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OVERVIEW

San Jose City College’s website serves as a hub for academic information, booking services, and contact details, among other resources. Despite its modern design, usability challenges persist, affecting the overall user experience.

This case study aimed to explore the root causes of these challenges, identify specific pain points, and provide actionable insights to refine and improve the website’s usability.

ROLES

UX/UI Design
Information Architect
User Experience Research

TIMELINE

June 2024 - January 2025

BACKGROUND

San Jose City College’s website houses an extensive network of resources and services. However, both students and staff have expressed frustrations with its usability, citing a less-than-ideal experience when navigating the site.

While the website follows a common structure for collegiate institutions, the exact nature of its usability problems required further investigation.

PROJECT PLAN

Over six months, the team tackled key phases of the research and design process. Each phase lasted approximately two weeks:

Project Launch
Heuristic Evaluation*
User Journey Mapping*
Usability Interviews*
Competitive Analysis*
Ideation
Reorganizing the Information Architecture
Mockup Designs

* Supported by collaborative research efforts from team members.

USER RESEARCH

The research phase focused on understanding the needs of current and prospective students and staff. Key methods included heuristic evaluations, user journey mapping, usability interviews, and competitive analysis.

Heuristic Evaluation

We identified specific website elements that violated usability heuristics, prioritizing issues using a severity scale to guide our next steps.

User Journey Mapping

Journey maps highlighted the user experience across various flows, providing insight into the "happy path" and areas of friction.

Usability Interviews

Interviews were used to ask participants about their experience with the websites along with performing several tasks with the website to evaluate usability. It revealed recurring issues in navigation, usability, user flows, and interactions, adding depth to our understanding of user challenges.

Competitive Analysis

By examining competitor websites, we identified high- and low-performing features, using this data as a benchmark for improving SJCC’s website.

From these methods, recurring themes were synthesized into actionable insights, organized by severity. We also compiled a list of design solutions to address user pain points effectively.

USER PROBLEMS

Pain points identified through user research mainly centered on the following key aspects:

Inefficient Hierarchical Navigation
Poor Affordance
Inconsistency
Weak Visual Hierarchy
Accessibility Challenges

“When I was looking through the tabs for the major sheets page, I didn’t really know where it would be under”

‘’Why does the picture take up the whole screen? It makes it difficult to see the information.”

DESIGN SOLUTION

Our primary focus was redesigning key features and restructuring the website’s Information Architecture. The goal: enhance usability and streamline user journeys.

INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE

A comprehensive reorganization of the website’s sitemap was done to create a more efficient and intuitive hierarchical structure. These improvements are reflected in the redesigned navigation bar and layout, ensuring a smoother and more user-friendly experience.

WIREFRAMES

The redesign efforts ensured that the website's current structure was maintained and that only the low-performing features were significantly changed. Multiple wireframe versions were created to test different layouts, optimizing screen space and user flow efficiency.

Paper Wireframes

UI DESIGN

Using the college’s brand guidelines, we expanded the design system to include accessible color swatches and a structured type hierarchy, ensuring inclusivity and clarity.

REDESIGN MOCKUPS

Website Homepage

Current

Redesign

International Program Main Page

Current

Redesign

MOVING FORWARD

San Jose City College’s website plays a critical role in supporting students and staff by providing access to essential resources. Addressing usability and accessibility issues ensures it can continue serving this role effectively.

To maintain its performance, regular updates and UX practices—like usability testing and iterative design—are essential. This case study provided valuable insights into the site’s current challenges and laid the groundwork for ongoing improvements.

For future projects, allocating additional time and resources to larger-scale usability testing and interviews would enhance data quality and findings.

Lastly, a heartfelt thank-you to my teammates, Nyesha and Nhu, for their collaboration and professionalism throughout this project, as well as to our mentor, Prof. Aashima Goel for her unwavering support and guidance.