What is the value of MyEd?
What is the benefit of an enterprise portal in an organisation like The University of Edinburgh? While working to update the product roadmap for Portal Services, it led me to thinking about why we provide a service like the portal (MyEd).
MyEd, the central enterprise portal, provides a single user interface and sign on that helps our people feel part of a consistent experience at the University. Using established connections and workflows, MyEd aims to provide streamlined academic and administrative life at the university.
Enterprise portal value proposition
Business process integration and consolidation
MyEd facilitates direct access to key University tools and information, allowing our staff to smoothly conduct business operations, and maximise productivity. Our students get easy access to key resources that support key elements of their student journey when they need them, via a single point. These resources include:
- student record maintenance and reporting
- mail and calendar functions, to promote daily task planning and completion
- enhanced access to key academic services such as virtual learning environments and library, that support the learning experience
- online collaboration tools to help employees organise and connect
- induction, staff development and HR functions to keep skills current and ensure compliance/risk management
- booking campus facilities and services, such as rooms or events
- student progression status information
Personalisation
Through research, our users have told us that they value a custom experience whenever possible, and particularly when it saves them time completing tasks.
‘Group’ personalisation (based on status at the University) is well established: staff, students, visitors, applicants and alumni get an interface tailored to their specific needs.
We are currently trialling organisational/programme level personalisation to enhance this experience, and we are researching to see if we can add value by provide a role-based experience.
We provide an individual notifications service for important events such as system outages and are seeking additional use cases for this service.
Promotion of self-service, ensuring scalability
By enabling access to established enquiry routes (through EdHelp, Helpline and forthcoming – Applicant Enquiry Management) we promote self-service throughout the University. This approach reduces required University services team resources and effort, focussing only when a critical issue needs to be addressed. Furthermore, it allows University service managers more flexibility to deliver service improvements and innovations.
Streamlined communications and information access
By working with key partners in Communications and Marketing and Information Services Group, we ensure key information is available to all staff, students and applicants in the case of large-scale or crisis events.
User research
Our commitment to ongoing research ensures that we focus on value for our users and develop meaningful evidence-based improvements. In collaboration with the University’s User Experience Service, we’re actively researching future requirements and improvement for all portal visitors to underpin all the work we do:
- active analysis of our full analytics coverage
- user research – to uncover specific audience needs, and ways to improve the everyday experience of University people
