Information Architecture | Research | Project Management
Architecting a research-driven digital ecosystem that unified 13 university websites into one
ROLE:
TIMELINE:
TEAM:
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TOOLS:
UX Strategist & Researcher
March - September 2025
Waleed Zuberi (IA Collaborator: Phase 2 IA Support)
Chia Le Luan (Research Support: journey mapping, document audits)
Figma | GA4 | Helio | Microsoft Copilot | SiteImprove | Qualtrics
About IU Global
The Office of the Vice President for International Affairs (IU Global) provides leadership and advocacy for all international programs at Indiana University.
It supports study abroad, international student admissions, faculty research, and global partnerships across nine university campuses.
This project restructured IU Global’s digital presence into a cohesive ecosystem that balances user experience and institutional governance.
What Changed
IU Global’s digital ecosystem included 17 separate websites across nine campuses. I led a full-scale UX and IA strategy that consolidated 13 of those sites into one unified, accessible platform, while defining governance for the remaining four specialized sites.
Two rounds of stakeholder review and two rounds of tree testing validated the final IA; we are now in Phase 3: Content, preparing for launch in 2026.
Impact highlights
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13 → 1 primary site (+4 specialized sites retained) streamlined findability and user trust
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+20% projected traffic growth and +30% higher task success from validated navigation
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60% reduction in maintenance load for a 1.5 FTE team
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Governance model adopted by additional IU Global departments
The Problem
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Challenges
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17 sites with duplicate, outdated content and non-compliant accessibility
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Inconsistent structure and visual identity diluting the IU Global brand
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No shared governance or metadata model
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Fragmented SEO and disconnected technical frameworks
Why It Mattered
Prospective students and faculty struggled to find accurate information; staff duplicated effort maintaining redundant pages.
The fragmentation weakened IU’s digital credibility and strategic visibility abroad.
My Approach
Led end-to-end UX strategy from research through validation and defined IA governance for long-term sustainability
Discovery & Research
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28 stakeholder interviews across six departments
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17 user interviews (Students, Staff, Faculty, External Partners)
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Audit of 3569 pages → 1590 flagged for retirement
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Competitive benchmarking of eight peer universities
Key Insights
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Users wanted a single, trustworthy entry point
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Stakeholders needed clarity on ownership and content lifecycle
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IA had to support both user navigation and governance
Research Strategy & Process
As lead researcher, I developed a repeatable mixed-methods framework linking user needs to business goals
1. Framing the Research
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Defined KPIs around accessibility, SEO, and user engagement
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Identified five core user groups: international students, domestic students, IU faculty, IU staff, and international partner institutions
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Created research hypotheses to connect each group’s goals with IA and content strategy
2. Discovery Methods
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Conducted interviews with each user group to uncover navigation mental models and task flows
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Facilitated stakeholder workshops to prioritize content and reduce redundancy
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Completed full content audit (3569 URLs) and competitive benchmark of eight global universities
3. Synthesis & Sense-Making
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Clustered 400+ observations into themes of fragmentation and redundancy
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Created journey maps for each user type to illustrate cross-campus navigation pain points
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Prioritized UX opportunities by impact and effort to inform IA design
4. Validation & Continuous Learning
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Two stakeholder review rounds to test comprehension and alignment
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Two tree-testing rounds (60 participants) to confirm navigation clarity
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Delivered research findings report linking insights directly to IA and governance decision
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Information Architecture & Validation
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Created two IA models (Full Merge vs Hybrid)
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Facilitated two stakeholder-review rounds (25 participants) to finalize taxonomy and ownership
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Ran two tree-testing rounds (60 participants) using Helio to validate findability and labeling
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Round 1 → 53% task success
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Round 2 → 73% success after IA refinement
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IA Findings & Decisions
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Early testing showed confusion around academic jargon (“Education Abroad,” “Global Gateway”)
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Replaced with plain-language headings (“Study Abroad Programs,” “International Partnerships,” “Resources for Faculty & Staff”)
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Balanced task-based labels for users with metadata for governance
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Established a living IA blueprint that drives ongoing content creation and accessibility compliance
Deliverables
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Validated IA Blueprint (Version 3)
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Content migration plan + metadata taxonomy
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Accessibility and SEO compliance checklist
The Solution
Current Phase - Content Development (Phase 3 of 4)
The project is now in the Content Phase, following Discovery → IA → Content → Launch​
My Role
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Authored a content plan outlining roles, workflow, and deliverables for the Content Strategist and Writer
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Defined IA-to-content alignment checkpoints to ensure each section supports top user tasks
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Established weekly team syncs and bi-weekly stakeholder feedback sessions for iterative review
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Continue to monitor analytics (GA4, SiteImprove) to inform content prioritization pre-launch
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Content Workflow
Final Ecosystem
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13 websites merged into a centralized IU Global site focused on core programs and audiences
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4 specialized sites retained for distinct functions (e.g., software products and annual events)
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Plain-language navigation validated through tree testing
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WCAG 2.1 AA compliance and SEO optimization completed during IA phase
Governance Framework
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Defined content ownership, metadata standards, and review cadence for IU Global staff
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Established cross-campus governance model scalable to other IU units
Impact
Validated Impact to Date
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IA validated through research: +21% findability gain and +30% task-success rate after Round 2 testing
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Stakeholder alignment: Consensus achieved on taxonomy and governance after two review cycles
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Accessibility & SEO: Baseline accessibility score improved 18%; priority keywords now rank on page one
Anticipated Post-Launch Impact (2026)
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+20% traffic increase and reduced bounce rates in first quarter post-launch
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60% drop in redundant content maintenance via streamlined governance
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Unified IU Global brand experience across nine campuses
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Scalable UX framework supporting future international digital initiatives
Next Steps (Phase 4 - Launch & Evaluation)
As the project transitions from content development to launch, my focus will shift toward validation and long-term performance tracking.​​
Upcoming Milestones
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Launch Preparation: Coordinate pre-launch QA, accessibility testing, and SEO validation for the new IU Global site (anticipated mid-2025)
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Content QA & Migration: Partner with content strategy team to finalize review workflows and ensure consistency across migrated content
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Governance Activation: Train departmental editors on the new metadata, tagging, and review process to maintain long-term IA integrity
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Post-Launch Validation: Conduct moderated usability sessions and analytics review (GA4, SiteImprove) to compare pre/post user performance metrics
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Continuous Improvement: Establish quarterly IA reviews and stakeholder check-ins to evolve the site based on user data and institutional goals
Final Takeaways
Collaboration as Strategy
Early stakeholder involvement and consistent feedback accelerated adoption.
Plain Language Wins
Simplifying academic terminology directly improved navigation clarity and user trust.
Governance is UX
Defining ownership and accountability built sustainability into the design.
Continuous Validation
Tree testing and stakeholder reviews throughout the process reduced rework and increased confidence.
Content as Design
Partnering early with content strategy kept IA functional and user-centered through execution.
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