Department of Business and Trade (DBT)

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) is a UK government department that supports businesses in investing, growing, and exporting. It promotes British businesses globally, attracts investment, and advocates for free trade.

Problem to solve

Since 2015, the Government Digital Service (GDS) has provided GOV.UK PaaS, offering a shared public cloud platform for government departments. In July 2022, GDS announced it will stop hosting services from December 2023.

How can we migrate all the services on time and with limited disruptions?
How can we make sure the service developers keep
feeling equipped and engaged?
How can we transform this challenge into an opportunity?

Defining a User Research Plan

I defined user research strategies that aligned with project goals and the public sector phases.

In Discovery, the objective was to capture user needs (Primary users being developers and Information architect), pain points, and opportunities to inform the project’s direction.

During Alpha, testing and iterating on concepts and prototypes to ensure design decisions were evidence-based.

Leading User Research through the Discovery phase

In the discovery phase, I mapped the primary and secondary users affected by the migration and conducted interviews, surveys, and workshops to capture their needs, expectations, and pain points.

I gathered detailed insights, including their knowledge of the upcoming platform and training expectations.

Using techniques like affinity mapping, I synthesised findings into actionable recommendations. wrote User Stories, created User Journeys and Personas to bring the users to life.

Led User Research in the Alpha phase

I led User Research throughout the Alpha phase, shaping and testing solutions to the challenges uncovered in Discovery.

By digging deeper into :

the user needs
the support available
the migration journey,
the platform’s quality

I helped the team make informed decisions that improved both the migration process and the overall user experience.

"Sarah was our User Researcher during the discovery and alpha phase for a platform build... She engaged with very technical users and was able to understand and communicate fairly technical and nuanced insights to the team. She used a variety of of techniques to illicit user feedback, with an eye on the time constraints, and user base. Moreover, she was a great collaborative partner and supported more junior members of the team with her delivery focused approach."

Sajid Arif

VP Product Manager

Making an impact

My work helps bridge user needs and business goals, creating products that are more intuitive, impactful, and valuable.

Business

▪ Business reputation
▪ Reduce risk and cost (eg. Rework)
▪ Competitive advantage
▪ Enable Innovation

Team

▪ Evidence led decisions

▪ Empathy

▪ Efficiency

▪ Confidence
▪ Better alignment
across team members
▪ Enable innovation

Users

▪ Improve user experience
▪ Increase satisfaction,
▪ Loyalty and trust
▪ Brand advocacy