Front-End and UX

MSU Libraries

origin

Let's manage and contribute to a visual refresh

Timeline

  1. Led the visual refresh for the MSU Libraries homepage in Agile methodology.
  2. Communicate with stakeholders to reinforce vision and completion in iterative cycle.
  3. Contribute to visual design.
initial MSU Libraries website
Initial MSU Libraries design
Journey

Prompt

Led in a UX project through managing other team members and proceeding in a professional manner that meets deadlines balancing each facet's contributions, value towards business, and progress towards completion.

Strategy

  1. Follow Agile ideology and focus on team members and contributions in scrum meetings.
  2. While documenting progress is important; except when I was contributing to the visual design, I measured progress—as a PM—for example in a burn-down chart.
  3. As earlier mentioned, communication is key in Agile and by that, I learned to communicate effectively with MSU Libraries and my team members.
  4. Part of the iterative UX process is complete or great change. We held more frequent meetings to measure our iterations and feedback from MSU Libraries to add more value to the completed proposal.

Challenges

A challenge we faced was interpretation of our communications to stakeholders by certain, other, stakeholders.

Secondly, balancing the page visually while maintaining MSU brand standards and the minimal aesthetic of the original site.

Response

Learned to respond through communications that are to the point as rapid communication is part of Agile. Communication here proved difficult as it was through email rather than a messaging service, which would afford more direct and punctual response.

Applied constrast and symmetrical balance to the layout—Gestalt principles to the hours and sidebars. Fitts' law and a visual implementation of the Zeigarnik effect to the call to action of supporting the Libraries.

preview of the MSU Libraries redesign in progress
Redesign early in the iterative scrum process
Moral

Solution

preview of the MSU Libraries completed redesign
Completed visual refresh

Growth

We learned to be precise, neutral, and to write as professionally and concise as possible in communicating with stakeholders.

Impact

Being able to convey design and strategy well and effectively is a critical tool and talent I am developing and glad I picked up on early. Gaining experience as a PM early in my career and having the opportunity to apply a variety of UX principles.