Client
Office of the Public Guardian
Domain
Public Sector
Service
Research & Service Design
Reducing the cost of lasting power of attorney by 31%
There are few things more satisfying than helping people going through one of life’s toughest moments. Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) enables people to plan ahead for their health and finances and the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) processes hundreds of LPA applications every day.
The challenge
The OPG were facing three main challenges - legacy systems which could not be expanded without adding cost, time-consuming manual processes and maxed-out capacity.
Transform worked with OPG to reimagine the service in a digital context through:
- User-needs based approach for both consumers and agents
- Improved usability and addressing stigma associated with illness and death
- Process change to enable a full digital case-management solution
- Architecture and software engineering to address legacy system capabilities without slowing down service delivery
The solution
To solve these problems, Transform conducted:
- Qualitative research to understand needs of the service, barriers to engaging with the service and existing pain points with the current experience.
- Process mapping to understand how manual processes worked and what made the service hard to deliver and access
- Stakeholder management to design a scalable experience for the front-end user and the back-end case management systems
- Employee upskilling specifically in the area of user research, technology delivery and development operations (DevOps) to enable continuous improvements without external support
- 1-2-1 Agile coaching allowing OPG to become self-sufficient and establish an Agile-by-default culture
- Upskill their employees in user research, technology delivery and DevOPS to enable continuous improvement without external support
- 1-2-1 Agile coaching so they could become self-sufficient and establish an Agile-by-default culture.
The results
As well as delivering the project on time and within budget, Transform worked as the digital, data and technology (DDAT) partner for over a decade and achieved the following results:
- 31% reduction in cost per LPA
- 96% of users satisfied with the service
- 5x productivity improvement
OPG now has the internal capability to support the service and an organisation-wide understanding of Agile delivery and digital service provision.
Our service is now a flagship on how to embrace digital within government.
Learn more
Our work in the public sector extends beyond this project. If you’re interested in hearing more about our wider experience, please get in touch.
The Sustainable Development Goals we hit with this project
Good Health and Well-Being
Peace of mind that your wishes will be executed with minimal fuss for your family.
Quality Education
Through a simple and accessible process, users gain knowledge of their rights.
Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
With our redesign we both decreased the cost of the LPA, but also helped facilitate a 5x productivity improvement.
Reduced Inequalities
The service is available to everyone, but by lowering the price point, we also ensured that those from low-income households were able to access it.
Climate Action
Paper consumption has already been reduced. The long-term objective is for a fully digital LPA which will positively impact environmental sustainability.
Peace, Justice and Strong Intstitutions
It gives those with reduced mental capacity the ability to still make decisions, removing friction. We also helped form assessment criteria for gov services.