We mentioned in a previous design history post that DfE's School Places Analysis (SPA) team can create a single project or bulk upload multiple projects.
We tested our beta sprint 3 design with the SPA team lead and our subject matter experts (SMEs).
Feedback
The SPA team lead and our SMEs told us that:
- there are more school types than mainstream, alternative provision and special school
- age range would be useful as a text input, not as a series of radio buttons based on key stage age ranges
- it would be useful to know if the school will have a nursery or sixth form. This data can be cross-referenced with the age range provided, but it also helps confirm the school's funding and admission processes
- there are forms of entry for each school phase, not for each project
Iterations
- Updated the school types list based on which:
- options were selected most in Free Schools Store (FSS)
- school types are still needed. There are likely to be no more voluntary aided and further education schools, so we removed these options
- Created 'from' and 'to' text inputs for age range.
- Changed sixth form and nursery questions from text input to yes / no radio buttons. This matches how the questions are presented in FSS.
- Added a form of entry question for each school phase.
Entering trust details in the journey
Originally the SPA team needed to enter the trust ID to find a trust in the create journey. We discovered we were the only RSD product asking users to provide a trust ID.
Other RSD products ask for a trust reference number (TRN) instead. We decided to swap trust ID for TRN to create consistency. This decision was agreed with the SPA team leader.
In asking the SPA team to enter a TRN, we considered using RSD's search for a trust design pattern, which works in a similar way to Department for Education's search for a school design pattern.
We decided to just use a text input component because:
- Users can only search with one piece of information (the TRN). In the search for a trust design pattern, users can search by name and several reference numbers.
- Users are not expected to search for a trust that often throughout a project. This means we don't need to spend too much time on a trust search.
- Not implementing autocomplete should speed-up the development process.
We'll test these designs with the SPA team and iterate accordingly.