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Hiser review outcomes

In May 2005 Monash University requested The Hiser Group (Hiser) to undertake a review of the university's enterprise information portal, my.monash.

The aims of this review were to:

  • determine the user requirements that people currently have for the portal, and
  • evaluate how well the portal is meeting those requirements.

The following user groups were identified as being key for this review:

  • undergraduate students
  • postgraduate students
  • general staff
  • academic staff
  • researchers.

Key findings

The my.monash portal is a highly valued tool for many people, especially undergraduate students. The survey responses from all groups showed high levels of satisfaction with the portal.

Focus groups determined that the portal is primarily perceived by all user groups as a 'tool for students' and to a lesser extent an 'out-of-office tool'. The portal's reliability was also a noted strength.

The general staff and researcher groups reported:

  • less need and inclination to use the portal, and
  • fewer portal features being relevant to them.

Key factors contributing to low usage of the portal include:

  • very low awareness of the features and benefits of the portal.
  • for some groups – particularly general staff and researchers – the features and services currently offered by the portal are perceived to be of little value.

The usability evaluation went well with high success rates for the tasks undertaken. Generally once participants had found where to do a task, the task itself posed few problems. The key issues were around finding the right place to start tasks. Problems contributing to this include:

  • home page 'clutter' – too much information on the home page makes finding things difficult and discourages users from exploring and getting to know the portal
  • grouping and labelling of information could be improved, particularly for some of the tabs, but also for section headings and link labels.

Key recommendations

Improving portal features

Many suggested improvements were for existing features such as email, the Marketplace, news and Library access. Other key user requirements that were identified include:

  • providing more targeted and relevant information to users based on factors such as their role, faculty and campus.
  • allowing users to easily customise the appearance and content on their portal.
  • providing a 'single sign-on' to systems.
  • smoother transitions and better integration of systems are required, particularly between the portal and MUSO/WebCT, but also for WES and library systems.
  • features to improve interaction and collaboration such as discussion forums and chat.
  • providing better research resources and allowing users to store content, eg links, files and work notes, in a central area.

Improving portal support

Strategic issues were also identified that need to be addressed to ensure the portal's continued success. It is clear that strategic direction is required, and further consideration of strategic issues will be incorporated into a broader review of Monash University's web strategy.

Rating statements

In addition to stakeholder interviews, focus groups and usability testing, an online survey was conducted. There were 6613 respondants to the survey, which asked users to rate their level of agreement with 10 statements aimed at understanding the value of the portal and the level of satisfaction.

Each statement is shown below with the average score per user group. Average ratings are out of five where:

  1. strongly disagree
  2. disagree
  3. neutral
  4. agree
  5. strongly agree

Average scores for value statements by user group

  Statement All respondents Under grads Post grads General staff Academic staff Researchers
Value The portal is a valuable tool for me 4.34 4.39 4.28 4.18 3.85 4.10
Compared with other ways of doing things, the portal saves me time 4.01 4.07 3.94 3.44 3.46 3.58
The portal contains all the information I require 3.74 3.79 3.68 3.23 3.43 3.46
The portal helps me feel like I can participate in the Monash community 3.59 3.60 4.28 3.25 3.21 3.54
Subjective satisfaction I enjoy using the portal 3.88 3.92 3.84 3.53 3.54 3.73
Effective navigation I can easily find things on the portal 3.86 3.91 3.77 3.53 3.72 3.71
I can do what I need to quickly 3.98 4.03 3.87 3.66 3.73 3.88
I don't feel 'lost when using the portal 3.88 3.94 3.75 3.62 3.73 3.56
Supportiveness The portal is easy to learn 4.10 4.15 4.00 3.83 3.97 3.90
Help is available when I need it 3.54 3.57 3.49 3.30 3.38 3.44

Limitations of the survey

Although a good sample of students was received (over 6,000), the small sample of staff responses (420) indicates that further research is required to determine the effectiveness of the portal for the staff community.

my.monash external review report

View the full Hiser review as a PDF. (942Kb - Monash only)

For further information please contact:
Desiree Joubert
Manager Business Analysis & Marketing
ITS, Flexible Learning & Teaching
+61 3 9905 6163
Desiree.Joubert@its.monash.edu.au