A radical new design for cash management in schools
Creating multi-million dollar savings for our partner by reimagining their operations
Industry
State Government, Education
Duration
8 weeks
Deliverables
Set of concepts for immediate implementation, medium and long term development
Current state map blueprint for Cash Management in schools
Current state insights
A future state roadmap of actionable steps
Awards
Winner of secretary’s award for excellence
Impact
Our three future state concepts are projected to deliver:
95% reduction in unnecessary reporting and auditing
Combined savings of $42 million
Reimagined how cash management is handled in schools
Found opportunities to increase efficiency
Improved operational efficacy and consistency
WHAT was the problem
Each year over $700m of cash transactions are processed by schools so children can access extra-curricular activities. The process for handling these transactions was time consuming, costly and no longer met the needs of schools, parents or students. Our partner, a state government department, invited WAVE to reimagine how cash management could work to increase efficiency, reduce mistakes and make it easier for everyone.
APPROACH we took
Collaboratively understanding the current state
To drive the process we first created a combined team of WAVE designers, our partner’s staff and Subject Matter Experts (SMEs). This collaborative and embed approach enabled improved knowledge sharing and the agility of the project.
To kickstart the project we co-created a visual wall of the current state journey, including front stage (user) and backstage (service provider and partner) elements. Through this process we collectively identified and validated user pain points and understood the impacts and dependencies, including policy and audit-related factors. This visual map served as a key communication tool throughout the project.
We identified key stakeholders and end-users to learn from and used design-thinking techniques to define hypotheses for exploration. Using ethnographic research techniques we developed research protocols and created interactive artefacts to facilitate research sessions with the users of the system to understand what was happening on the ground.
Through a series of learning sessions with core team members we generated a collection of insights, sharing and collectively synthesising research observations, quotes, and reflections as we went. To support our insights we developed a series of videos which enhanced empathy for the users and created an immersive environment for the core and extended team members to facilitate meaningful dialogue about the challenges faced.
Identifying opportunities and value-generating concepts
Based on our shared insight, we reframed the problems to solve into opportunities for the future. We facilitated a series of interactive idea generation workshops with our team and users, using human-centred design techniques and stimulus to reimagine how the process could work.
Using the ideas generated and applying the principles developed through our research we developed the ideas into concepts for future implementation. We brought each concept to life visually and tested it with our core team and stakeholders to ensure they were desirable and functional for an internal point of view. We then prioritised these according to their respective value and difficulty to implement.
Creating a viable and feasible vision for the future
To test our concepts we turned them into tangible, low-cost prototypes. We then sat down with end-users from the schools to collect feedback. To gain buy-in from our stakeholders we invited leaders to observe the testing sessions so they could see first-hand how effective the concepts might be. Using the learnings from these sessions we further refined our concepts.
We combined our concepts into a unified vision for the future, and worked back from this to evaluate, order and co-ordinate the user, service provider, technology and policy aspects of value. To analyse the concepts for feasibility we unpacked how they would work with experts from delivery, technology, SMEs and leaders.
VALUE we created
The work resulted in tangible value for our partner, including a forecast reduction of unreconciled financial transactions from over 1,000 to under 90 per day within a six month period. This resulted in projected savings of over $26 million.
In addition to the projected savings, the project also Increased collaboration and knowledge sharing in the organisation through the demonstration of our collaborative and transparent practices. Senior leaders also spoke of the deep empathy they gained for users of the system through the sharing of our ethnographic research, compelling artefacts and by inviting them on the journey so they could understand the user-context first hand.
EMPOWERMENT we embedded
Bringing our client on the journey and providing a clear plan to move forward
Our collaborative and transparent approach brought our clients on the journey with us and our use of a combined team ensured that the future state solutions were owned by our partners. Combined with our comprehensive set of concepts for immediate, medium and long term implementation, and a clear roadmap of actionable next steps we were able to set partners up for success into the future.
Gaining buy-in for implementation
To gain broader buy-in for the solutions we ran a future state walkthrough with the core team delivering the presentation to their leaders including the Deputy Secretary. The sessions provided an opportunity for people at many levels across the department to hold a shared view of delivery and generated enthusiasm and belief for the new way of working this project used.
This case study was compiled by WAVE Strategy Director, Norman Azabagic. Norman is a business strategist with more than 20 years’ experience bringing strategy and design together for organisations. He has launched award-winning new business models, products and propositions. Norman is finishing a PhD and lectures at the University of Melbourne in entrepreneurship and innovation.
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