Research
UX Design
UI Design
Interaction
Introduction
I led ideation, UX, and design application (as the Principal Product Designer) within the project team in building out myHub’s 3rd generation and deploying it across 17 central Government bodies and up to 300,000 potential users.
Team
Sam Marks - Design Director
Toby Margetts - Strategical Director
Chris Morrisson - Technical Director
Thomas Evans - Sr. UX Designer
Chris Burnell - Sr. Front End Dev
Jake White - Sr. Account Manager
Sonia Pitton - Sr. Project Manager
Carl Johnson - Programme Director
What I Did
User Interviews
User Testing
Experience design
UI Design
Interaction Design
Prototyping
Results
To date, myHub has contributed to in excess of £100million in government savings, and is forecast to exceed over £400million of government savings by the end of October 2023.
Background
The myHub portal offers instant information, live webchat and chatbots providing real time help, advice and guidance serving 17 central Government bodies and up to 300,000 potential users, answering queries across HR, IT, Recruitment, Finance and Accounting services.
A client workshop taking place in the Squiz offices to help categorise and prioritise tasks and challenges
We broke it down to rebuild it
Summary
User Interviews
We interviewed various teams from various organisations that had adopted myHub as a tool. The target was to discover the pros and cons of their experience using the product.
Observed User Testing
We prepared a script containing instructions that we wanted to ask organisation employees to conduct, and screen recorded conference sessions to enable ourselves an insight into how users navigated their way through the existing.
Heatmap Observation
We implemented the Hotjar heat mapping into the front end of the website to further enable us the opportunity to analyse user behaviour, as well as monitoring a GA dashboard implemented in the early stages of the 1st iteration.
Solution Brainstorming
Utilising all of the information gathered from the steps above, and working with the project team ideating solutions. The outcome being a low fidelity prototypes, and a user journey map projection.
An example of video recorded user testing sessions that took place.
Understanding
With over 17 departments adopting the early iteration of myHub, our research and testing sessions taught us that a significant number of users felt left out.
With knowledge management and services ranging so vastly, the current version of myHub failed to cater to each and every potential user.
Understanding
The existing user interface failed to engage with its audience to its full capacity, and resulted in users opting to attempt to conduct tasks that were actionable on myHub over the telephone.
A common theme during user interviews was the use of the words "too much going on", indicating that users were overwhelmed by the number of tasks presented in their viewport.
Understanding
Much of the feedback surrounding the sole purpose of myHub echoed how the current portal felt like more of a signposting system than an actual tool that held value.
Users referred to softwares such as Oracle as an example of a central source of information that houses all user tasks.
Problem
Task execution builds un-necessary walls that prevents users from conducting simple tasks successfully, resulting in low performance scores internally.
Users are often required to contact departments via telephone for simple tasks, or redirected to other portals to complete tasks resulting in drop-off due to too many links and software types to save.
Problem
Communication between government departments was restricted to email, leaving document sharing and team management in an archaic place.
The delivery and sharing of documents within each government department prolonged the processing times for internal tasks significantly. This included simple sign-off tasks for management such as timesheets and annual leave.
How might we
How might we
How might we
Synthesis
The existing iteration of myHub already housed a 'dashboard' that used cookies to feed personalisation. The reality was that it was simple a signposting repository that didn't offer a truly personalised experience.
Our plan was to create a dashboard that delivered task prompts (through data vis), task management, and task reminders. To do so, we concluded that acquiring data storage that was in line with GDPR and Governmental regulations would allow for us to deliver a truly personalised experience.
From a technical perspective, we ideated a wealth of new myHub features that could be driven by two key areas of functionality:
Single Sign On
We proposed the inclusion of single sign on to allow users the ability to easily save & share important information within a personalised user dashboard.
AWS Chatbot
We proposed the introduction of an AWS chatbot to help guide users discover information at pace.
One Central Repository
We proposed that myHub adopted an API driven approach to be able to house all knowledge, tasks, and communications in one central repository.
Accessible Redesign
We proposed a refresh of the aesthetic and existing design system to significantly improve engagement and usability.
Synthesis
We collected enough data to support our case for refining the look and feel of myHub, believing users needed a vastly de-convoluted platform to allow them to sort information without dodging page clutter.
The existing iteration of myHub already housed a 'dashboard' that used cookies to feed personalisation. The reality was that it was simple a signposting repository that didn't offer a truly personalised experience.
Our plan was to create a dashboard that delivered task prompts (through data vis), task management, and task reminders. To do so, we concluded that acquiring data storage that was in line with GDPR and Governmental regulations would allow for us to deliver a truly personalised experience.
From a technical perspective, we ideated a wealth of new myHub features that could be driven by two key areas of functionality:
Solution
I immediately worked towards creating a vastly simplified opening viewport. Through user testing, we discovered a lot of confusion based on the level of options piled into each viewport. Whilst we understand the intention was to present all options to the user, this was very apparently ineffective and caused a great deal of confusion and drop out.
We added a consistent AWS powered chatbot to empower users in their journey. myHub is still very early in it's lifespan, and users are yet to fully understand its journey fluently. Utilising our AWS chatbot allows the user a hand holding reference point to turn to should they lose their way within their journey.
A simplified global nav offered far greater clarity.
Solution
SSO allows users a completely personable experience without having to rely on cookies. Whilst the challenge here provided a number of hurdles from a legal perspective, we managed to navigate a data store solution using Squiz data store that empowered myHub users the ability to save important areas of information that included documentation, tasks and actions, communication, and much more.
The benefit of SSO enabled Squiz & SSCL to work together in constantly driving innovation forward based on feature requests and backlog, thus the constant drive to push more features utilising SSO.
Allowing users the ability to refer to a central repository of tasks and actions hinged on the execution of personalisation, and this was successfully implemented.
Solution
Organisations that utilise myHub inherited an out of the box option to incorporate 'Quicklinks' into their home screen whether users are signed in or not. Quicklinks can be organised in multiple ways, be it manual or based on most actionable tasks per organisation.
Solution
Creating a 'favourites' section on the landing page was one of the most popular suggestions, but the most challenging part of this was making sure the feature empowered both signed in and non-signed in users.
In order to make this beneficial, the consideration was to continue to utilise the most visited pages within the company infrastructure, as well as the 'recently visited' functionality that already existed. This gives users the opportunity as first time users to visit and utilise myHub features through prompt.
Once a user is signed in, they have the capability to save any visited page or operative to their home screen and customise their myHub portal.
Solution
The utilisation of Squiz Funnelback (Squiz product) empowered how we approached smart search. With the sheer quantity of content, myHub greatly welcomed smart search optimisation.
Return On Investment
From the release of myHubs 3rd iteration, myHub went from serving 17 to 22 central Government bodies and up to 300,000 potential users, answering queries across HR, IT, Recruitment, Finance and Accounting services.
To date, myHub has contributed to in excess of £100million in government savings, and is forecast to exceed over £400million of government savings by the end of October 2023.
Lesson
Insist on leading with data and discovery, emphasising it’s value on ROI when the client or stakeholder believes it isn’t a requirement.
Often clients believe the solution is black and white, when the reality is delivering a solution that improves the business/corporate model can only really be concluded with sufficient data and research.
Whilst sometimes things feel like a simple re-design is the answer, the rule of thumb should always be never to make assumptions about your users without data to back your decisions.