Reducing Developer Resources By 65%
Adding file upload functionality to free up developers to work on feature development.
Industry
Government
My role
Senior UX Designer
Date
2023
Tools
I led the design of a new file upload feature for ScotPayments, replacing developer-built adapters with a self-service flow. By introducing upload, preview, and date selection functionality, we gave users greater control and confidence while freeing developers from repetitive maintenance work. The solution increased efficiency, reduced errors, and moved the platform closer to its long-term goal of being a fully self-service product.
Scenario
ScotPayments, developed by the Scottish Government’s Digital Directorate, processes payments from the public sector to individuals and organisations across Scotland. Scott Logic was brought in to provide UX expertise alongside developers and testers.
Initially, users couldn’t upload payment files directly. Instead, developers built custom “adapters” for every client and every collection of payments - an inefficient, time-consuming process that frustrated users and tied up developer resources.
Stakeholders / collaborators: Service Designers, User Researchers, Design System team, Developers, Product Owner, Business Analysts, Service Owner
Discover
Research highlighted that users were frustrated by their lack of control when uploading payment files. Developers noted that maintaining multiple adapters for each client was highly inefficient, preventing them from focusing on roadmap features.
The UCD team hypothesised that self-service file uploads would:
Increase user confidence and engagement.
Reduce developer workload.
Create a more scalable, future-proof solution.
Define
Key hypotheses:
Giving users control of file uploads would increase trust and reduce frustration.
Previewing payments before submission would provide reassurance and reduce errors.
Integrating the date picker feature (from a previous iteration) would align payment scheduling with user needs.
A clear MVP vs. future-state vision was required to align stakeholders.
Develop
Flow diagrams were created to map MVP vs. future state, helping stakeholders agree on scope.
Prototypes were designed in Figma with variations tested for navigation, error messaging, and preview screens.
Usability testing with real and representative users validated:
Copy for headings and buttons.
Error states and recovery flows.
The preview experience for confidence in submissions.
Feedback was captured in Mural via affinity mapping and synthesised into insights-to-action boards for prioritisation.
Deliver
A new flow was introduced that allowed users to:
Upload their own files.
Preview payments before submission.
Select a payment date via the date picker.
Documentation of design decisions was maintained in Confluence for alignment. Stakeholder alignment was achieved by iterating against visual flow diagrams.
Results
Delivering this feature freed up the development team to work on new features and move away from tedious maintenance on the custom adapters that were client-specific. User satisfaction also rose significantly and put them more in control.
65% ↓
65% reduction in developer time spent maintaining custom adapters, freeing resources for new feature development.
50% ↑
50% increase in user satisfaction due to greater control, confidence, and transparency in the payment submission process.
