What we changed
We gave users a way to choose the category that they want to talk to procurement experts about.
The categories were organised and grouped in ways that would allow users to pick a category based on what they wanted to buy. This category would then be recorded alongside the case management category, which would usually be the same, or in some cases written in a more technical language.
This replaced a feature which was automatically generating the category based on what people were writing in the ‘How can we help?’ text box.
Why we changed this
The automatic feature was not assigning cases to the correct team accurately, because the information being provided by users was not adequate. That means that the accuracy of the feature was low, and it delayed cases being assigned and worked on by the right team.
We needed a solution that allowed a user's case to be assigned to the right place without the Procurement Operations team having to ask the school, work it out or take guesses based on what was written.
How it works
The user chooses from a list of available categories of goods or services. They are then presented with list a second or third list where the category is broken down further. This allows users to be as accurate as possible with their selection.
If users cannot find the category, they have the option to select ‘other’ within that list, and this will give the Procurement Operations team enough information to preliminarily assign it to a team.
Users are presented with information about buying more than one thing to help them understand the limits of the service and what help can be provided.
Further considerations
The groupings were based on the Find a framework model. The option to select whether the category belongs in ‘goods’ or ‘services’ was removed, because feedback from previous user research sessions and the Engagement and Outreach team showed that this confused some users. For example, ICT software might belong in both groups.
The list was not tested before it was made live, because it was deemed as being low risk because it was based on a previously tried and tested model. The Procurement Operations team are monitoring the usage and will provide any feedback they receive, or feedback from their experience of reviewing the requests.
Screenshots
User journey for ‘what type of goods and service do you need'
Example of a category screen - Accessibility audits
Example of a category screen - Accessibility audits
