Sarah Harrison: Portfolio
Microsoft Event Registration
Information Architecture, Interaction Design, Interface Design, Layout and Design
The registration engine customized for the Microsoft Windows Live Tech Zone audience.
online
Very brief overview of site flow through registration and events site.
The bare bones “My Webcasts” page template, before branding and customization is applied.
Wireframes describing the various button states for all scenarios
Early stages: Sketching and getting ideas and thoughts in order
Situation
In 2007, large Microsoft groups including the U.S. Public Sector Team and the Microsoft Technology Center Directions Team were using registration systems for customer events that, while robust, contained numerous inherent inefficiencies. These events are critical for training and education about Microsoft products, but the existing registration system was cumbersome and inefficient; visitors were unable to register for multiple events at once and had to pass through eight steps before reaching relevant content. Visitors also had difficulty with their Passport accounts, and often the system simply failed to work. Microsoft needed to improve the event registration experience by simplifying the process to allow visitors to register faster and with fewer steps.
Solution
We created a completely new system that allows custom grouping of events by feature or product. It has a powerful search function that lets visitors browse for related information, save events, join live events in progress, or watch on-demand replays—all from a single interface. Visitors also have full control over their account profile and can change personal settings at any time.
With events consolidated into one integrated landing page and system, visitors can now register for multiple events at once. As visitors browse events, they have the option to watch a streaming replay or download the content for later viewing.
We built the new registration system in scalable modules, allowing for easy expansion or rearrangement. If the client decides that a new module needs to be added, we can do so with minimal impact to the overall site layout. The site architecture’s flexibility also allows us to add or remove modules based on the need to increase or decrease functionality. We implemented an easily replicable design model that reduces development cycles and releases new sites to the field faster. We also built in custom reporting for the ability to pinpoint information quickly for distribution to field representatives.
Results
Visitors who use our solution to register for events now go through only four steps, a 50 percent reduction. Visitors also can create a profile account within the registration system and register for multiple events at once. Response from visitors, whose initial feedback led to the sweeping changes on the registration site, shows that the new system is meeting the goals of being quicker, more intuitive, and easier to use.