RBNZ Service Portal

Discovery

To ground the design in real user needs, I carried out mixed-methods research plan including:

• Service Desk agent interviews to understand issues faced by people handling the service requests
• Internal requester interviews to reveal pain points related to
• A survey with 382 responses validated our previous findings and gave us wider context to the problems faced by users.
• A focus group with executive assistants help the project team understand the needs of "VIPs".
• Data analysis uncovered what forms and requests were most freqent wand what forms were'nt being used.

Synthesis and Problem Framing

I synthesised findings in Figjam, running playback sessions stakeholders to gain alignment. Key themes that emerged were:

• Users often didn’t know which form to use or where to find them.
• Forms were long, inconsistent, and filled with irrelevant fields.
• Many fields used IT language that alienated non-technical staff.
• Agents lacked the right information to triage tickets effectively.

These insights were framed into problem statements which could be used to inform the design of the new platform.

Ideation

Using "How Might We" prompts, I facilitated ideation sessions that led to 13 design concepts. These were prioritised based on feasibility and impact. I collaborated closely with the internal project team and the development agency to evaluate if ideas were where possible to implement. A chalenge we faced was that many of the solutions fell outside of the scope of the project or couldn't be implemented within Jira Service Management.  

A number of ideas were placed on roadmap for future development while none product focused ideas were handed over to the Service Desk Manager to implement.

Form Design

One of the highest-impact deliverables was the full redesign of the support forms (over 50 forms).

• I ran sessions to co-design forms, reorganising them around logical groupings, reducing unnecessary fields and simplifying language.
• I created wireframes for key forms and handed them off to the development agency, annotated with clear rationale for the changes. These wireframes were used directly in implementation.
• I applied Jakob’s Law to justify UI conventions, aligning the portal's behaviour with users' expectations from other platforms.
• I rewrote section headers, helper text, and field labels to be clear and plain.
• Unused or low-value fields were removed to simplify the experience and reduce cognitive load.

Experience mapping

To tie everything together, I created two foundational artefacts:

• Current-state journey map: Showing pain points across the service experience, helping align the team on why the change was necessary.
• Future-state service blueprint: Detailing how JSM would support the new experience across frontstage and backstage layers including where the tool would help, and where other service gaps existed.

These became decision-making tools for leadership and delivery partners.

Outcomes and reflections

My involvement on the project resulted in:

• Improved usability and clarity across all service desk forms. Making it easier for submitters to get the help they need
• Faster ticket submission through reduced fields and better guidance
• Faster resolution times due to improved data collection. Giving help desk agents the infomration they need to effectively carry out their tasks and reduce back and forward communication.

This project reminded me that even within strict platform constraints, good design can thrive. By focusing on  simplicity, understanding of end users needs and working in a collaborative manner with numerus stakeholders, we created an experience that wasn’t just functional, but easy to use and effective in people getting the help they need.

As Shaun Smith, Manager of Business Engagement, said:

“You didn’t just improve forms, you reshaped the entire way we think about our service.”