My portfolio showcases various projects created throughout my career. See my contact information below and get in touch.
Context: As part of delivering the Digital Transformation Strategy, the Department of Human Services wanted to develop a new government platform, that will connect Australians looking for aged care, child care and disability services with service providers. A shared understanding of user needs was required to support the on-boarding of services, align internal teams and optimise user experience.
The Challenge: How might we define a brand framework for the new government platform so that we create clarity about its role, support consistency in application and optimise the user experience?
Methodology: I conducted contextual interviews with potential users of the platform to understand what their journey looks like in finding services. This uncovered their key motivations and pain points when seeking out aged care, child care, disability services for their loved ones. I also conducted internal stakeholder interviews, a detailed brand audit and a competitive audit to understand the broader landscape.
Human Insight: People are seeking a solid place to start their search for a service provider that reduces complexity and emotional burden (particularly at a time when they are feeling very vulnerable). They need practical guidance from a trusted source so that they are assured they are making the best decision for the people they love.
Strategy & Implementation:
- Developed an online portal, Service Connect, in collaboration with designers that allows people to search whole of government to find accredited service providers so that they can feel confident that they have started their search on a solid foundation.
- Defined the experience principles and look and feel of the platform.
- Designed three prototypes (visual representations) of the scenarios including a concept for overall approach, information architecture and homepage/landing page and conducted usability testing with customers.
- The first iteration of Service Connect has since been officially launched: https://www.serviceconnect.gov.au/
Background: The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) is Australia’s largest professional general practice organization representing 90% of the general practice profession. RACGP plays an important role in advocating for the important role GPs play within the broader community. They also provide support, guidance and training for their members.
Context: RACGP is facing a future with more competition for membership and challenges in terms of current member engagement, and therefore needed to define the critical forms of value that underpin membership. This required understanding the GP experience better, and in particular what matters most to GPs to enhance the value of RACGP membership.
Approach: My design research methodology included one-on-one contextual interviews with a cross-section of members (i.e.) GPs from urban to rural areas, various ages and degrees of engagement gave us insight into a day in the life of a GP, their motivations, behaviours and expectations. We also spoke with subject matter experts who gave us perspective on the broader landscape of general practice. From these insights, we ran co-creation sessions with select members and RACGP staff to imagine new ways of addressing key gaps in membership experience. These ideas were then tested in the annual GP19 Conference in Adelaide to identify the winning ones.
Insights:
- For members there were four core drivers that led them to become a GP deeply aligned with the values they held:
- To have a holistic picture of a patient’s health
- To provide continued care and follow-up
- To be intellectually challenged everyday
- To influence people’s lives for a positive outcome
- However, there was a misalignment between the system and their core values, where the system rewarded quantity of consults over providing quality of care (i.e. GPs wanted to spend more time with their patients to influence a positive health outcome, however the current system made this challenging)
- Further, GPs needed practical ongoing support from their college to help them succeed, both as a professional as well as in their lifelong journey as a GP.
- A hierarchy of underserved needs for GPs emerged underpinned by 4 overarching forms of value that members receive from their RACGP membership.
Outcome:
The development of a coherent strategic framework and roadmap to help RACGP:
- Align communication, experience and ongoing initiatives with forms of value that matter most to members.
- This reset the RACGP relationship with its members and stakeholders through the launch of a new purpose focused on advocacy for positive change in the system, assertively building deeper impact in the community.
Context: Private Health Insurance (PHI) is a category under pressure. More and more Australians are abandoning PHI in alarming numbers. Young and healthy people are ditching their cover at high rates. The exodus has been widely linked to the fact that PHI premium increases have far outpaced wage growth.
The Challenge: How might we define a compelling and differentiated value proposition for Australian Unity that is more than just a message: A platform to reimagine the PHI offer through new product concepts, a signature experience design and development roadmap.
Methodology: I conducted in-home ethnographies with pre-defined segments revealed from quantitative research among Australian Unity members and non-members to empathise with their needs, motivations & pain points as it related to their health and wellbeing. I also uncovered the role of PHI in their lives, current experience with their insurance provider and bounced & built ideas around potential future PHI offerings. I also conducted internal stakeholder interviews and a competitive audit to understand the broader landscape and trends in the industry worldwide.
Human Insight: The perceived value of PHI is related to the proximity of their relationship with the category (i.e. those with chronic conditions value PHI more). However, those with limited proximity with the category struggle to understand and appreciate the value of PHI (‘ there is no benefit in not claiming and staying healthy’). Key frustrations across the board were lack of flexibility in tailoring their cover and confusion about what exactly they were covered for. I uncovered 4 underlying value drivers in PHI which was re-articulated as ‘how might we questions’ representing opportunities for design.
Strategy & Implementation: I used the design thinking methodology of divergent thinking to develop multiple ideas addressing the 4 value drivers in PHI which were currently underserved in the market. Then, developed 6 distinctive prototypes addressing each unique need. For our screen-based prototypes we used Sketch and PowerPoint. For services, we developed a script and recorded our actors to conduct a roleplay. We then tested these prototypes with customers and grouped and sorted insights and themes. The result was the creation of 3 solid services that fit into Australian Unity’s current product and brand portfolio, while creating a distinctive space for themselves in the landscape of Private Health Insurance in Australia.
Lavanya Ashok 