User Needs Committee: Terms of Reference

The User Needs Committee is constituted by the Information Services Committee (ISC) to ensure that the IT needs and experience of the staff and students of the University are given high priority at every stage of the IT lifecycle, from procurement through retirement. It will take a particular interest in the standards for usability and system integration necessary to provide an exemplary well designed end-user IT experience. It will ensure that users’ expectations are raised and that it will engage directly with users to raise expectations and ensure that user feedback is solicited and acted upon. Acting with the primary IT providers across the University it will advise and guide them on the concerns and requirements of the IT users of the University and work with them to help improve the services and systems provided, to the benefit of all.

It will:

  1. Be responsible for assuring that design for usability is given a high priority in the procurement of systems and services provided by the primary IT service providers, to ensure they represent a quality well integrated user experience, commensurate with the standing of the University. IT services should be consistent in design, have an intuitive look and feel, require minimal initial learning and have efficient easy-to-use interfaces.
  2. Engage with University Information Services (UIS), and more widely as necessary, to ensure that the users’ needs, and those of the wider-university community, are taken account of in developing IT services, particularly where these are not addressed by current provision.
  3. Make recommendations for and comment on investigations and/or surveys into matters of particular concern within the IT user community as deemed appropriate; report its findings to the central IT providers, the ISC and/or its sub-committees as appropriate.
  4. Foster dialogue, discussion and engagement with the user community concerning the systems provided by the UIS and similar IT providers, ensuring that feedback is properly considered and responded to. Oversee and coordinate channels established by the UIS through which the University community’s strategic issues and requirements are relayed to the ISC, and establish others where necessary.
  5. Provide the ISC with an annual report on its activities.

Constitution:

  1. Chairman, appointed by the ISC from amongst its membership
  2. Two members appointed by the ISC as representative of the constituency of IT users across the University and Colleges
  3. Two members appointed by the ISC to provide specialist insight, knowledge or experience relevant to the provision of exemplary IT services, usability design or communications
  4. Two members of UIS staff nominated by the Director of the UIS
  5. One student representative co-opted by the Committee
  6. Up to three additional members co-opted by the Committee.

The appointment of members in classes (ii) and (iv) will be made for periods of three years. Members co-opted by the Committee will serve until 31 December of the year following that in which they are co-opted, provided that if a member in class (v) ceases to be in statu pupillarii he or she shall thereupon cease to be a member of that class.

Secretariat: Provided by the UIS