Higher education

Article — 17 July 2025 — 1,715 words

Top tasks survey — One weird trick to improve information architecture and user experience

Information architecture — User experience

One of the most powerful methods in information architecture and user experience is also one of the least well-known. The top tasks method uses a single survey question that tells you exactly what matters most to your users. I find it so effective that I’m amazed more people haven’t used it.

Article — 25 February 2025 — 1,679 words

Object-oriented approaches in action

Information architecture — User experience — Web — Work

There are several benefits of building a content model in an object-oriented way. This post walks through those benefits, and demonstrates a real-life example of how this approach works on a well-known website.

Article — 4 February 2025 — 1,406 words

There’s no such thing as a technology problem

Business — Social science — Society — Technology — Web

Information has become the forgotten half in “information technology”. Tech companies are struggling because they aren’t focusing on the human problems they need to solve.

Article — 22 August 2022 — 1,698 words

12 years in higher education web and user experience management

User experience — Web — Work

Today I have started a new job. But while I’m looking forward, I have also been reflecting, as this moment marks my first real move away from higher education. Despite the differing natures of the three organisations I worked for, there were many parallels across them.

Article — 22 October 2020 — 212 words

A service design approach to improving student experience

Service design — User experience — Work

Slides from my UCD Gathering talk on Thursday 15 October 2020, about the work we’ve been doing at the University of Edinburgh to improve the experience of students and staff working with course materials digitally.

Article — 15 October 2019 — 815 words

User experience lessons from a university dumping Blackboard

User experience — Work

One university got so frustrated with Blackboard they finally ditched it. But this experience highlights a big problem with almost all enterprise software.

Article — 20 June 2018 — 558 words

Why I value working in user experience in higher education

Edinburgh — Technology — User experience — Work

The University of Edinburgh is currently recruiting for four UX-related roles. I’m passing on the message because it’s an exciting time to be pushing forward with UX work at the university.

Article — 26 July 2016 — 1,679 words

Reflections on IWMW16

Digital — Work

My highlights from the the Institutional Web Management Workshop, the valuable annual conference for (mostly) higher education web managers.