roles & responsibilities
UX
Design
UI
Design
QA
Testing
IT
Support
the problem
The Skilled Trades and Apprenticeship Education Act (STAEA) introduced a new education credential for journeypersons certified after July 20, 2022.
Unfortunately, the existing system could not be feasibly modified to accommodate issuing the new credentials. And, it managed so many other pieces of the apprenticeship lifecycle that sunsetting was not an option.
The new system had to pull applications from legacy, certify them, issue the new credentials and the existing certificates, print them, and then push all of that data back into legacy. All while building trust from zero with an extremely hesitant user base who had been working a certain way for a long time.
the approach
We had access to every single one of our users. We spoke to them almost every day.
Through user interviews and job shadowing, it became clear that the existing process of certifying an apprentice was as involved as it was complicated. There was a lot of duplicated work, tab-switching, manual tracking, and ad-hoc processes borne from a need to get things done without an elegant or efficient way to do them.
I wanted to design a system that would help them do their jobs as quickly — and simply — as possible. We used simpler versions of screens they were used to, automated what we could, leveraged new technology as appropriate, and reduced the average time it took to issue certificates and credentials from upwards of 30 minutes to roughly 30 seconds.
The process
Design with, not for. Solicit feedback. Ideate. Refine. Deliver. Rinse. Repeat.
My team and I identified key opportunities right away, and those guided my initial sketches, wireframes, and low-fidelity mockups. We used those to test assumptions and fuel ideation with our users, and provide our developers with guideposts as they began their work.
We leveraged user feedback and worked with our technical team to identify the most feasible, scalable, and maintainable solutions, and tested those with our users, too.
Eventually we had some fulsome, high-resolution prototypes vetted by the business that we could demo to the program area — sometimes to audiences of over 350 stakeholders — and eventually hand-off to our developers.
the outcome
Certificate and Credential Management (CCM) now helps the Government of Alberta issue certificates and credentials to over 10,000 journeypersons annually.
Certification means, on average, that a tradesperson's median income will increase by roughly 10% in just two years after completing their apprenticeship. CCM now has a hand in helping thousands of Albertans reap the financial benefits of their hard work every year.
Internally, CCM's improved efficiencies mean less time spent checking, double-checking, manually tracking, and re-doing certification work. Instead, staff can focus on other parts of their job, like helping apprentices through their apprenticeships.