UCAS Track in the Cloud Product Brief Kate Bevan Product Owner

Product Management UCAS Track Kate Bevan 30 th May 2013 Introduction & Background Text here As part of UCAS’ plans to improve resilience and scalability of our core services to enable our services to withstand the peak demands placed on them, it was decided to move some of our core products to cloud based technology through the Critical Services Stabilisation (CSS) Project. Rebuilding Track in the Cloud was one key element of this project. As a result of the move of Track to cloud based technology there was a need to rebuild Track and therefore an opportunity to improve the user experience and address some of the issues experienced with the current product. Research identified that although Track is seen as a valuable and crucial part of the post-application process, there were some fundamental issues identified with the existing product: Track is unintuitive and difficult to navigate Terminology creates confusion for our applicant audience Applicants need to seek further advice and guidance from external sources e.g. schools, colleges, advisors, in addition to the information supplied in Track Applicants want to be able to access Track wherever and whenever they want across mobile and tablet devices as well as desktop. UCAS has now launched a new look and feel Track product which is not only resilient and scalable but also offers better post-application guidance to our applicants, providing the applicant with all the information they need to track their application and make decisions in order to secure a place in higher education. The applicant should feel like they have been able to follow the post –application process without the need to rely on external support from advisors or UCAS. The new version of Track is available however the applicant wants to access it whether it’s PC, tablet or mobile phone.

Product Management UCAS Track Kate Bevan 30 May 2013 Product Overview Text here

Product Management UCAS Track Kate Bevan 30 May 2013 Product Objectives Text here The objectives for this product are as follows; -To provide a resilient and scalable Tracking product for applicants, which will withstand peak demands on the service -To provide a user friendly, intuitive tracking service to applicants that has a human approach -To provide a tracking service that is accessible everywhere across a variety of platforms (including tablets and mobile devices) -To provide a tool to administer and support Track users

Product Management UCAS Track Kate Bevan 30 May 2013 Product Positioning Text here Track is the single application tracking service for all UCAS undergraduate applicants. It is used for tracking application progress once an applicant has submitted their application to UCAS. It is used for: Reviewing decisions from universities and colleges Adding new choices (mainscheme, Clearing or Extra) or replacing existing choices Replying to offers Replying to invitations from universities and colleges Updating personal details Currently Track is the only way applicants can reply to offers and track the progress of their UCAS application. It can be seen as the one-stop-shop for all post-application information and guidance. Best in class achieved through: Availability– Track is available wherever and whenever an applicant wishes to track their application either through a desktop, tablet or mobile phone device. Reliability – Track provides access to the most up-to-date information about a UCAS application. Track is built using cloud technology so it is scalable and resilient and can withstand the peak demands placed on the service during key dates and deadlines in the application cycle. Features – provides everything an applicant needs to guide them through the post application process, whether it’s decision making, updating their details or wanting to know what to do next.

Product Management UCAS Search Chris Wallace 17 th April 2013 Promotional Objectives - Applicants Text here Promotional objectives for applicants: Create awareness that UCAS provides Track to support and guide an applicant through the post-application process. Providing the right information to the applicant at the right time. Position Track as the only way to track and progress an application from submission of the UCAS undergraduate application through to being placed at a university or college. UCAS is striving to meet the needs of its applicants by providing a simple to use tool to enable them to track and progress their application, that is available whenever and wherever is convenient (on mobile, tablet or desktop).

Product Management UCAS Search Chris Wallace 17 th April 2013 Promotional Objectives - Member Institutions and Advisors Text here Promotional objectives for member institutions and schools, colleges and advisors: Create awareness that Track will support and guide the applicant through the post- application process. By providing applicants with a clear understanding of the importance and consequences of decisions they are making, our members and advisors will receive better informed applicants. Position Track as a resilient and scalable service that is built using cloud technology, so that we can scale up for busy periods such as confirmation and clearing and scale down for quieter periods, providing the performance required to support all our customers. UCAS is striving to meet the needs of our members and advisors by providing tools to better inform applicants, in order to reduce queries and errors from applicants and to help them make the right decisions for the right reasons.

Product Management UCAS Track Kate Bevan 30 May 2013 Promotional Activity Text here Applicants Pre & post launch Track articles in applicant newsletters Bespoke Track immediately prior to and following launch (pre-launch to include screen shots) Social media Website (updates on need to know and latest news section on website) Separate Mobile Apps launch plan to promote apps to Applicants Schools/Colleges/Advisors Pre and post launch Track articles in advisor newsletter Track demo at Schools Advisory Groups (SAG) Track demo with Training team Member institutions Track articles in bulletin (pre & post launch) CUG (provided with screenshots for terminology feedback and a Track demo) Relationship managers (to inform members and gather feedback from them) Internal Colleagues Release 1 demo (to include website, Track support tool and mobile apps) Contact centre training Commercial department demo Pre and post launch articles in Blink Pre and post launch articles on Iris

Product Management UCAS Search Chris Wallace 17 th April 2013 Control & Evaluation Text here Feedback capture (pre-launch) Regular sprint demos Applicant user testing throughout user interface design stage CUG feedback Member feedback through relationship managers Feedback capture (post-launch) Internal – address to capture feedback from colleagues, and institutions Applicants – short survey for release 2 to capture 2014 applicant feedback on an ongoing basis and to feed into future releases. Bespoke s to current applicants to capture immediate 2013 applicant feedback Login/replies stats viewable through Track Support Tool Other stats – addition of Google analytics tags in release 2 to provide more in depth statistics

Product Management UCAS Track Kate Bevan 30 May 2013 How it works Text here Your status Informs the applicant of the current status of their application Next steps Informs the applicant what they need to do to progress their application. E.g. they may need to wait for all decisions, to include a deadline by which they should receive these. Or if they are now able to reply to offers they will be given a button to reply to offers here Latest update Shows the applicant the latest Track update, with the option to see previous updates. Updates include details of an offer or an invitation from a university, or something the applicant has updated (e.g. address) Homepage All key information is provided to the applicant the moment they log in. Highlighting on one easy to digest page the applicant’s choices, their status, latest application updates and the next steps. Your choices Shows the applicant a summary of their choices and the current status of each choice. Choices are categorised into 3 categories Waiting for decisions Offers received Unsuccessful, declined and withdrawn.

Product Management UCAS Track Kate Bevan 30 May 2013 How it works Text here Choice details page - All key information for a choice is just one click away from the homepage. Applicant can navigate between their choices to view the details of each choice. Choices are grouped into the same categories as on their homepage Applicant can view the current status of this choice and any options available to them for this choice specifically e.g. Reply to an invitation, or substitute or withdraw the choice Applicant can view all details of the course they have applied to

Product Management UCAS Track Kate Bevan 30 May 2013 How it works Text here Your application page – Displays the information the applicant entered in Apply, this information is just one click away from the homepage. Applicant can see the information they entered in Apply in the following categories: Education Employment details Statement Referee details Letters (from UCAS)

Product Management UCAS Track Kate Bevan 30 May 2013 How it works Text here Your details page – Displays the personal details the applicant entered in Apply, this information is just one click away from the homepage. Applicant can see the personal details they entered in Apply in the following categories: Your (personal) details Further (personal) details Student finance Communication preferences Editable fields are highlighted in blue, on click the user is taken to a screen to update these details