Web Transition Project

Problem Statement

The Web Transition project aims to redesign and redevelop the OET website to better serve a diverse, global customer base. The previous website does not effectively cater to the unique needs of each user segment, resulting in inconsistent user experiences and accessibility challenges. Our goal is to create a more personalized, intuitive, and accessibleexperience for all users, regardless of their geographical location or specific needs.

By rethinking the website's architecture, design, and functionality, we aimed to:

  1. Improve accessibility by ensuring the website complies with international standards (e.g., WCAG) and can be easily accessed by users with varying abilities.

  2. Segment content and user journeys to provide tailored experiences for different user groups, including healthcare professionals (B2C), test delivery partners (B2B), Governments(B2G) and stakeholders.

  3. Enhance global usability by supporting multiple languages and cultural contexts, ensuring that all users, regardless of their location, can navigate the site efficiently.

  4. Streamline the website’s navigation and design, reducing friction for users combine one integrated test booking platform, candidate profile which include all the historical data, learning resources and results to increasing engagement, while supporting business goals for growth and expansion.

The Process

As a Senior UX Lead, I am responsible for defining and evolving the UX strategy while shaping a product roadmap that prioritizes features and enhancements to elevate the digital experience. This process ensures a clear vision for delivering ongoing value to CBLA (OET) and establishes a solid foundation before initiating project kickoffs.

Establishing the UI/UX Strategy

Goal: Create a scalable, user-centered framework to guide the design and development process.

  • Stakeholder Alignment:
    Conducted initial discussions with leadership, marketing, and product teams to define project goals, timelines, and KPIs.

    • Key Deliverables: A UI/UX strategy document detailing project scope, user personas, accessibility goals, and design principles.

    • Tools Used: Miro for collaborative planning, PowerPoint for presentations.

  • Research Framework including necessarily platforms and tools:
    Defined the research strategy to understand user behaviors, pain points, and needs across the global customer base. This included accessibility, regional preferences, and content segmentation.

  • Design Ops Practices

Conducting Discovery and Research

Goal: Gather insights to inform design decisions.

  • User Research:

    • Conducted user interviews with key segments: healthcare professionals, test candidates( past, current and prospect), and recruiters (UK, USA, India, Philliphine and other regions).

    • Developed personas and user journey maps to visualize touchpoints and pain points.

    • Ran usability studies on the existing website to identify barriers to engagement and accessibility gaps.

    • Tools Used: UserInterviews, Hotjar, Google Analytics, Optimal Workshop.

  • Workshops:
    Led ideation workshops with cross-functional teams to brainstorm solutions and prioritize features.

  • Competitive Analysis:
    Assessed industry benchmarks and competitor websites (IELTS, PTE, TOFEL) to identify opportunities for differentiation and innovation.

Designing the Information Architecture (IA)

Goal: Simplify navigation and structure for a global audience.

  • Content Audit:
    Collaborated with the marketing team to review existing website content, identifying redundant, outdated, or missing information.

  • Sitemap Redesign:
    Conducted card sorting session with internal and external audience, created a revised sitemap and navigation structure based on user research insights, ensuring intuitive pathways for each user segment.

    • Deliverables: Visual sitemap, categorized content inventory.

      Tools Used: Maze, Miro, Figma, UserInterviews

  • Wireframes and User Flows:
    Designed low-fidelity wireframes to map out the user flows for core interactions like test registration, venue management, and customer support.

Visual Design and Prototyping

Goal: Create a visually appealing, accessible, and consistent design system.

  • Design System:
    Established a comprehensive design system, including typography, color palettes, and reusable UI components. Ensured WCAG compliance for accessibility.

    • Collaborated with developers to ensure seamless integration of the design system into front-end workflows.

  • Prototypes:
    Built high-fidelity prototypes for stakeholder reviews and usability testing, showcasing key pages like the homepage, candidate portal, and recruiter sections.

    • Tools Used: Figma for interactive prototyping, Adobe XD for animations.

Collaboration and Communication

Goal: Foster alignment and smooth execution across teams.

  • Cross-Functional Communication: Conducted design reviews meetings with design teams and 1:1 meetings with designers fornightly.
    Acted as a liaison between stakeholders, developers, and designers, ensuring alignment at every stage.

    • Weekly updates through stand-ups and sprint reviews and monthly retro sessions with design team (Agile methodology).

  • Stakeholder Presentations:
    Presented key milestones, including research findings, prototypes, and usability test results, to stakeholders for buy-in and feedback.

  • Workshops and Brainstorming:
    Facilitated collaborative workshops to address design challenges and gather input from non-design teams, ensuring diverse perspectives.

Usability Testing and Iterations

Goal: Validate designs with real users and refine based on feedback.

  • Round 1 Testing:
    Conducted usability tests on interactive prototypes with global users.

    • Identified bottlenecks in navigation and content discoverability.

  • Feedback Integration:
    Iterated on designs based on test results, focusing on accessibility enhancements and streamlined user journeys.

  • Round 2 Testing:
    Ran follow-up tests to validate improvements before moving to development.

Development Support

Goal: Ensure seamless design-to-development handoff.

  • Developer Collaboration:
    Worked closely with front-end and back-end teams to ensure fidelity to the designs. Provided detailed documentation, specs, and visual assets.

    • Tools Used: Figma, Miro.

    • Dev-hand off and design gaps meetings

    • Clear documentation for handoffs between design and development teams.

  • Design QA:
    Reviewed staged builds to catch and resolve design inconsistencies before launch.

Post-Launch Support

Goal: Monitor performance and continuously improve the user experience.

  • Performance Tracking: Closely work with marketing and CX team
    Set up analytics dashboards to monitor key metrics such as bounce rates, time on page, and task completion rates.

    • Tools Used: Google Analytics, Hotjar, Algolia

  • Post-Launch Testing:
    Conducted A/B tests to optimize critical elements like CTAs, navigation menus, and content layouts.

  • Continuous Improvement:
    Established a feedback loop for ongoing user insights and prioritized enhancements in collaboration with product teams.

Identify future opportunities

Goal: Identify further opportunities with AI and UX

  • Conducted competitor and market analysis to identify trends and opportunities.

  • Analyzed data and developed journey maps to highlight user pain points and improvement areas.

  • Identified broader strategic opportunities aligned with organizational goals.

  • Delivered impactful storytelling presentations to executive leadership and driving alignment.