• Brainstorming

  At the Digital Corps, we conduct brainstorming sessions for a number of projects. We use divergent and convergent thinking in order to generate a lot of ideas and then find the most effective solution for a problem. Divergent thinking seeks to gather as many creative and innovative ideas, without judgment or criticism. Those ideas are […]

• Card Sorting 101

  What is Card Sorting? Card sorting is a method of UX research that yields quantitative and qualitative results. It is most often conducted at the beginning of a project to determine a site’s information hierarchy and organization. This is one UX method that overlaps heavily with the Communication Team, since it is all about creating […]

• Client Interactions

  Working with Clients At the Digital Corps, we work with clients every day. Client interaction is a vital part of project success, and it’s essential to understand how client communication works, and how to approach it. Some general rules when dealing with clients are as follows:   Client interactions come in more specific forms as well. For instance, client communication can come […]

• Conducting Audits

  The Digital Corps conducts audits during the creation or redesign of websites. The two main types of audits are content audits and site audits. These audits are conducted to determine if anything on a website or system needs changed and/or updated. The typical project we conduct audits on are websites that we will redesign. Content […]

• Conducting User Testing

  At the Digital Corps, an important part of the project development process is to ensure it is free of any usability issues and meets the expectations of users. There are two types of testing done at the Corps: Quality Assurance and Usability. The first step for either of these is to create a testing plan. […]

• Corps Recruitment Guide

  The Corps Recruitment Guide includes detailed information about the hiring process, as well as a media kit with assets for recruitment. This manual provides a monthly breakdown of recruitment tasks, easy access to promotional materials, and important insights from past recruitment endeavors.   Recruitment Strategy  Look over the information below to see details about our overall […]

• Creating a Testing Plan

  There are two forms of testing plans that must be conducted prior to handing over the project to a client: quality assurance testing and usability testing. Quality assurance testing examines the functionality, page-by-page or screen-by-screen, and usability testing evaluates the ease of use. These tests ensure that the projects function properly and have a layout, […]

• Design, Development, and UX Collaboration

  Collaboration is essential for the Corps to provide its valued services. Developers, designers, and UX-ers must work together to ensure a project’s success and allow for effective progress. Designers Helping Developers Wireframing Creating wireframes is often the first task designers and UX-ers are assigned for most website projects. The wireframes show the skeletal structure of […]

• Earning a Software Certification

  Certifications are a great way to prove your skills in your discipline. Most students take Adobe certifications, but others are available.

• Focus Groups: An Overview

  What Are They And Why Do They Matter? Focus groups are a reliable method of research that allows a researcher to determine the thoughts and feelings of real people. Unlike evaluating a design or conducting quality assurance testing, UX-ers at the Corps conduct focus groups early on in the project lifecycle. Generally speaking, focus groups […]

• Google Analytics 101

  Analytics help digital content creators track website effectiveness and help developers and designers create a more efficient user experience. Here at the Digital Corps, we use Google Analytics. Google Analytics helps analyze the traffic of the websites created at the Digital Corps. This data is important in order to understand what is and isn’t working […]

• How to Conduct Card Sorting

  A Refresher on Card Sorting Card sorting is conducted at the beginning of a project when the team first identifies content and its organization. To begin the process, a UX Team member creates a set of cards, each of which represent a piece of content. Then participants are instructed to sort those cards in whatever […]

• Installing and Using the Corps Printer

  The Digital Corps printer is, unfortunately, not able to be installed by default on Corps computers. To use it, students must download the printer drivers and run the setup process before the printer will be available. The printer can be installed on personal Mac laptops as well. Installation and setup on Windows computers is possible, […]

• OneDrive File Management

  The Digital Corps uses OneDrive to organize many files in the same place, so everyone at the Corps has access to them. This video will shows how to navigate OneDrive and how the Corps organizes its files in the Digital Corps Projects folder.

