Role
UX & Customer Research Lead
Scope
Research (Qual & Quant), Workshop Facilitation, Design, User Testing
Impact
Made a complex process more accessible for a non-technical audience
Date
Fy22

Problem

The Queensland Government’s apprenticeship and traineeship information for small business owners was fragmented, hard to navigate, and written in a way that assumed a high level of familiarity with government processes. Key content was buried deep within a complex information architecture, and important steps in the process were difficult to find or understand. For time-poor small business owners, this created unnecessary friction and confusion at exactly the moment they were trying to make high-stakes hiring and training decisions. The result was a complex, multi-step process that felt intimidating and inaccessible to a non-technical audience, ultimately risking lower uptake of apprenticeship and traineeship programs.

Approach

I led a structured discovery and design phase to simplify the experience end-to-end. A workshop with key stakeholders aligned us on current pain points and small business goals. Using Treejack, I identified critical navigation and labelling issues that made essential information hard to find. I then interviewed 8 small business owners to map their real journeys and pain points, which guided the design of a one-page experience clearly outlining the process to take on an apprentice or trainee. In parallel, I visualised an interactive infographic that pushed the bounds of the existing design system to create a more engaging, educational format.

Value delivered

The redesigned experience turns a fragmented, intimidating process into a clear and accessible journey for small business owners. By simplifying navigation, improving content discoverability, and consolidating the apprenticeship and traineeship process into a single page, non-technical users can understand what’s involved and take confident next steps. The interactive infographic concept offers a more engaging, visual way to learn, while still respecting government design constraints. Together, these improvements help better support small businesses, reduce support overhead from confused users, and increase the likelihood that more employers will successfully navigate the process of taking on an apprentice or trainee.

Key steps in the process

A structured workshop with key stakeholders to review current state helped us understand key user goals and tasks
Using Treejack I identified several issues with the current state navigation, and findability of important content for small business owners
Interviewing 8 small business owners helped me and the team understand the customer journey, pain points and opportunities end-to-end. With this perspective we could also visualise a better future state.
With an understand of current navigational issues, validated pain points uncovered in customer interviews, and an understanding of the QLD Government’s design system – I designed a one page experience which outlined the high-level process of taking on an Apprentice of Trainee.
In addition to the ‘MVP’ experience, I visualised an interactive infographic, which shook free the bounds of the current design system to bring to life a more engaging format for small business owners to engage with and learn more about the process.