QLD Government - Business Launchpad

Objective
The Business Launchpad (BLP) is a digital tool created by the Department of Employment, Small Business and Training (DESBT) to improve accessibility when retrieving licences, permits and regulatory obligations for business. This platform was launched in response to the increasing complexity of the regulatory environment, which often creates barriers for businesses trying to launch or run their business.

Approach
Symplicit designed a four-phase iterative research approach to deliver evidence-based designs.

A total of 23 usability testing sessions were conducted over four rounds. The sessions were semi-structured, consisting of open-ended questions and realistic task scenarios aimed at assessing usability and functionality as the users engaged with the BLP prototype.

The project kicked off with testing the overall BLP user journey allowing for a quick and efficient evaluation of the usability issues, needs, pain points, and mental models of current users. The data collected was synthesised and the insights gained informed incremental updates based on user feedback.

This cyclical process allowed for continuous exploration, learning, adaptation and refinement which progressively aligned the design with user’ needs. This ultimately increased engagement with the platform. DESBT was actively involved in the iterative process, engaging in daily UX stand ups to collaborate on design and technical implementation and how to best align user expectations and the overarching goal of BLP.

Impact
Symplicit delivered a high-fidelity prototype of the redesigned Business Launchpad based on actionable insights discovered during usability testing. Each testing round highlighted pain points in the user journey that misaligned with the user's mental model. This allowed us to identify opportunities to improve the user journey and better align the design with user expectations and improve the overall user experience. The outputs of this research enabled us to identify opportunities to attract more current and prospective business owners to utilise BLP as their "single-point-of-truth" for licences and regulatory information for their business.