Portfolio » Business Development for Farm Businesses Program forms design

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Challenge:

OSCIA runs an excellent program of helping Ontario farmers improve their businesses. However multiple layer of government and stakeholders resulted in a process which involved 21 forms, many of which were not being filled properly or efficiently. This was wasting staff time while damaging client satisfaction. Our strategic challenge was to redesign the entire process, to improve results for the farmers and the staff.

Solution:

Our team researched similar projects worldwide, reviewed our extensive experience in the agriculture community, and then collaborated with the client to develop a new comprehensive strategy which called for the redesign oif the entire experience, completely consolidating 21 forms into only 9 forms. The resulting forms (as well as all their instructions) were rewritten following plain language and information design principles, including working with their legal staff to accommodate their requirements while simplifying language. The resulting system was designed to measurably reduce a dozen specifically identified pain points for both farmers and staff.

Results:

Staff time has been reduced by increasing the frequency of farmers filling the forms correctly. Farmers are getting responses more quickly than before. Shipping has been simplified. Printing costs have dropped. Forms can now be optionally filled electronically, including much arithmetic completed automatically, and are more accessible for persons with disabilities. Recordkeeping has been simplified and made more robust. The resulting graphic design also better honoured the branding of the client and the project, while making the entire experience more appealing.

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