cited Diffily Shane. The website Manage’s Handbook. USA: Lulu Publishers, 2006. Print. Conrad Kerri. Instructional Design for Web Based Training. Canada: HRD Press, 2000, Print. Webmonkey. “ Information Architecture Tutorial – Lesson 1”, Webmonkey. com (2012): n. page. Web. 21 December 2012.