Background
A community charity fund that had been around for over 30 years had a fund managing over £12m. They had a system built by an IT company (who said they could do it), but it was just not fit for purpose. coupled with that was a poor website with a hand built CMS that had been compromised.
The fund management system was so inefficient causing constant strains on the internal team having to flick between screens to enter information.
Project
They asked me to review the current system to assess its capability. This was carried over over a number of review sessions with key members of the team – each taking me through a different part of the system from application through to finance.
It became apparent that system had been poorly designed – usability and functionality. No thought had been given to how an external user would complete the application, return later to view and edit. The internal team struggled through multiple expanding accordion sections that held small peices of information meaning constantly opening and closing.
Once the review was complete and my assessment fed back I was asked to specify a new system for them. Instead of starting with the tech stack, as the previous developer had I started with “what do you need it to do”. We went through several workshops outlining each section and what it needed to do, making sure all team members got what they wanted. Once the requirements were defined I wrote an ITT to go out to agencies to pitch for the work – this included the incumbent to give them a chance to carry on working with the charity.
The project was awarded off the back of the ITT to an agency who commenced the build.
Results
The new system has proven to be excellent for the charity. It has freed up hours of team time allwoing them concentrate more on their “customers”, and to strategise how the charity can now grow and help more people.
Feedback from customers has been great, now they apply for grants in minimal time using a simple, intuitive application form linked to multiple auto look ups; reducing errors on applications forms.