Citizens Advice is an organisation that delivers a range of critical services to the public through a network of 30,000 staff and volunteers. I led the redesign of their mobile and desktop app, Local Service Search. I was responsible for the overall research and design, including UI, UX, and user research. I led a a team that consisted of 2 designers and 2 researchers. This involved planning and assigning work, providing feedback, and building our a roadmap. I also worked with a team of developers to implement the solution. This process took roughly 3 months.
Client
Citizen's Advice
Role
Head of Design
Direct Reports
4
Local Service Search
Desiging a suport tool that impacts millions
Desiging a suport tool that impacts millions
Citizens Advice is an organisation that delivers a range of critical services to the public through a network of 30,000 staff and volunteers. I led the redesign of their mobile and desktop app, Local Service Search. I was responsible for the overall research and design, including UI, UX, and user research. I led a a team that consisted of 2 designers and 2 researchers. This involved planning and assigning work, providing feedback, and building our a roadmap. I also worked with a team of developers to implement the solution. This process took roughly 3 months.
Citizens Advice is an organisation that delivers a range of critical services to the public through a network of 30,000 staff and volunteers. I led the redesign of their mobile and desktop app, Local Service Search. I was responsible for the overall research and design, including UI, UX, and user research. I led a a team that consisted of 2 designers and 2 researchers. This involved planning and assigning work, providing feedback, and building our a roadmap. I also worked with a team of developers to implement the solution. This process took roughly 3 months.
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The Challenges
A key challenge was that the system had to be redesigned and rebuilt in just 2 months using just the Salesforce front end as a mobile and desktop app. Volunteers with very low digital capabilities had to use use this service, which, given the data, involved required somewhat complex interactions. In our research, we found that the system was rife with problems. For example, the tool lacked info on services in the area that weren’t provided by local authorities, and users coudn't search by location or service.
A key challenge was that the system had to be redesigned and rebuilt in just 2 months using just the Salesforce front end as a mobile and desktop app. Volunteers with very low digital capabilities had to use use this service, which, given the data, involved required somewhat complex interactions. In our research, we found that the system was rife with problems. For example, the tool lacked info on services in the area that weren’t provided by local authorities, and users coudn't search by location or service.
The Solution
I ran multiple workshops with key stakeholders at Citizen's Advice using the noted pain points as catalysts for participatory design activities. I paired participants in groups, provided them with the ‘building blocks’ of wireframes, and let them ideate on improvements. The solution was a paradox: a more complex system, yet simpler for the user. It became clear that the best way to parcel out information was to divide it into three segments: that from local authorities, that from Citizens Advice, and that from third parties.
I ran multiple workshops with key stakeholders at Citizen's Advice using the noted pain points as catalysts for participatory design activities. I paired participants in groups, provided them with the ‘building blocks’ of wireframes, and let them ideate on improvements. The solution was a paradox: a more complex system, yet simpler for the user. It became clear that the best way to parcel out information was to divide it into three segments: that from local authorities, that from Citizens Advice, and that from third parties.
I ran multiple workshops with key stakeholders at Citizen's Advice using the noted pain points as catalysts for participatory design activities. I paired participants in groups, provided them with the ‘building blocks’ of wireframes, and let them ideate on improvements. The solution was a paradox: a more complex system, yet simpler for the user. It became clear that the best way to parcel out information was to divide it into three segments: that from local authorities, that from Citizens Advice, and that from third parties.
By ‘pinning’ the location at the top of the page, the user could rotate through these different types of information. Additionally, I mapped out how the system could intelligently identify what a user was typing in the search bar, as this was vital to determing the category of autosuggestions - was it a service or a location a user was type?
By ‘pinning’ the location at the top of the page, the user could rotate through these different types of information. Additionally, I mapped out how the system could intelligently identify what a user was typing in the search bar, as this was vital to determing the category of autosuggestions - was it a service or a location a user was type?
The Outcome
As a team, we built this proposition out. I led on the direction and layout of a design system. Our team’s redesign resulted in a massive increase in the number of users, with 90% of staff and volunteers using it, up from less than 30% regularly accessing the older version. It also received an 80+ NPS score increase over the previous version.
As a team, we built this proposition out. I led on the direction and layout of a design system. Our team’s redesign resulted in a massive increase in the number of users, with 90% of staff and volunteers using it, up from less than 30% regularly accessing the older version. It also received an 80+ NPS score increase over the previous version.
As a team, we built this proposition out. I led on the direction and layout of a design system. Our team’s redesign resulted in a massive increase in the number of users, with 90% of staff and volunteers using it, up from less than 30% regularly accessing the older version. It also received an 80+ NPS score increase over the previous version.
Desiging a suport tool that impacts millions
Client
Citizen's Advice
My Direct Reports
4
My Role