• Outlook Crash Course

  Organization is key for all projects, and Digital Corps staff and students use Microsoft’s Outlook email and calendar to share information, schedule meetings, and manage work schedules.   Outlook Email To access Outlook email go to outlook.office.com or go to my.bsu.edu and click on Outlook Webmail in the top banner. The Digital Corps typically uses […]

• Personas 101

  What are Personas? What is a persona? A persona is a representation of a specific audience, it is not one person but is an observation of many people through synthesized data. Personas are a profile of a specific audience. That embodies how people think and feel within the target audience. A persona highlights a user’s […]

• Product Testing 101

  Testing at the Corps The Digital Corps conducts testing to find problems in a project’s design, learn about possible user behavior, and find ways to improve the project. This typically includes two types of testing: quality assurance testing and usability testing. While both help assess the functionality and usability of a product, each one serves […]

• Reading UX Testing Reports

  At the Digital Corps, when the UX Team completes a round of testing (whether it be quality assurance testing or usability testing), they need to share those results with the rest of the project team and staff. Testing reports are the best way to relay information effectively and thoroughly. These reports will share what was […]

• Remote vs. In-Person Testing

  Usability testing is conducted to ensure the websites, applications, and experiences created by the Digital Corps are usable and functional. In its purest form, usability testing includes a proctor to facilitate the test, participants to interact with the system, and tasks for the participants to complete. This article will describe the differences and similarities between […]

• Reviewing UX Content As A JPM

  This is the common review process for most UX submissions: As a new JPM, it can be difficult to know what to evaluate when looking at UX content. UX terminology and methods may seem unclear if you are unfamiliar with the discipline. At first glance, you may question the difference between a “Usability Testing Plan” and […]

• Saturate and Group

  What is Saturate and Group? Brainstorming is an important part of the collaborative process at the Digital Corps. One of the methods used to gather a wide variety of ideas and input during a session is called Saturate and Group. This method is often part of the design phase of design thinking, a solution-based problem-solving […]

• SCAMPER Brainstorming

  SCAMPER Brainstorming is a tool that helps generate ideas for new products and services by encouraging thoughts about how to improve existing ones. At the Digital Corps, SCAMPER may be helpful on projects that incorporate new and innovative technologies like the touch table, large wall screen, or Hololens, in order to come up with ideas […]

• Six Thinking Hats Brainstorming

  The Six Thinking Hats brainstorming method is a technique used to look at decision-making from six different points of view. With the inclusion of emotions and skepticism, this technique expands on the traditional rational brainstorming to provide an opportunity for creativity within the decision-making process. It provides a way of thinking that aids in examining […]

• Submitting Work for Review

  What are Reviews? The review process is essential to the function of the Corps. The content we make needs to be reviewed and approved through multiple levels to ensure quality throughout. To begin the review process, you need to understand how to access the review function in Slack. Using the /Review Function Congrats, you’ve successfully […]

• Survey Best Practices

  For some projects, the Digital Corps conducts surveys to better understand the audience’s needs and wants and to gauge interest (i.e. How many people will come to this event?). Surveys help the Corps understand the direction and scope of a project. Questions to Ask Before Beginning a Survey Before creating a survey, ask yourself, “What […]

• Using Basecamp for Quality Assurance Reporting

  What is our process? As with other processes at the Corps, steps for Quality Assurance (QA) Testing will vary for each project. Generally speaking, the steps include: UX team evaluates a system UX team reports bugs in Basecamp UX, Design and/or Development teams meet to discuss bugs and identify best path forward Development and Design […]

• UX Methods: Evaluating

  Evaluation of products ensures they stay usable with an ever-changing technological environment. Once a product is created, it’s important to ensure that everything is and stays usable for users. Some evaluation methods are done before project delivery, while some can happen months or years down the road. At the Corps, most UX evaluation happens right […]

• UX Methods: Executing

  Once a team has sufficient results from user and empathy research, they can start creating a solution to the problem space. Oftentimes at the Digital Corps, solutions are prescribed due to client needs. However, this does not mean that a team cannot have a user-centered solution. The UX team uses design thinking and other UX […]

• UX Methods: Planning

  In the beginning stages of projects at the Digital Corps, planning helps set up the team for success. The UX team provides context for users and problems to guide the team in creating a user-centered product. The UX team works hand-in-hand with all teams to ensure the best methods are implemented for a successful planning […]

• Writing a Card Sorting Report

  Once you have conducted a card sorting, you will need to write a report of the results. Writing a card sorting report can be tricky at first, but following these steps should help ease the process. Card sorting reports utilize excel spreadsheets to create tables of results, along with qualitative analysis of these tables. For […]

• Writing a Usability Test Report

  After you conduct usability testing, it is time to write the report. The report includes all of the data, feedback, results, and recommendations collected during the testing process. It serves as the most effective and thorough way to convey the information to designers, developers, and the project team. Use the template below to help you […]