The success on this project is grounded in how well it reflects the needs of the users of the system. To this end we are working very hard to gather as much feedback as we can, as early as we can, so that we can feed it into the development process. Because we are developing according to an iterative model, we are able to integrate high-priority feedback within a matter of weeks. In addition, once a system has been released we continue to gather feedback on its usage and develop it further.
There are several ways we are trying to generate feedback.
- User Group
The User Group draws from all areas of the University, with academics and administrators from Departments, Colleges, Funding Bodies and more all coming together on a monthly basis to review the current development work. It is in this area that we are keen to increase representation from academics as they are currently under-represented.
- Face to Face Demos
As we draw closer to having a releasable version of a system, we offer face to face demos, either one to one or as part of a larger group.These allow those who will end up interacting with some part of the system to get a preview of what is coming up, and to give feedback that can be integrated into future versions
- Questionnaires
When decisions need to be made that have a very wide impact we will open a questionnaire on this site to gather as representative a response as possible. The results of this will then be used to help guide the User Group and Development Team in arriving at the most agreeable solution.
- Usability Testing
The University Information Services are able to offer a formal usability testing service, whereby a diverse and representative group of users are asked to use the system while being monitored by an expert in usability. The results of this testing are fed into the development cycle with a high priority.
In addition to this, we are always keen to hear from anyone involved with graduate recruitment, or any other similar process, who has ideas, suggestions or constructive criticism that could help us make this a successful project.