NSW Department of Education
Managed a team to provide strategic clarity on the NSW Department of Education's emergency communication systems following critical incidents, leading to the validation of a crucial digital transformation to ensure unified and effective statewide response capabilities.
Services
User Research
Workshop Facilitation
Group Interviews
1:1 Interviews
Deliverables
Personas
Dynamic, interactive experience maps
Insights and recommendation reports
Outcomes
Provided the evidence needed to validate a proposed digital transformation project.
Clear recommendations with practical applications beyond digital solutions.
The NSW Department of Education holds ultimate responsibility for the safety of all staff, students, and visitors during emergencies across its vast network of schools. Following critical incidents, particularly during recent bushfire seasons, the existing emergency communication system faced scrutiny due to heightened risks and fragmented responses. While the need for improvement was clear, there were varying opinions on the precise problems and how to address them.
To bring clarity and build consensus, we initiated the project with three clear goals:
Understand the current state of emergency communications to identify gaps and inefficiencies.
Gather insights from key stakeholders to understand their experiences, needs, and challenges with the current system.
Identify areas for improvement using the insights gained from the current state analysis and stakeholder engagement.
Our work was ultimately aimed at providing definitive evidence to department executives, validating the necessity for a significant digital transformation in emergency communications, and ensuring a unified, effective response capability statewide.
Given the diverse needs of schools across NSW, ranging from large metropolitan institutions to small, remote schools, we conducted two rounds of extensive research after completing a thorough review of all existing research and process materials. The first round involved one-on-one interviews with thirteen participants from schools and Department executives statewide. We explored their needs, behaviors, challenges, and critical tasks related to emergency communications.
The insights gathered from the first round informed a second round of group interviews with a similar set of participants, allowing us to further delve into the current state of emergency communications and validate potential improvements identified in the initial phase.
Each round was carefully analysed to highlight any important insights and consistent themes across the state, and presented back to stakeholders for feedback and further validation before we started development on our final deliverables. Key findings like who actually had the authority to order the evacuation of a school in an emergency (it was not the principal according to policy) highlighted the need for more flexibility and autonomy, particularly when external communications are cut off.
We created nine personas and corresponding experience maps to represent stakeholders from schools and the Department of Education, detailing their roles and interactions during emergencies.
Our final report, which included a comprehensive analysis of findings and prioritised recommendations, clearly linked each insight to specific personas and their journeys. This report successfully validated the need for a digital transformation in emergency communications and was well-received by stakeholders.
Dynamic personas and experience maps
Given the complexity of the documentation and the need for easy consumption by high-level executives and decision makers, I leveraged Figma's component and prototyping features to create a dynamic, interactive experience.
The resulting web-based portal allowed users to easily switch between documents, expand or collapse sections, and access additional details through micro-interactions and tooltips. This approach catered to various levels of interest, enabling readers to focus on key areas or delve deeper as desired.
While originally we were only tasked with producing static documents, this innovative solution was highly appreciated by both the project team and target audience.
End-to-end experience map during an emergency situation
Overview of personas
Example persona
Business case made easy
The insights and recommendations in our report provided a compelling case for the proposed digital transformation, leading to swift approval within weeks of its delivery.
Clear, practical recommendations
Our recommendations extended beyond digital solutions, offering practical steps to enhance emergency response through policy adjustments and process standardisation.
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