UCSF Urology
A migration off an older platform created big wins for both users and editors.
Client Overview
The UCSF Department of Urology (UCSF Urology) works to blend knowledge and research with a humanistic spirit in order to make strides towards excellence in medicine and training. This combined focus has been a powerful asset for both their departmental growth as well as their digital approach.
Services provided
UCSF Urology Mobile Gallery
The challenge
The UCSF Urology website was significantly outdated, running on Drupal 7—a version no longer supported and several iterations behind the latest release. This created not only technical vulnerabilities but also limited the site’s ability to grow and evolve alongside user expectations.
Compounding the issue was the site’s unwieldy content structure. With 370 standalone basic pages, the website suffered from overwhelming clutter and lacked a meaningful system of internal connections. Users had no intuitive way to navigate between related content, which made it difficult to find relevant or comprehensive information. In addition, the site fell short on accessibility standards, limiting usability for a broader audience.
Another key goal for UCSF Urology was to foster ongoing engagement with program graduates. They envisioned an alumni directory that would serve as a networking hub, helping alumni stay connected with one another and with the program.
The solution
In migrating off Drupal 7, UCSF Urology used the opportunity to reimagine visual design and UX as well. Intensive strategy and discovery work was done in order to create a modern and accessible refresh for their audiences.
Kanopi guided a strategic overhaul that consolidated content types and components, resulting in a cleaner architecture and a significantly improved editorial experience. We also cleaned up a lot of cruft by consolidating pages, content types, and components.
Search and navigation were revamped to make key content — like Conditions and Specialties — easier to find. Labs were integrated into the main site using Drupal Groups, allowing administrators to manage their own content while benefiting from centralized governance and improved visibility.
Staff profiles now sync from UCSF’s central directory, reducing manual upkeep, and a new alumni directory with individual log-ins fosters ongoing connection. The result is a cohesive, user-friendly site built for longevity and growth.
The process
Migration Documents
An entity reference diagram as well as field mapping for basic pages, events, locations, and more were outlined in a comprehensive document to provide clarity for the team for the migration process.
Transition Plan from Drupal 7 to 10
A 45 page document was created to outline the blueprint for how the project would proceed, from system architecture to the design and UX.
Key features
Patient Information Search Tool
As part of the effort to clean up the content and consolidate it from other UCSF websites, we cleaned up the content structure, added Specialties and Conditions, and provided a more holistic way to find information.
Storytelling
To help give comfort during a difficult diagnosis or procedure, storytelling was used, with the expected steps clearly presented in order to manage patient expectations.
Reusable Cards
A card design was used to display news, events, and other content. The flexibility of the design allows for great mobile displays as well.
The result
The reimagined UCSF Urology website empowers administrators with greater autonomy and the ability to make updates more efficiently. Accessibility saw a dramatic improvement as well, jumping from a Lighthouse score of 70 to a perfect 100.
Visually, the new design employs reusable components that simplify updates while maintaining brand consistency. Thoughtful UX enhancements ensure users can quickly find the information they need through clear, intuitive pathways.
UCSF Urology continues to partner with Kanopi through long-term support. We’ve implemented automated functional and standards compliance testing to safeguard site stability. With every pull request, tests run automatically to flag any issues before code is merged, ensuring the site remains reliable, accessible, and performant.
We are physicians, nurses, pathologists, scientists and analysts. We are really good at what we do but for the most part, we are not coders, UX experts or designers. We need access to this expertise to create the best forward face we can for our collaborators, colleagues, students and patients. Not only does Kanopi excel at these services for the Drupal platform, but they have an uncanny ability to understand our needs and present it back to us in a way that moves the project forward. Research is thorough, roadmaps are laid and the projects are delivered on time and in budget. Three thumbs up!
