Before the COVID-19 pandemic, I was working as part of a team to develop a new electronic service for separated moms and dads to look for aid preparing Kid Maintenance. We 'd launched a personal beta of the electronic solution in December 2019, as well as were functioning in the direction of presenting even more customers on a steady basis.
Before this, the only means to make an application for assistance setting up Kid Maintenance had been a totally telephone-based service. However, as a department we knew that we needed to provide an electronic alternative as part of our dedication to broaden our solutions as well as create digital styles based upon our customers' requirements.
The press to go online
All was going as planned up until the pandemic hit. Nearly immediately, our coworkers in the get in touch with centres could no more respond to the phones and process applications. The division was working to get individuals established to work from home, yet a great deal of colleagues were redeployed to work on various other services. So, our directors decided to make our digital service the major technique of application from that point onwards, and also for the near future.
The group needed to move fast to safeguard the service and also make it readily available to all applicants. The strategy had been to increase to around 100 applications a day undergoing the system within a few months, today we had to reach this stage in an issue of days. The team strove to stabilise the solution so it might cope with the boost in users, all while getting used to working from residence themselves.
Producing a 24/7 solution
At the private beta phase we were using comments from users to advance the solution-- as we opened it up additionally this responses ended up being a lot more essential. There was a clear demand for a few modifications such as 24/7 availability. The service was originally designed to just be readily available when the legacy backend system was offered, in between 8am to 8pm during the week, as well as out weekends.
We had a great deal of responses asking why it was not readily available after 8pm, so we built our own backend to keep the application information temporarily, up until the heritage system appeared. Around 20% of users now complete their applications because 'offline' period, which reveals the advantages of responding really rapidly as well as taking customer responses on board.
Another piece of comments we got from customers connected to them wanting to confirm receipt of their application. So, family law solicitors as part of our routine versions, we provided a function that permits customers to enroll in an e-mail verification that their application has actually been obtained making use of the Gov.Notify system. Around 99% of on-line customers have actually picked to utilize this center, which simply demonstrates how valuable it has actually been as confidence for individuals making an application for Kid Maintenance.
The hard work pays off
Throughout the summer and into fall, the team functioned continuously to present new functions, with changes deployed on a virtually weekly basis. It was an unrelenting pace as well as was testing at times-- for instance for those people home education our children. Having a common objective of helping to get cash to family members that need it was an actually motivating aspect throughout these times.
That effort meant that we were able to take the item via a Federal government Digital Service (GDS) public beta assessment in winter months. It passed with flying colours, which was an actually honored moment for everyone associated with the project. We were additionally recently identified with a team award at an inner honors event, which was a nice way to celebrate the way we've collaborated.
Thus far, over 59,000 individuals have actually made use of the electronic solution to make an application for Kid Maintenance, which is around 80% of all candidates. The telephony service is still there for those that require it, yet the variety of online applications continues to expand.
This isn't completion of the electronic journey for this solution either. We're currently progressing a new roadmap for additional change of the end-to-end service, and we'll remain to pay attention to user needs, and also make changes and improvements to make it as very easy as possible for people to look for and handle their Child Upkeep setups.
It's definitely been a challenging year for everybody, however I rejoice that I'll have the ability to recall at when our team rose to the challenge and supplied for individuals when they needed us most.