“The 24 team took us on a detailed user-research journey to gain insights and understanding of our residents and their needs. The City of Ballarat Council now has a solid framework for how we make future digital decisions for Ballarat residents.”— Michael Walker - City of Ballarat Council
The Challenge
Local councils going through digital transformation
The City of Ballarat is a regional Victorian city with a growing populations of residents, only 80km from Melbourne.
The City of Ballarat Council were operating with a content heavy and confusing website which users could not navigate or find relevant information.
We were approached by the City of Ballarat to undergo a detailed user-research piece into their residents online behaviours, habits and needs.
Discovery
Understanding the business objectives
Through a series of workshops with the council team, we gathered data and key information on the City of Ballarat residents.
We delved into their existing website analytics to understand their complex web of content. Reviewing search terms and content views allowed us to gather initial findings on where changes were required.
The project was the first phase of an entire digital transformation for the city and the findings were going to shape the decisions made for their future smart city strategy.
User Research
Using data to delve deeper than demographics
Using publicly-available Census data as a base, we used a method of K-mode clustering to establish key themes of the Ballarat population, focussed on industry, education and location.
We then developed a survey using initial findings from the Census clusters to gather qualitative and quantitative information in key areas. The survey was distributed through print publications and online channels.
Gaining over 700 responses in one week, the results acted as the framework to start building the user personas.
