Client: Department of International Trade
Context or Problem
In the lead-up to Brexit, the Department for International Trade faced significant challenges with its great.gov.uk platform. The platform, a combination of export advice and unrelated tools, was fragmented and lacked a unified vision, resulting in high bounce rates and little user value. The strategic need was to transform great.gov.uk into a 'one-to-many' online service platform, offering a personalised experience for small businesses transitioning away from face-to-face interactions with International Trade Advisors.
What We Did
Vision and Strategy:
Goldstone adopted the Lippitt Knoster framework for change management to develop a new, unifying vision for great.gov.uk: "Accelerate UK small business success through a frictionless and compelling platform that reassures, educates, and simplifies trade with the rest of the world."
Team Collaboration and Stakeholder Engagement:
We facilitated broad consensus across directorates and partners, maintaining regular show-and-tells to engage diverse stakeholders and invite critique.
Discovery and MVP Approach:
Our multidisciplinary teams, with skills in content, user research, design, and front-end development, embarked on an MVP/Discovery phase. We focused on three primary goals: assisting first-time exporters in selling, shipping, and getting paid.
How We Did It
Innovative User Experience:
We developed a logged-in, account-based experience, allowing users to input product details and export interests. This included an API-driven natural language to commodity code mapping tool – a critical innovation for the platform.
Data-Driven Tools Development:
Learn to Export: An educational tool combining videos, text, and animations.
Where to Export: A data-driven guide helping businesses choose export destinations.
Create an Export Plan: A structured action plan framework for businesses.
Efficient Workflows and User Research:
Our use of scrum, backlog refinement, and user research sessions ensured efficient, user-centred development. We also established repeatable design and procedural patterns for consistent quality and agility.
Result
The transformation of great.gov.uk led to:
a successful technical and content overhaul, marked by innovative personalisation strategies
enhanced team workflows and civil service upskilling
over 150 businesses engaged in testing, resulting in a platform that offers actionable, interactive content to support and develop exporting potential
data insights for DIT to optimise in-person support and identify high-potential companies for bespoke assistance
personalised business support, tailored to individual circumstances and journeys
Pioneers in Government
Our personalisation approach informed the Government Digital Service's plans for tailored experiences on GOV.UK, demonstrating the effectiveness of account personalisation in enhancing user experience in complex government policy areas.
What We Learned
This project highlighted the importance of integrated team collaboration in solving complex problems, such as mapping plain language to commodity codes. Our agile methodology, clear vision and consistent user testing underscored the value of empathy, leadership, and robust processes in driving successful digital transformation.