Supporting NSW residents affected by bushfires and natural disasters

Client: Service NSW
Role: Lead product designer

Customers need access to support before, during and after a natural disaster.

Customers are frustrated about not knowing the status of their grant applications, causing a significant load on call centers.

I designed a new feature that allowed customers to apply for and track their grant applications.

I also implemented an additional feature that provides customers helpful information and support when affected by a natural disaster.

Outcome

Working across multiple teams, we rapidly delivered a cross-channel MVP within 8 weeks.

We were incredibly lucky that the bushfire season was not as predicted, meaning the feature was not published.

The product was designed with scalability and future disasters in mind, and was recently deployed in a matter of days for residents impacted by power outages and storms in Far West NSW.

Process

After countless bushfires, floods and ongoing effects of climate change, we wanted to proactively provide customers support through the Service NSW app when affected by natural disasters.

An audit of existing research showed that:

• Customers need quick, easy access to government services and support
  
• Customers may be facing trauma
  
• Some customers may not have access to home offices, laptops or documents
  
• Internet and mobile connection can be patchy
  
• There can be lots of varying information coming from many different sources

How might we make it easier for customers to get financial support after a disaster?

Customers didn’t have a way to track their grant applications or know when funds would appear – causing a significant load on call centers.

We aimed to help support customers with the ability to apply for and track the status of grant applications. 

I led the design for disaster grant applications and statuses in the app. 
To bring this to life, we participated in cross team ideation sessions and completed hallway and guerilla testing.

We worked closely with other internal teams (Customer Account and Grants and Rebates teams) to ensure that we delivered a seamless experience, no matter the channel.

How might we support customers at all stages of a disaster?

We knew that during COVID, customers expected to find information and help from the government in the app. Leveraging this, we wanted to support customers during all stages of a natural disaster.

To understand the types of content that customers need during a disaster, we completed an audit of existing support content from across government. We conducted cross team workshops and card sorting activities to define how content should be grouped and displayed. 

I led the design for a dynamic natural disaster support feature, that aggregates key information needed before, during and after a natural disaster.