Posts

Energy information

How do we give users the latest information on the rise in energy costs

Find a framework

22 September 2022

Adding value to Case statistics

More depth to the case statistics with a smaller iteration

Case Management System

30 September 2022

Making it easier to see which email needs actioning first

A smaller tweak based on user feedback which helps proc ops understand which messages need attention

Case Management System

30 September 2022

Operational overview of cases - Case statistics

A complete redesign of the case statistics page within the CMS

Case Management System

15 August 2022

Improving how messages are viewed in the CMS

A larger redesign of how emails are viewed within the CMS

Case Management System

30 July 2022

Support flow

Starting point to iterate the process of collecting required information from the user

Support query

20 June 2022

Making it easier for users to monitor module progress

We created a way for users to monitor their progress through a module, by adding a new feature and iterating some existing pages.

Early years child development training

4 April 2023

Making the training more engaging - adding animated cards

Whilst exploring how we can make the training more engaging, we explored adding clickable and flippable cards into the training.

Early years child development training

7 April 2023

Making a decision on links opening in a new tab

A history of how we decided to have links open in the same tab on Get school business information. This work was completed as part of sprint 0.

Get school business information

1 May 2023

A dashboard for professional users

We’ve designed a dashboard to show users a list of connection requests they’ve sent. We’ve considered the search, sort and filter options we provide to help users find a connection request.

Connect families to support

26 April 2023

Improve ways of working

We were able to use the start of the post-MVP phase to address and improve our ways of working (WoW).

'Find a tuition partner' lessons learnt

3 July 2023

Making it easier for users to understand a funding allocation change

We’ve improved the variance indicator feature that draws users’ attention to funding allocation changes. We wanted to make its purpose really clear, and it needed to be accessible to all users.

Manage Your Education and Skills Funding (MYESF)

15 September 2023

Improving the training progress bar component

We looked at ways which we could improve the initial progress bar component and connected user experience.

Early years child development training

30 November 2023

Evolving the recommendation format

Moving away from the single-page maturity-based format for recommendations to a multi-page approach focused on aligning answers to individual actions.

STS Plan technology for your school

4 July 2024

Simplifying the general annual grant (GAG) statement journey

We’re acting on user feedback to make MYESF’s statement comparison functionality easier to find and use.

Manage Your Education and Skills Funding (MYESF)

31 January 2024

Redesigning the ‘panellist portal’

We made a prototype of a redesigned panellist portal to address known user pain points and accessibility issues.

Refer serious misconduct by a teacher in England

8 February 2024

Introducing the Accessibility manual work in DfE

Background to the digital Accessibility manual work, what the need is and why we're reviewing guidance to help service teams build accessible and inclusive services

Accessibility and inclusive design manual

10 June 2024

Improving the user experience for completing a module using audio

User research identified that users could find the training difficult to complete, due to the amount of reading they must do. Many of our users have requested an audio feature.

Early years child development training

30 July 2024

Research to inform one authoritative source of accessibility guidance

A survey shared with professions and leadership in DDT helped us learn how we can support people with accessibility knowledge and skills

Accessibility and inclusive design manual

25 June 2024

Developing the product and our skills

We individually explored different methods to map out the user journey in the prototype kit and then arrived at a single MVP.

Accessibility statement service

5 September 2024

Designing the first release of the manual

How we started with data to inform and iterate the information architecture of the DfE Accessibility and inclusive design manual

Accessibility and inclusive design manual

1 September 2024

Conducting our first round of user research

We developed a Figma prototype to test our service design with users in the DfE.

Accessibility statement service

11 October 2024

The School-Based Nursery application service: Journey overview

Discover how the Department for Education (DfE) rapidly designed and launched a digital Capital Grant application service for school-based nursery funding in just two months.

Apply for a School-Based Nurseries Capital Grant

15 January 2025

Making sure our service is accessible

We wanted to understand how accessible Plan technology for your school service is for users and to identify areas that may require improvement. An accessibility audit was conducted, as well as inclusive usability testing.

STS Plan technology for your school

16 January 2025

Redesigning the contracts and agreements area in MYESF

After carrying out usability and accessibility reviews, the UCD team’s next step is to address the problems we’ve found. Here's why we’re doing this and what we’ve learned so far.

Manage Your Education and Skills Funding (MYESF)

13 February 2025