Department for International Trade
Creating the UK's biggest exporter directory.
From arranging interviews and workshops with staff and businesses in the UK and around the world, to conducting a comprehensive technical review, Rainmaker and DIT collaborated to design, develop and launch the first-ever digital service, built from user needs, to help the UK connect with potential customers around the world and support the UK’s economic prosperity.
200
UK Businesses engaged during Discovery, building a user-centred service.
03
Central directory for exporters.
01
Month from Discovery to Live.
01 The challenge we faced
The Department for International Trade (DIT) wanted to make it easier for UK businesses to grow internationally and connect directly with overseas buyers. Their ambition was clear: to create the UK’s largest exporter directory.
To do that, they needed a digital service that worked for everyone: UK businesses, international buyers and DIT staff across the globe. With complex systems, multiple stakeholders, and a worldwide user base, the first step was understanding where to begin.
02 Tacking the problem
Rainmaker embedded a small, multi-disciplinary team within DIT, bringing together expertise in user research, service design, technical architecture and delivery management. Over six weeks, we ran a discovery phase that laid the groundwork for a new kind of service.
We spoke to more than 200 UK businesses, 25 international buyers in key markets and DIT staff in the UK and overseas. From those insights, we developed user personas to capture the most important needs, mapped the draft technical landscape and worked out loud to build internal capability.
The result was a design centred on both user needs and organisational capability. DIT gained a clear picture of its technical architecture, reassessed its approach to cyber security and completed a comprehensive technical risk assessment.
With Rainmaker’s support, DIT went on to design, develop and launch its first digital service built entirely around user needs, helping UK businesses connect with global customers and drive economic growth. The success of the discovery led to an ongoing partnership through to full delivery and launch.
“The practical application of the Rainmaker insight and methodologies has helped us to work out a strategy for change that started paying dividends almost immediately... it always felt like Rainmaker had our back.”
Managing Director
Transformation, Technology and Digital Department for International Trade
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