1 Copyright © 2004 Amos A Lakos Friday, June 26, 2004 ALA/LITAIPIG – Portal Symposium Portals in Libraries Assessment & Outcomes Amos A Lakos Librarian Rosenfeld Management Library - UCLA

2 Copyright © 2004 Amos A Lakos Friday, June 26, 2004 ALA/LITAIPIG – Portal Symposium Key Portal Principles Simplicity Dependability - predictability Demonstrate value (results) self sufficiency from the customer perspective Ability to personalize - empower Long-term success requires a systematic approach

3 Copyright © 2004 Amos A Lakos Friday, June 26, 2004 ALA/LITAIPIG – Portal Symposium Why we need assessment? To be informed about customer expectations Ensure successful outcomes for customers To implement a more effective portal Will focus on two areas  Usability  Outcomes

4 Copyright © 2004 Amos A Lakos Friday, June 26, 2004 ALA/LITAIPIG – Portal Symposium Why Do Usability Assessment? To evaluate continuous effectiveness To assess changing expectations To manage resources, staff, campus relations To manage portal structure To manage information channels

5 Copyright © 2004 Amos A Lakos Friday, June 26, 2004 ALA/LITAIPIG – Portal Symposium Importance of Usability Ensure –  Simplicity  Reliability  Retain customer long-term loyalty Usability assessment needs to be -  Understood as a strategic imperative  to keep the web site customer focused  A tool to be informed by the customer  First step in providing the right service Usability has to become the library’s fundamental organizational culture

6 Copyright © 2004 Amos A Lakos Friday, June 26, 2004 ALA/LITAIPIG – Portal Symposium Portal Outcomes Learning Outcomes Research Outcomes Find Information – fast - save time! Empower Self Sufficiency Improve Administrative & Fiscal Efficiency – save money! Reliable Transactional Framework Feedback Loop Community Building – retention, alumni relations…

7 Copyright © 2004 Amos A Lakos Friday, June 26, 2004 ALA/LITAIPIG – Portal Symposium Possible Outcomes Registration, Admissions  web, less errors, reliable info, communication  staff re-organization, skills, training Financial Management  reliability, timeliness, save money Course Management Systems (CMS)  students, faculty, TA’s – timely info  advisory system improvement Special Customer Group Services  alumni, health patients, stakeholders, etc

8 Copyright © 2004 Amos A Lakos Friday, June 26, 2004 ALA/LITAIPIG – Portal Symposium Organizational Outcomes Structural Clarity  Planning, budgets, processes  Strategy – business redesign (not technology) Enable e-business solutions – purpose – service improvement to diverse clientele Better channels of internal communication  Empowered staff & external customers  Process improvement – faster – more accurate data Sustaining a culture of assessment  Maintaining feedback focus  Better control of information for decisions making  Create faster change processes

9 Copyright © 2004 Amos A Lakos Friday, June 26, 2004 ALA/LITAIPIG – Portal Symposium MyLibrary at NCSU

10 Copyright © 2004 Amos A Lakos Friday, June 26, 2004 ALA/LITAIPIG – Portal Symposium University of Minnesota – One Stop

11 Copyright © 2004 Amos A Lakos Friday, June 26, 2004 ALA/LITAIPIG – Portal Symposium Univ of Minesotta – One Stop Over 25,000 students use it Membership part of admission Training delivered through the portal Course management system – enables monitoring & advising Public services admission staff are cross trained to answer all questions  Demand for personal services – down  On-line admissions – saved $300,000 a year  No more annual audits

12 Copyright © 2004 Amos A Lakos Friday, June 26, 2004 ALA/LITAIPIG – Portal Symposium MyUB – University of Buffalo

13 Copyright © 2004 Amos A Lakos Friday, June 26, 2004 ALA/LITAIPIG – Portal Symposium MyUB – University of Bufallo “Need to Know” feature – impact on current awareness Faculty & Advisor’s view through CMS –  More pro-active advising  Better informed about how students perform Students aware what they need to graduate  Course balance calculator Paper use down Grades are sent online More accurate data – less errors – less failed payment transactions Faculty – easy & accurate access to class lists

14 Copyright © 2004 Amos A Lakos Friday, June 26, 2004 ALA/LITAIPIG – Portal Symposium MyUW – University of Washington

15 Copyright © 2004 Amos A Lakos Friday, June 26, 2004 ALA/LITAIPIG – Portal Symposium University of Washington Student Services – identification by roles, not ids Application & registration – all info available to students Faculty control all CMS & scheduling, exams UW Medical Network – developing patient relationship portal  100 diabetes patients track status in real time 50,000 Undergrads 18,000 Grads 8,500 Faculty 41,000 staff 35,000 alumni

16 Copyright © 2004 Amos A Lakos Friday, June 26, 2004 ALA/LITAIPIG – Portal Symposium Blink – UC–San Diego

17 Copyright © 2004 Amos A Lakos Friday, June 26, 2004 ALA/LITAIPIG – Portal Symposium Blink - UCSD Mainly a campus administrative portal Allows for easy feedback Phone calls down dramatically in –  Admissions, HR, payroll, purchasing… Revise staff responsibilities – training programs change Didn't need to increase staff – although academic programs grew Issues – legacy systems – identity loss – culture change

18 Copyright © 2004 Amos A Lakos Friday, June 26, 2004 ALA/LITAIPIG – Portal Symposium Zportal – Iowa State University

19 Copyright © 2004 Amos A Lakos Friday, June 26, 2004 ALA/LITAIPIG – Portal Symposium zportal – Iowa State U. Users favourable to the Findit! Discovery/delivery tool Doing systematic usability testing  Regular comment – want single Google like search box as starting point Librarians concern –  Educate users when to use which interface

20 Copyright © 2004 Amos A Lakos Friday, June 26, 2004 ALA/LITAIPIG – Portal Symposium Portal Fundamentals - 1 "The problem with portals is not technology, but rather organizational obstacles, defining goals, adopting a clear business plan and even how you describe different portal features," Nate L. Root, Forrester Research

All growth is a leap in the dark, a spontaneous unpremeditated act without benefit of experience. Henry Miller

22 Copyright © 2004 Amos A Lakos Friday, June 26, 2004 ALA/LITAIPIG – Portal Symposium LITA IPIG Interest Group Web Site