Category: Data and analytics
How we use data to provide user insight, and develop new systems and processes to enable smarter use of data.
In 2025, we discovered that AI tools like ChatGPT were not able to “read” the entry requirements on our 2026 undergraduate degree finder and often returned incorrect information. Inspired by the University of Dundee, we implemented a solution, which – according to my latest testing – has successfully boosted the accuracy of results.
The 2027 undergraduate entry went live last week, and it was the first time that two editions were published in the new degree finder at the same time. The team went on campus to conduct some usability testing with it. In this blog I’ll show how testing it has given us the confidence that displaying […]
This year, we spoke to 97 people about how they searched for degrees and whether they had used AI tools in the process. I used these insights, along with data from GA4 and results from stress-testing various AI tools, to create a presentation for the 2025 ContentEd conference.
In June 2018, the University of Edinburgh ran a top tasks survey to identify what information prospective students are prioritising when thinking about applying to university. In this post, I’ll talk about the method, why we ran the original survey, the insight we gained from it, and why it’s time to do it again.
We recently reviewed the new undergraduate study website with 19 students, using a summative usability testing approach to produce a performance scorecard. While the new site scored really well, we identified a few areas to improve further.
During recent usability testing with students, we discovered that some participants had used AI when applying for university. To learn more, I researched how site users are engaging with GenAI tools, and how these tools are currently presenting our web content. The results left me with some questions about how our team should be futureproofing for […]
Love or hate it, following the retirement of Universal Analytics in July 2024, Google Analytics 4 is now the main space for (relatively) accessible analytics information for many websites, including the University of Edinburgh. I’ve not had much time to dig into our analytics property in my current role, so for something of a refresher, […]
Is detailed programme information important to prospective students? Short answer: Yes. Long answer: Yes, and analytics and user research show us the marketing value of making this information accessible online.
Liaising with postgraduate marketing colleagues, I identified a need for an easy way for them to monitor data relating to demand for postgraduate degrees. I’ve built a prototype and am now working up a process to continue to improve this.
On 30 April 2024, we hosted an event to showcase the insights we gained from releasing a beta of the new undergraduate programme pages. This post gives a summary of the event, with access to the event slides and recording.
