A navigation pattern analysis of university department's websites using a processing mining approach

Abstract

The university's website is a useful tool in disseminating information to current and future college students and is supportive of the university's administrative activities. However, as the university's website began including more and more information and the design of it has become gradually more complex, it has become hard to find desired information and has resulted in low accessibility from current and future students. Therefore, this study aims to analyse the navigation path of the university's website in order to increase its usability and comfort level based on a process mining technique. The design of the proposed approach is comprised of three consecutive steps: data collection and preprocessing of web log, analysing the user navigation path and examining possible improvements. A case study shows that the suggested approach can provide various possible functional improvements to the university's website.