Migration skills assessment reporting

Problem

Business problem: The business cannot carry out assurance activities effectively due to the limited visibility of the aggregated data that is reported. They are also restricted by the type of data collected, which limits both analysis and the ability to meet emerging needs.

User problem: Assessing Authorities must manually aggregate data to meet DEWR’s reporting requirements, which makes it difficult for them to quickly adapt to any future data requests from DEWR.

The Hypothesis

How might we improve visibility and flexibility of aggregated data so DEWR can perform assurance activities more effectively, responds to emerging needs and reduce reporting errors?

The Approach

The Ask: The brief was to propose a range of solutions at different price points to address key business and user pain points, enabling the department to secure additional funding.

Summary: I planned and led the discovery phase to inform a future New Policy Proposal (NPP), conducting user research to uncover current-state needs and opportunities. I collaborated closely with the business unit, cross-functional teams, and the Design and Solution Architect Leads for Skills and Training to ensure recommendations aligned with the broader strategy.

1. Project approval

   • Worked with the business unit and project team to create a high-level project plan and obtain approval to commence the 10 week project.

2. Project immersion

   • Reviewed policy documents and key artefacts to quickly come up to speed.

3. Project kick-off

   • Held a kick-off session to ensure all stakeholders have a shared understanding of the project's scope, goals, deliverables, and timelines.

4. Targeted survey

   • Collaborated with the business unit on the development of a survey targeting Assessing Authorities (AAs), aimed at identifying key pain points to inform future research.

5. Scenario workshop

   • Led workshops with the business unit to define critical data analysis scenarios and uncover related pain points.

6. Persona workshop

   • Co-designed key personas with business unit,

7. User research

   • Collaborated with the business to define the ideal interviewee sample based on key attributes.

   • Developed and validated discussion guide.

   • Conducted remote user interviews with six providers to understand their end-to-end reporting processes.

   • Synthesised data from SME workshops, surveys, and user interviews.

   • Identified pain points and insights that informed the development of current-state principles.

8. Current state Service Blueprint co-design

   • Co-designed the current state service blueprint with key stakeholders.

9. Future state Service Blueprint

   • Co-designed and validated the future state service blueprint with AAs and key stakeholders, aligned to key future state principles

   • Held meetings with technical teams to determine possible authentication patterns for internal and external users

   • Worked closely with the Solution Architect to define possible future state options

   • Consulted with the Data Analyst teams to assess the feasibility of using the Data Analytics Pipeline (DAP) to ingest data that could be shared and applied across the business.

10. Developed high-level business requirements

    • Developed requirements based on the ideal future state

11. Developed pre-approval summary document

    • The document outlined high-level recommendations across three proposed options, including High-Level Designs (HLDs), estimated costs, and key requirements..

The Impact

Key results
Proposed a cloud-based portal with built-in data validations and seamless integration with the Data Analytics Platform (DAP). The proposed solution would enable acceptance of application-level data and ensure data quality by validating inputs within the portal before ingestion into DAP.

1. Developed a 'pre-approval report' outlining proposed policy recommendations and future-state options with associated costs, aligned with agreed principles and business outcomes, to support future project funding.

2. Recommendations fed into the creation of a 'pilot program' with key AAs to test viability of reporting application level data.

3. Project was nominated for a DEWR Secretary's Award in the category 'Innovating with Courage'. – outcome still pending

Why it Matters

The three-month discovery phase will deliver key insights and recommendations that equip DEWR to seek additional funding. If implemented, the proposed solution will strengthen DEWR’s ability to carry out assurance activities effectively that ensure migrants are being assessed fairly without bias, while enabling Assessing Authorities to meet reporting requirements more efficiently.

Reflections & Learnings

This project reinforced the value of ongoing user research, which revealed underlying issues stemming from DEWR’s lack of regulatory authority over Assessing Authorities. It also underscored the importance of ensuring each project initiative aligns with broader government digital strategies, in this case, the inclusion of the Data Analytics Platform (DAP) to help DEWR and other agencies better leverage analytics.