Advancements in Drupal AI and LLMs prompted us to explore ways to use AI to enhance and improve UX. Working with Drupal AI specialists, we spent a day considering how AI can impact user experiences of those publishing, searching and consuming University web content. 

The LOUISA team completed an initial round of user research as part of the User Experience (UX) plan.  

Discovery research to learn about staff profile content published in EdWeb formed part of the initiation of a new six-month project aimed at improving the provision for publishing online profiles.

The UX Service has begun a new six-month project recognising the importance of online staff profile content. Our project will research current use of profiles, learn staff needs for profile content and ideate ways to optimise display of online profile content.

Agentic AI is a new area of Drupal development. Like all software developments, it can be made more useful and usable through UX research. Working with Drupal AI expert Jamie Abrahams, I conducted research with University staff to learn about the UX of AI Assistants so I could contribute to making them even better.

Following a successful pilot test, I conducted more UX research of Drupal AI Assistants with University staff. I learned what staff thought and expected from the Assistants and how they interacted with them. Working iteratively, I was able to feed back what I learned between testing rounds to drive continued user-centred improvements.

AI Assistants are an exciting new Drupal development, intended to support and empower content creators and site editors to achieve their tasks. Having designed a UX research approach to test Drupal AI Assistants with University staff, I conducted a pilot test to try out the set-up: planned scenario, tasks and identified UX success indicators.

In September 2024 Drupal unveiled AI Assistants as part of its new Drupal CMS product. Recognising the potential of this new feature to help and support University staff with web-related tasks, I collaborated with Jamie Abrahams, Drupal AI expert to learn how the Assistants worked and to design a UX research approach to test them. 

When you edit the text on a website, it’s helpful to follow a series of steps.

In summer 2024, Chris O’Neill, Green Digital Design Intern, completed a digital sustainability audit of the UX Service website. He looked at carbon emissions and page weight but also examined usage of the site, with analytics data and user research. We acted on his findings to make the site greener and more user-centred.