Role
Product Designer
Size
2 Content Designer,
2 product Designers,
Client
Voucher API team,
Customer Relationships Representatives
Self-service onboarding process for API Integration
Reducing dependency on our multiple relevant teams and minimising manual effort.
Introduction
What is the Business voucher API
The Vouchers API allows businesses to integrate NSW Government stimulus vouchers directly into their point of sale and e-commerce platforms, offering an alternative to using the Service NSW for Business app for scanning and redeeming vouchers. Businesses can request access through our developer portal, which includes comprehensive technical documentation.
Pain points
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Customer Relationships Representatives: Serve as intermediaries between customers and the Voucher API team. Encounter numerous manual processes in the initial kick-off stage, involving back-and-forth emails to gather business information.
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Voucher API team: Faces similar manual communication challenges as the Customer Relationships Representatives, relying heavily on back-and-forth emails to manage processes. A major security concern is the use of email as the sole method for sending API credentials, exposing sensitive information to potential risks. Moreover, access to API documentation is unsecured, as anyone with the link can view the content, highlighting a critical need for enhanced access controls and secure communication channels.
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Businesses: After integration is completed and ready for production, scheduling review meetings through email is inefficient and time-consuming. The reliance on email for communication often leads to delays, with responses taking days from each side, which significantly slows down the overall process.
Problem statement
How might we streamline the API integration onboarding process to reduce manual work and save time for all involved stakeholders?
The problem: Inefficient manual onboarding process
This simplified version flow chart highlights the heavy reliance on manual steps and communication between various parties.
My Responsibilities
Empathising and alignment
I collaborated with engineers to develop two versions of service blueprints: one for the current process to help stakeholders empathise with employee experiences and customer journeys, and another for the new process representing the ideal state to illustrate the impact of potential improvements.
Educating process changes
Created process flows to educate teams, especially Customer Relationships Representatives, empowering them to effectively assist customers in resolving issues during interactions.
Developing a phased solution
Devised a phased approach to ensure the project could meet the deadline despite development delays, allowing for a timely release while gradually implementing the full functionality in subsequent phases.
Challenge 1
This work is highly technical, making it more important to bridge the gap for non-technical stakeholders. The challenge was to help them understand the problems at each touchpoint and clearly see the value of the improvements being made.
Service blueprint: The old process to highlight the pain points
By breaking down the technical details into a more visual format, I was able to communicate with stakeholders clearly and facilitated alignment on the key issues.
Service blueprint: The new process to highlight the improvements
In the new process I highlighted the benefits for the new solutions
Challenge 2
The product needed to go live soon, but there wasn't enough time to develop the full functionality. To address this, We created a phased approach that prioritised essential features for the initial release to get enough exposure, with additional functionalities to be rolled out in future updates. This ensured that we met the launch deadline while maintaining a clear plan for completing the remaining work.
Phase 1 flow: Focused on "quick wins" by gaining exposure
The first phase focused on gaining broader visibility for approved businesses by clearly communicating that an API integration option would be available soon, achieved through content and UI design. We also introduced the nominating developers feature for the first phase; however, developers would not receive the link to the API documents until it became available later. This approach ensured businesses were informed and prepared for integration, while our product team was working on implementation.
Challenge 3
Post-launch, the product's technical nature posed a challenge in effectively capturing the changes and new product features and ensuring this information was communicated to the frontline teams who assist customers with their inquiries. It was crucial to develop a solution to relay these updates clearly and efficiently so that the frontline team could provide accurate support and guidance to customers.
Creating a flow chart to guide changes
To ensure clear guidance for the frontline team, we created a process flow chart that outlines the changes according to each phase of the rollout. This flow chart serves as a step-by-step guide, detailing the key updates, new product features, and actions required at each stage, enabling the team to effectively handle inquiries with accurate and timely information.
The Concepts
List view
Use this space to promote the business, its products or its services.
3x3 view
Use this space to promote the business, its products or its services.
progressive disclosure
Use this space to promote the business, its products or its services.
Problem Statement
HMW create a more accurate representation of what it's like to work at SNSW Digital, by showcasing what it is we do and how we do it, so that we can attract (and retain) skilled practitioners to SNSW digital services.
Methods
Empathising
Contextual Observation
Interviews
Generative Workshops
Synthesising
Personas
Affinity Diagramming
Ideation
Storyboards
User Journey Map
Prototyping
Testing
Usability Testing w/ Think Aloud Protocol
Reduced 92% of onboarding inquiries
Reduced the inquiries related to business onboarding from 96 to 5, greatly easing the support workload for the team.
Onboard business 78% faster
Shortened the average turnaround time from 14 business days to just 3 days for moving from initial contact to accessing the sandbox environment, eliminating the need for hundreds of back-and-forth emails to gather business information.
Resource Savings
Freed up 10% of the Frontline and Engineering teams' time by automating key processes, enabling them to focus on higher-priority tasks and other initiatives.
The outcome
View other work
Phase 2 flow: Focused on the ability to book a review session
The second phase centered on providing businesses with the ability to book review sessions with our Voucher API team. This feature allowed businesses to schedule a meeting to review their API integration with our team once they were prepared to move to the production environment. This ensured a smoother transition to production by facilitating direct communication and support, helping to address any final adjustments needed for a successful launch.
The solution: Streamlined process to offload Business concierge
The new process reduces manual steps by automating access to API documents and booking review sessions. It begins with businesses logging into their profiles and nominating API developers, with the required information automatically sent to the backend, eliminating the need for back-and-forth emails with the Business Concierge. A link to the developer portal is then generated and sent to the nominated developers, providing access to API documents and sandbox credentials. When businesses are ready to go live, they can easily book a review meeting with the Voucher API Team to review their implementation, streamlining the entire onboarding process and improving efficiency.
