Australian Government
Since the creation of the Digital Transformation Agency (DTA) in 2015, Australian public sector agencies have needed to comply with a set of digital service standard criteria. During my time with Avanade and Deloitte Digital, I gained exposure to a variety of these agencies and supported them through their digital transformation programs.
Accenture (2015) | Deloitte Digital (2016-2018)
his is a summary page of the main public sector projects I worked on in Australia. Scope varied from strategy, service design, and research, all the way to delivery. This was underpinned by a commitment to deliver digitally-enabled public services that are simple, clear, and fast.
DHS 2018
Deloitte Digital
Department of Human Services (DHS)
Helping parents juggle parenting and working.
Once parents apply for the subsidy it’s paid directly to providers to reduce handling fees. We also needed to ensure providers were paid the right amount, in the right payment cycle.
My role
I was responsible for research planning, defining the national recruitment brief, and preparing moderation guides. I also designed the platform alongside the broader team to test and iterate.
Australia has a Child Care Subsidy program designed to help families with the rising costs of services in this space. Our goal was to build a digital experience that makes it easy for parents to find a provider, apply online, and understand how much their subsidy covers (versus how much they pay out of pocket).
The subsidy is calculated based on a family’s household income, how many hours per week the family spends working or studying, and the type of services needed.
The process (simplified)
Personally, my focus was on targeted research, design, and testing. However, the full engagement also included a discovery phase and creation of a service blueprint.
Prototype Testing.
After conducting the discovery phase and targeted research, we designed a platform based on our learnings. This was then tested and iterated.
Service Blueprint.
The team built a service blueprint (see below) which mapped various steps in the current child subsidy process.
NDIS 2017
Deloitte Digital
National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS)
Empowering Australians with severe disabilities, and their families.
The NDIS supports a better life for Australians with significant disabilities, and is an insurance-based service which funds “reasonable and necessary” supports.
For example, the agency may fund assistive technologies like modified cutlery as part of a participant’s NDIS plan.
Participants have a variety of disabilities which range from cognitive or mental impairments (such as autism, clinical depression or BDP) through to physical disabilities (like brain or spinal injuries, multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy or hearing and visual impairments).
There were numerous key considerations:
Accessibility played a big part in this project, from research to testing. Any concepts we created required a simple visual language to be used alongside plain English content
Research logistics with this particular audience are complex. Risk mitigation is a priority, with background checks conducted for both researchers and participants
Moreover, some participants were at high risk of experiencing emotional distress when discussing their disability and funds they receive from the government.
My role
As UX lead, I led the design team from research through to user testing and iteration. I planned and conducted contextual enquiries, through to leading prototyping and testing efforts.
The process (simplified)
Mapping of the current experience was conducted before I was brought on to lead the design stream. The full engagement lifecycle began with discovery, through to testing and iteration.
Service Blueprint.
A service blueprint was created which mapped all processes, systems, and stakeholders (plan participants, carers, service providers, etc).
Targeted Research.
We visited participants and their carers in-home to understand how they interact with the NDIS. This surfaced numerous pain points to be further mapped.
Prototypes.
In each sprint we prototyped and tested solutions with real users. We prioritised ideas based on testing results, and would iterate them in following sprints.
Experiment Canvas.
Once pain points were mapped, we ideated possible solutions. We organised ideas and our hypotheses in an experiment canvas for validation.
CASA 2016
Deloitte Digital
Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA)
Reducing complexity in a highly regulated industry.
My role
As Design Lead, my role was to conduct workshops and facilitate research across three different states. Based on the outcome, I then set the design vision, directed the designer responsible for prototyping, and supported BAs to build a business case. Moreover, I directed the architects to define the delivery plan.
CASA is a government body that regulates aviation in Australia. They licence pilots and other aviation professionals, register aircraft, regulate and inspect commercial airlines, oversee airports, and outline safety regulations.
Deloitte was engaged to provide a digital strategy roadmap to support broader transformation efforts. The focus was to enable CASA to meet customers’ growing demand for digital services.
The process (simplified)
Although this engagement was more strategic in nature, we started with discovery through to delivery of various plans, roadmaps, and blueprints.
Conceptual Designs.
To bring the strategy to life, we delivered conceptual designs as indicative examples of what a new customer portal could look like. We visualised priority features across numerous screens.
Strategy and Vision.
I conducted various workshops with key stakeholders across the country to better understand their vision for the program. We also used existing data to analyse pain points, business goals, and user needs.
Delivery Plan.
We created a high-level roadmap to guide the delivery of transformation efforts, and mapped the scope of work for implementation.
Business Case.
A technical team was brought on to define the right technology stack for Phase 1. A cost benefit analysis was undertaken to present a business case.
ATO 2015
Accenture
Australian Taxation Office (ATO)
Enabling a better online experience for taxpayers, and a transition from Waterfall to Agile.
My role
I used to plan research (interview and usability testing) and prototype the solutions using the components library created by our visual designers.
You can read more about this engagement and our process Accenture’s website.
ATO partnered with Accenture and Avanade to plan and implement a Digital Transformation Program. This included the launch of numerous digital services for taxpayers alongside a transition from Waterfall to Agile.
Together, we created a solid foundation for future development - allowing the team to deliver design-led projects more effectively.
Design framework.
We developed a user-focused design framework which ran sprints ahead of development. This was so the ATO could fit research and design activities into their existing development cycle.
Usability testing.
We would consistently test with users after each major deployment. The ATO has its own best practice usability lab.
Components library.
We delivered a comprehensive components library so the ATO could quickly create new pages and features, at scale.
Detail design.
We designed build-ready comps, meeting strict accessibility standards and the ATO’s existing brand guidelines.