Refresh that Repo!

Who is this for?
People who want to see the research the University of Arizona Libraries’ Research Repository

Year
2023

I was tasked with being the project leader for the refresh of the University of Arizona Libraries UX team’s research repository. This refresh included several rounds of user stories, card sorting, creation of content guidelines, and of course actually refreshing the content!

This is an image of the old repository. As you can see, it completely floods the user’s mind with information and is hard to scan. There is also a great amount of UX-related jargon and isn’t ideal for those without a UX background to use.

How do we fix this?

User stories, of course! I created every scenario I could think of why a user would use our repo in Figma. The 4 main user types we narrowed down to were UA Libraries employee, UX professionals at other institutional libraries, the professionals on our UX team, and the UX student assistants on the UX team. We then voted on which were most important to us and most likely to happen on a regular basis.

After tallying all the votes, I determined the priorities of what our repo would be used for. Having clear priorities made it easier to understand the scope of this project. These priorities also shaped the next steps necessary to make our repo match up to these user goals.

Setting the goals

The user stories lead us to these goals for our repo:

  • reduce the number of columns

  • streamline UX methods

  • create content guidelines

Auditing and Streamlining

With the research goals clarified, we performed an audit of the existing repository structure. Columns and tags were reviewed for relevance, categorizing them as "slay" for essential elements and "flop" for unnecessary ones. The goal was to eliminate visual clutter and improve usability, resulting in:

  • four tags on both the table and individual entry cards

  • three exclusive to specific entry cards.

This streamlined approach enhances the speed and ease of use for all users, regardless of their familiarity with UX terminology.

Setting content guidelines

Once our audit and streamlining were complete, we established clear content guidelines. We decided to keep entry names short and specific by using the project or product name along with the main research goals in 3–5 words.

We wanted things to look the same—articles in the same project share one emoji, but every unique article has a different one.

We only used tags that were really needed to keep things neat and make sure the repository is easy to use. These rules help everyone use the tool easily and make it last.

Impact

  • The research repository is now more accessible and enjoyable for both the UX team and the wider library audience.

  • Clear content guidelines and a revised entry template contribute to a user-friendly experience.

  • Ongoing use by the UX team for sharing research with stakeholders and maintaining records.

Reflection

  • Learned the importance of habitually reviewing and improving tools.

  • Gained leadership experience in a significant project, highlighting collaboration and effective communication

Tools used

  • Notion for repository creation.

  • Figma for user stories and prioritization.

  • FigJam for content audit and categorization.