Redefine Research

Leading the design of an omnichannel research journey for the University by simplifying how researchers manage complex administrative tasks.

Time
2023 - ongoing

Platform
Web application

Area
Product Discovery, Interaction Design

The Problems

Poor experience led to lower Research performance

Due to complex and fragmented systems and processes, the University’s research community faces significant challenges in handling administrative tasks. These challenges impact crucial goals such as securing funding, establishing research, and managing research outputs. The inefficiencies decreased productivity among researchers and research support teams, compromised the overall effectiveness of the research process, and ultimately affected the University’s research performance.

Biggest Challenge

Fragmented and siloed support services

Over the past five years, Research Support teams have initiated various projects targeting specific systems, services, or processes. However, these efforts often led to fragmentation and a lack of a cohesive vision, resulting in suboptimal research performance and satisfaction.

Approach

Competitor analysis

To better understand the nature of research support, I started by investigating how other leading universities assist their research communities. During this analysis, I found that "lifecycle" and "projects" frequently appeared across their websites, knowledge articles, and newsletters.

Build A Consensus

Researchers’ journey in Sydney

Studying other universities reveals that academic research is inherently complex, with each domain requiring specialised expertise and support. Despite the nuances, the research journey has many shared aspects. While individual Research Support teams may gather service feedback, the program lacks a comprehensive view of the researcher experience.

I synthesised over 900 data points collected over the years and created an experience map that serves as a guide, clearly outlining pain points at each stage and identifying overall priorities. This map consolidates multiple experiences into a single visualisation, providing a baseline understanding of researchers' experiences.

Define goals

What values do we provide?

Throughout the process, I refined my user insights, emphasised potential business values, and used conceptual design ideas and pitches to help stakeholders visualise how the future could be mutually beneficial for both researchers and the business. After two months of ongoing collaboration, the stakeholders began to recognise the value within their respective domains and gradually reached a consensus, aligning with the shared vision.

One entry

Our vision

to simplify Research life at the University.

— Journeys over channels.

— Personalised over comprehensive.

— Community over faculty.

— Transaction over information.

Bring 100+ applications into one personalised view to make life efficient for our research community.

Co-designing

Utilising the Crazy 8s method, I facilitated cross-functional stakeholders to rapidly sketch their ideas, fostering an engaging ideation process.

Stakeholders rapidly sketched four ideas by using Crazy 8’s.

“I never expect myself to draw! A great method to get everyone to think like a designer and explore ideas.”

— Senior Product Manager

Emerging themes

Through these collaborative efforts, we identified standout ideas from each concept and discovered two main design themes that consistently emerged across the sketches.

I used wireframes to outline two potential solutions and conduct VoCs (Voice of Customers) with six researchers from different faculties and career stages. Collected their feedback and preferences on each of the concepts.

Two lo-fi prototypes helped stakeholders visualise the potential user values.

Actionable Insights

Natures of researcher behaviours

Task-Centric vs. Project-Centric Workflows
Researchers approach their work differently: we should accommodate both approaches and allow flexible navigation.

Project-focused: Track progress, deadlines, and overall project timelines.
Task-focused: Seek quick access to specific tasks (e.g., managing expenditures or publications) without navigating the project.
Flexible preferences: Some want to be able to switch between project and task views based on their priorities.

Diverse User Journeys

Early-career researchers often focus on finding opportunities and starting projects.
Senior researchers juggle multiple projects and administrative responsibilities.

Natures of research activities

Reducing Cognitive Load
Managing multiple projects can be mentally taxing. Researchers need:

Centralised systems consolidating project information (e.g., contracts, ethics, budgets).
Prompts or reminders for deadlines and actions to streamline workflow.

Infrequent but Intensive Tasks
Administrative tasks, like handling contracts, occur rarely but require high focus when needed.

Searchability and Quick Access
Researchers need fast, straightforward access to information without struggling through slow or complex systems.