North East Lincolnshire Council (NELC) is implementing a new digital platform, Liquid Logic (System C) across all education services. The new platform will bring together information about children into a single joined-up record. A fundamental part of the programme was the creation and transition to a new parent portal that families would use to submit school applications. 

To ensure the new portal genuinely met user needs, the team tested a clickable digital prototype with local parents before launch. This allowed real users to complete key tasks and provide feedback, helping the council improve usability, content clarity, and system configuration before the live release.

The testing involved 11 local parents working alongside a service designer, user researcher, data officer, and project manager. The session took place during the wider rollout programme (2023–2026), with three weeks of preparation, one day of testing, and rapid follow-up changes implemented within two days.

The improvements had measurable impact: following launch, 95% of applications were submitted online, exceeding the original 90% target. Feedback from parents directly led to nine content improvements, six configuration changes, and visual adjustments that made key steps clearer and easier to complete.

Clickable digital prototyping was used to simulate the parent portal experience before the platform went live.

Parent volunteers were recruited through an existing council network and invited to structured in-person testing sessions. Participants received login details and completed realistic tasks using the prototype while thinking aloud, allowing the team to observe where users hesitated, became confused, or needed additional guidance.

Feedback was collected through a combination of observation notes, paper surveys, Microsoft Forms, and informal discussion. After the sessions, findings were synthesised and shared with the platform development team. Improvements were then prioritised collaboratively, balancing user impact, technical feasibility, and statutory timelines, ensuring the most critical usability issues were addressed before launch.

To maintain transparency and build trust, the team ran a “show and ask” session inviting participating parents and colleagues, demonstrating how their feedback had influenced the final design.

Digital prototyping enabled the council to test the real user experience before launch, reducing risk and improving service quality. It also demonstrated the value of user-centred design internally, helping teams see how involving residents early leads to better outcomes and stronger adoption.

The testing sessions also strengthened collaboration between designers, researchers, developers, and service teams by creating a shared evidence base for decision-making and prioritisation.

1. Cross-disciplinary collaboration enabled rapid implementation of improvements. The service designer, user researcher, data officer, and project manager were all involved in planning and running the session, allowing feedback to be quickly translated into system changes.
2. Access to an existing parent network enabled fast recruitment. Parent volunteers were identified through established council engagement channels, making it possible to organise testing within a short preparation period.
3. Tight statutory timelines constrained the number of testing rounds. Admissions deadlines meant there was limited flexibility for additional iterations, requiring the team to prioritise changes carefully before launch.
4. Participant diversity was limited. Most participating parents were digitally confident and already familiar with council services, highlighting the need to begin recruitment earlier in future projects to involve a broader range of families.
5. Prototype testing provided clear evidence of the value of user involvement. Parent feedback directly informed nine content changes, six configuration changes, and visual improvements that shaped the final portal design.
6. Planning time for post-testing implementation increased impact. Time had been set aside after the testing session to review feedback and make changes, enabling improvements to be implemented within days.
7. Sharing results with participants and colleagues strengthened engagement. A follow-up “show and ask” session demonstrated how feedback had influenced the final design, helping build trust and encouraging future participation.