Case Study
SCQF Partnership
An easy-to-use CMS to support online resource growth
SCQF Partnership
The Client
SCQF Partnership is responsible for managing Scotland’s national qualifications framework, Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF).They support lifelong learning in Scotland, working with a wide range of people from many different backgrounds and fully acknowledge both formal and informal types of learning.
SCQF Partnership
The Project
SCQF approached The Zen Agency looking for a redesign of their current website which was on the WordPress CMS, which had presented ongoing security issues. After some initial discussion with SCQF, it became clear that their current platform was no longer supporting their growth. The site was fairly inflexible and as a result had become difficult to manage. Users were having issues finding important information which was often hidden many clicks away.
We recommended that the new site was built on Umbraco which would be a far better option for their in-house management. The new system would support their growth and the flexibility was provided through a component-based system, giving them control over how pages were laid out. Components are essentially building blocks which are dropped in to create the page as you like.
SCQF Partnership
The Results
We ensured users remained at the forefront of our minds throughout the project by creating a number of user personas, these personas are fictionalised representations of groups of users, from these personas we were then able to map out the appropriate user journeys with clear calls to action. This was important in defining the structure and navigation of the new site.
The site has some custom functionality, integration of RPL Tool (recognition of prior learning), which is essentially a walkthrough process to ensure a user receives the appropriate guide suitable for them. It also features an interactive framework which provides information on courses, users are able to click and receive lightbox style popups with more information on each course. It also features greater use of video, high-quality imagery and social media elements to encourage and increase user engagement throughout the site.
The end result is an interactive hub which is media rich and engaging for users. Simpler navigation leads to a greater user experience and meets the needs of the various target audiences. A greater flexibility in the new system will ensure SCQF have full control in house moving forward with less reliance on developers for changes. A 301 redirect strategy was created and implemented as part of our search engine ranking preservation strategy.