What keeps content managers up at nights is the constant fear of unforeseen issues such as data loss and corruption during their content migration process. Additionally, they are plagued by challenges around compromised user experience as they try to seamlessly move from one platform to the other. The overall user experience is the key to ensuring that users adapt well to the new platforms with minimal disruption, without compromising accessibility to the learnings resources.
User experience design should include accessibility to those with disabilities like color blindness and focus on meeting the needs of the users to create an engaging experience for learners and educators. Let us dive into the case study on the content migration process and user experience considerations by EduQual.
Case: EduQual’s Seamless Pilot Migration Project for Cengage from Geyser to WebAssign in just 2 weeks
In June 2024, EduQual migrated Chemistry content, which included formulas, algorithms, and images, from Geyser to WebAssign.
This migration wasn’t simple because Geyser, the primary production platform for Cengage, was built on HTML, CSS, and Java script, while WebAssign required Perl. The skillset challenges and resource bandwidth issues prompted Cengage to train EduQual. Our deep understanding of content migration and knowledge of both platforms was key in bridging this gap.
The EduQual team:
- Conducted thorough testing and analysis to identify potential issues.
- Collaborated closely with tech teams and subject matter experts to improve content.
- Implemented comprehensive testing protocols for algorithmic accuracy.
- Optimized content for user experience by testing load times and making necessary adjustments.
- Ensured accessibility by incorporating alternative text for images.
- Maintained consistent formatting and style for optimal presentation.
- Successfully met content migration standards and exceeded client expectations.
Migration Planning is Important
For a project to be successful, a detailed plan is required. Understanding the need to migrate content to a better platform is the first step of this process to help us measure the success of the migration. Furthermore, analyzing the type of content, for example, video, algorithms, formulas and so on, is necessary to assess how each one of these will be incorporated in the new platform.
Planning to Minimize Disruption
Identification of risks and strategies to minimize disruption is a crucial step as it ensures a smooth transition of content. Here are some of the risks that we can expect and the strategies to mitigate them.
| Factors | Risks | Strategies |
|---|---|---|
| Data | Loss of data due to failure in hardware, software, or firewalls | Ensuring backups are in place so that data can be recovered |
| Communication | Uninformed stakeholders and end-users creating confusion and resistance | Informing them about the impacts that are expected, creating chatbots or other channels of communication to help the users raise any concerns |
| Technical complexity | Due to each platform’s specification, the IT team can face technical challenges | Identifying the time of low activity and migrating content at these periods minimizes disruption. User activity is generally minimal during non-peak hours and weekends, which will reduce the impact. |
| Time consumption | Inadequate communication among team members leading to missed deadlines and failed expectations | Ensuring the team is kept informed about the deadlines, holding quick and effective meetings to discuss the progress of the project |
Once migration is completed, it is essential to test the new platform to assess its compatibility, functionality, and accessibility.
Testing and Quality Assurance
Comprehensive testing can include verifying functionality as per the project needs, checking the efficiency of loading or performance time, and testing if the input data is compatible with the new platform or website.
It is extremely important for the project managers to set certain criteria to test the migrated content. The content should be tested keeping the activity of the end user in mind to help the testing team identify potential issues.
Post migration and testing, it is always effective to provide training to end users so that it results in maximum user competence.
Providing Support and Training
- Documentation: Developing user guides to help users navigate the new platform
- Ticketing system: Most companies have implemented a ticketing system like Jira for users to track the tickets raised and receive support
- Help desk: Rather than just using automated chatbots, a support or help desk is a must to improve user experience
- Training: Designing effective training programs to familiarize users with the new platform
- Training materials: In addition to user guides, developing videos or quick references can benefit the users.
- Hands-on training: Interactive sessions with the users allows them to practice using the platform.
- Implementing different approaches: Different users will have different requirements, training needs to be modified to cater to each one of them.
With a vast amount of content to be migrated and numerous stakeholders, smooth transitioning and quick adaptation is required. As a result, companies incorporate support and training programs.
Bosch used file shares to record emails; however, they realized that SharePoint ensured transparency and accuracy that met the requirements of their company. This led to the migration of its infrastructure to Office 365 that enabled to transition to SharePoint smoothly. Bosch provided training to its end users through Docupedia and videos via BoschTube. The use of SharePoint along with hamon.ie solution helps Bosch in managing emails and business record well, as these are readily available, easy to locate, and have low data volume.
Seamless Migration and the Power of User Experience
Content migration is inevitable. As businesses evolve and technologies upgrade, it is imperative that we stay abreast of these changes with minimal impact. The need for content migration, with effective user interface and user experience cannot be overlooked. Engaging a content partner for end-to-end seamless migration offers you the confidence to undertake such a massive transformational experience.
Written by Anna Riya R
