Preparing for the project

^{Please note: Although there are limited images or data shown due to confidentiality, my design process, the way I think and how I work is seen throughout the project.}

I focused on getting up to speed and gathering information by meeting with new stakeholders to understand their challenges. created Mural boards to capture ideas and potential solutions. I secured access to relevant organisational platforms to conduct desktop research and analyse existing processes for assessment tasks.

Tasks

• Stakeholder engagement: Met with key stakeholders to understand their needs and goals.
• User research: Conducted interviews, surveys, or usability testing to understand user pain points and behaviours.
• Competitive analysis: Researched competitor websites to see how they handle similar tasks.
• Content inventory: Analysed existing website content.
• Information architecture: Looked at existing structure and organisation of information on the website.
• User journey mapping: Mapped out the steps users take to complete tasks on the website.
• Defining project goals and success metrics: Established clear objectives for the redesign and how success will be measured.

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Research

I began with desktop research, analysing existing internal documents and data on assessment workflows. I also looked at user journey mapping, visualising the steps officers take to complete tasks, highlighting potential pain points. Leveraging previous research on similar administrative tasks provided valuable insights and helped refine interview questions for upcoming user sessions.

Tasks

• User research: Looked at pervious surveys.
• User journey mapping: Mapped out the steps users take to complete tasks.
• Content inventory: Analysed existing portal.
• Personas: Looked at existing personas already developed from previous research.

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Design

I started with wireframing, creating low-fidelity sketches to explore different layout options for the assessment tool. These were then translated into low-fidelity prototypes in Adobe XD. I built high-fidelity interactive prototypes using Figma.  The designs were then reviewed with key stakeholders. Their feedback informed multiple iterations, ensuring the prototypes were polished and ready for user testing with assessment officers.

Tasks

• Wireframing
• Low-fidelity prototypes - Adobe XD
• High Fidelity prototypes - Figma
• Stakeholder engagement to review designs
• User testing

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Delivery, Report & Presentation

I compiled a comprehensive report outlining the key findings and insights learned from the research. This report was then presented to key stakeholders, ensuring all decision-makers were aware of the project's valuable takeaways.

Tasks

• Prepared a report on the findings and insights
• Presented to key stakeholders

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Learning and challenges

From talking to stakeholders it was clear the this project was bigger than expected and the scope of the project had to be changed to accomodate for this. There will always be scope creep in UX projects but it's important to set boundaries early on so they don't get overwhelming and cause problems further down the track.

While both Figma and Adobe XD enabled me to create prototypes, Figma's component system proved far more efficient. Components allowed me to build reusable elements and ensure consistency across all pages. These learnings will influence future tool recommendations – Figma's collaborative and component-focused environment seems better suited for design work.