Redesigning the National Public Sector Fraud Initiative portal

The Challenge

The existing portal was functional but cumbersome. Investigators across councils and departments struggled with a dated interface that made it difficult to filter, interpret, and act on matched data. Accessibility was limited, navigation was inconsistent, and workflows often required multiple clicks or redundant steps to complete basic investigative actions. Critically, recording of confirmed cases was extremely difficult to complete.

The platform served a wide range of users from data analysts to administrative staff with varying levels of technical literacy. The core challenge was to redesign the experience so that any user, regardless of expertise, could review and act on potential fraud cases quickly and confidently while meeting stringent accessibility and security standards

My Approach

I began with a two-month research phase involving contextual interviews, remote surveys, and usability testing across more than 20 local councils. These sessions uncovered recurring pain points unclear hierarchy, limited search flexibility, and lack of progress visibility within investigations.

Using this data, I created user-journey maps to visualise where friction occurred and prioritised high-impact fixes. From there, I built wireframes and interactive prototypes, testing them iteratively with both technical and non-technical users.

Throughout, I ensured alignment with modern design principles, focusing on readability, accessibility, and scalability. Findings were documented in comprehensive reports presented to Cabinet Office stakeholders to validate design direction.

Solution

The redesigned portal introduced a clean, task-oriented interface that simplified the entire data-matching and investigation process. Key improvements included: A streamlined dashboard highlighting all features and functions at a glance; Guided workflows for batch processing, lookups and reporting to ensure consistent process across agencies and accuracy of confirmed case entries; Enhanced reporting, user admin, search and filtering, help;

Visual hierarchy and navigation were restructured for clarity, and content was rewritten to match government standards. The final prototype was presented and received positively by stakeholders and formed the foundation for future iterations of the NFI portal.