PUBLIC SECTOR
Government Grant
Senior UX Designer
Senior User Researcher
Project Background
The Government Grant is a yearly payment for young carers in Scotland, to help improve their quality of life.
The project followed a diligent Discovery, Alpha, Beta, Go-Live delivery structure and underwent two ‘Digital First’ assessments to ensure that the provided solution was following the standards set by the Government Service Manual.
Tools used included: Axure RP; Mural; Confluence.
Objective
Encouraging and empowering young carers to access support and improve their wellbeing as they move into adulthood.
User Research & Testing
I conducted extensive user research during the Discovery phase and user testing during Alpha and Beta.
To reach out to our primary user Young Carers, we established a stakeholder map showing several secondary users to schedule meetings with, such as Young Carer support groups. This allowed us to build comprehensive user needs unique to the users of the Government Grant.
Type of Research
Interviews
Focus Groups
Co-Design Sessions
Cognitive Testing
Participants
Overall 226
Discovery 73
Alpha 45
Beta 108
Locations
Aberdeen
Dunfermline
Edinburgh
Glasgow
Highlands
Inverness
Kirkcaldy
Livingstone
Orkney
Prototyping
To create a realistic digital experience for our users testing the user flow, I designed the high-fidelity prototype in Axure, replicating the existing AEM Component Library. As the Government Grant application is a public facing government application, the UI had to adhere to the stringent Government Service Manual, including a Design Style Guide.
Discovery Research suggested that the highest uptake for applications would be through a mobile device, due to the nature of the young target group and the low availability of desktop devices to the user group, resulting in less content per page.
Design decisions unique for the Government Grant in the context of Government applications included:
Realistic persona examples of Young Carers displayed in the pre-application
Examples of what might be considered as 16 hours of care
Examples of what might be considered as a type of care
Resurfacing provided names to personalise the experience
Outcome
The Government Grant was successfully launched on the 21st of Oct 2019. The Grant passed both the Alpha and Beta ‘Digital First’ Service Standard assessment, determining for example the application of user-centred design methodologies.
I presented the designed solution to the Cabinet Secretary, as well as all involved Government Stakeholders, during an hour-long presentation in front of an audience of ~70.
Further, IBM has since been awarded the MCA award for its efforts with the Government’s Department, specifically referring to user-centricity of the design process, which I had an immediate impact upon.
“As a UX designer back on Government Grant she created the bridge between the designs the team and the young carers were creating, and what was actually possible with AEM. Any issues or risks about these designs were raised quickly with the appropriate person, and that allowed us to adapt or change design ideas quickly. She was an excellent communicator and made sure that the whole team was aware of what she was doing, including leading twice-weekly UX catch ups that involved policy, AEM business analysts and the product owner. She designed and lead some of the co-design workshops with young carers, and the insights and design ideas that were created were meaningful, and we were then able to translate them into user-centred design ideas. She also worked very closely with comms to ensure any design ideas were also translated into the marketing materials, so the whole service appeared joined up for the user.
Meike is both an extremely strong designer and researcher, who always considers the end user, and I thoroughly enjoyed working with her. I would be more than happy to work with her again and think she is an asset to any team she is part of.”