Uniting seven Digital NSW branches under a new digital front door

The redesign of the Digital NSW website homepage helped lower bounce rates while providing the seven branches an equal piece of the pie.

By Andrei Vidaicu
October 13, 2024

Problem

Through continuous feedback from our customers, several deficiencies have been identified on the Digital NSW website. Users struggle to find information, face unclear process guidance, lack structured pathways, and encounter complex content. Meanwhile, stakeholders desire a more equitable piece of the pie.

I've had the opportunity to be part of a hard working team, my role is to lead the design activities, identifying gaps and turning them into actionable opportunities.

Making it work for public servants

The Digital NSW website serves government departments and public servants who visit the site to find information relevant to their work.

Process

The initial problem presented to us was too broad. Based on our constraints, feasibility, and more importantly staying within scope, I identified three potential improvements, one of which would be realistically achievable within the scope of an MVP.

Improving the homepage proved to be a quick win that provided us with a focused, achievable problem to tackle, while staying within scope.

Back to the drawing board...

I grouped the findings from various data sources into a repository to find patterns which helped form insights. These findings helped us prioritize the roadmap of work, identify any risks and gave the team clear direction on the problem we needed to solve for the homepage.

Below were the main insights from the findings gathered.

Caption: The key insights that helped us define the design requirements and objectives. The before and after -

Caption: (L) Current Digital NSW homepage, (R) Redesign

A more structured way of finding information on the Digital NSW website

The high-fidelity prototype (currently undergoing testing prior to launch)

Reflection

Through the analysis, this project demonstrated the value of aligning user needs with a main business goal - we achieved an equal distribution of the seven branches while considering our users with the information they seek to find. We stayed within the scope of an MVP, within budget, and didn't set out to reinvent the wheel. Instead, we focused on making small, incremental improvements to the current design, utilising the existing components available in the CMS.

Moving forward, we plan to continue gathering user feedback on these changes and make further refinements as needed.

Next case study: Standardising user consent through a design system component