Digital Standards

Why this is important

Using data-driven design practices will ensure you define a design hypothesis based on something more than gut feelings. Data collection and analysis can also help you prove, disprove or modify the initial hypothesis.

Data can help you assess your site’s performance and make decisions concerning improvements.

How to meet this standard

• Analyze quantitative behavioural analytics data (Google Analytics)
• Watch screen recordings and heat maps (Clarity)
• Create experiments like A/B testing (Google Optimize)
• Perform qualitative surveys and tests 

Supporting resources

Need help with your data collection and analysis? Please complete the Google Analytics Request Form.

• Follow all of the digital standards outlined within this website
  
  • Make - and follow - a plan for evaluating compliance on an ongoing basis
  • Keep up with the evolution of the Digital Standards  
• When possible, build sites using centrally supported platforms and services. These are consistent - and compliant with many other standards - by design.
• Use your templates, tools, and styles as prescribed
• Use consistent tone and style across pages
• Work with the University Relations - Digital Team to evaluate and improve your site

Why this is important

Our websites must strive to be accessible and inclusive to all users. At Toronto Metropolitan University we aim to create an accessible, diverse, and inclusive campus, and this includes our digital spaces. Our websites must strive to be accessible and inclusive to all users.

How to meet this standard

Accessibility

• Use the built-in accessibility checker within Adobe Experience Manager.
  
• Format your content (text, images, video and other media) so that users with visual, hearing, motor and cognitive disabilities can access it
• Review your site to ensure it meets Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) at launch and on an ongoing basis (see supporting resources below for details)
  
  • When working with external vendors, ensure accessibility requirements are communicated and acknowledged
• Include a wide range of members of your diverse community when soliciting feedback regarding your website(s)
  • Ensure users with disabilities are included in your usability testing
• Provide easy access to alternate text formats of content
• Make it easy for people to contact your department to report web accessibility problems
• Consider the experience of users in locations with limited internet access (e.g. slow internet connections, limited multimedia capacity, older browsers, small-screen devices)

Diversity and inclusion

• Use gender-neutral language
• Expand limited gender options by replacing boxes or adding lines (e.g. man/woman/non-binary. Always provide a blank option as well as an option for people who would prefer not to identify themselves, e.g. "Prefer not to say". This is also applicable for other factors such as sex markers, race, ethnicity, religion etc.

Why this is important

We need to follow processes to gain a thorough understanding of users' needs and requirements, and then ensure that we build and maintain our sites to meet those needs concisely. Don’t take “It’s always been that way” for an answer. It takes work to make things simple, but it’s the right thing to do.

How to meet this standard

Planning and research

• Create a user research plan that spans every stage of your web project (when appropriate)
• Complete a site content audit
• Review analytics data
• Clearly define your site's goals and objectives based on users' needs

Building and evaluating your site

• Build prototypes that incorporate the end-to-end user experience
• Outline problems uncovered though user research and testing and identify solutions
• Conduct usability testing before and after your site launch (include users who require assistance to access digital content)
• Put a plan in place for evaluating and revising your site on an ongoing basis

Ensuring compliance with guidelines and requirements pertaining to digital content

• Adhere to Toronto Metropolitan University's guidelines and requirements pertaining to digital content and instigate a plan for evaluating adherence on an ongoing basis
• When working with external vendors, be sure guidelines and requirements are communicated and acknowledged

Why this is important

Is the content you are thinking about writing already online?

• People read very little on Web pages.
• If you display only what's necessary, your users will have a better understanding of what's really important.
• Use existing resources and tools to save time and money.

How to meet this standard

• Align with your users' interests
• Kill the welcome mat
• Remove unnecessary information
• Avoid duplicating content
• Build on existing resources and content whenever possible

Why this is important

Visitors need to be confident that our sites are secure and that their privacy is protected while they use our sites and afterwards.

Legislation and policy

Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) staff and faculty are subject to Ontario and Canadian laws and TMU’s policies concerning information security and maintaining the confidentiality of personal information.

In addition, anyone who processes, transmits or stores credit cards information in an unsecure and unauthorized manner may be found in violation of financial confidentiality laws and expose themselves to legal liability.

How to meet this standard

• Create secure webpages and webforms that properly protect users' personal data (e.g. use secure formats and platforms like https, adhere to recommendations for building secure webforms)
• Do not display or email people's confidential information (unless it's using TMU's official email)
  • Do not identify student names without their written consent, e.g. on Research web pages, do not list student participants
• If you become aware of unsafe practices or vulnerabilities, notify Computing and Communications Services (CCS)
  
• Keep web systems and tools up to date
• Ensure your site has a designated asset steward
• Delete/decommission websites when they become inactive and/or are no longer of value
• Update website access permissions accordingly when your web team members change roles, leave your department or leave the university
• Limit data collection for analytics and user research to interactions around links, buttons and page elements only

Why this is important

Even with good user research, the full extent of your audience requirements may not be obvious until your website is live and accessible to site visitors.

Once your site is live should continually re-evaluate your work and make improvements.

How to meet this standard

• Build the best product possible with the data you collect from your users
• Accept that things can always be improved
• Measure and test: soon and often
• Improve according to results