Communications teams make decisions about websites, campaigns, and digital content every day, but too often, those decisions are based on assumptions, internal opinions, or the loudest stakeholder in the room.
UX research doesn’t have to require a large budget or an external agency. With the right methods and a bit of structure, communications teams can run their own simple tests to uncover how students understand, navigate, and engage with their content.
In this hands-on session, you’ll learn practical UX research methods that can help improve web content and digital experiences. While many examples will focus on testing web content, these techniques can also be applied to campaigns and other digital communications. We’ll walk through methods such as think-aloud usability testing, card sorting, heatmaps, and discuss when each approach is most useful.
Participants will practice crafting UX research activities—like writing effective testing tasks—and learn how these methods can generate meaningful insights to inform content organization, messaging, and user experience. We’ll also share real examples of how these approaches helped guide web content decisions and facilitated stakeholder alignment across multiple units.
You’ll leave with ready-to-use scripts, templates, and checklists so you can confidently run small UX tests with students or stakeholders.
Ariel Lee
Content Strategist, University of British Columbia
Ariel leads a four-person Web Content Team as part of Student
Communications Services at UBC, overseeing students.ubc.ca—a central resource for UBC students which
receives approximately 4.2 million page views annually. To keep
more than 400 webpages accurate, up-to-date, and student-
friendly, she and her team collaborate with over 70 stakeholders
across campus.
Prior to COVID-19, Ariel spearheaded the UX Lab at UBC, an
initiative that recruited and trained 10 to 15 student volunteers
each term to conduct usability testing on campus.
Outside of work, Ariel can be found hiking or kayaking in beautiful British Columbia and eating snacks.
Jana Rolland
Web Content Specialist, University of British Columbia
Jana is a Web Content Specialist on the Student Communications Services team at UBC. She leads day-to-day content operations for students.ubc.ca, including overseeing an annual audit of more than 400 webpages. In 2024, she contributed to the university’s transition to Workday, collaborating with a cross-functional team to launch a new tutorial website in under three months. As part of this work, she developed over 50 tutorials and a style guide focused on clear, user-centered instructions, helping student-facing advising staff better support students in navigating the new platform.
Outside of work, Jana is an artist who spends her time exploring the backcountry of BC in search of creative inspiration..