Case Study
UX Research
Improving the search experience for a government platform by reducing cognitive load, increasing findability, and helping citizens reach the right information faster.
Visual system
Organized screens from the project.
Project overview
Municipal websites contain thousands of pages, documents, and services. Citizens often search for information using everyday language, while government content is organised around internal departments and policy terminology. This mismatch makes it difficult to quickly find relevant information.
The goal of this project was to redesign the search experience by improving information architecture, filtering, result hierarchy, and guidance throughout the search journey.
Focus
Search UX
Information Architecture
Accessibility (WCAG)
Government Services
Design System
User Research
Challenge
Users frequently received irrelevant search results or no useful results at all. Filters were difficult to discover, the overall hierarchy made it challenging to identify the most relevant information, and there was little guidance when no results matched the search.
At the same time, multiple municipalities shared similar challenges while maintaining different content structures and internal processes. The solution therefore had to be flexible enough to support different municipal websites without compromising usability.
Goals
Improve search relevance
Make filters easier to discover
Reduce cognitive load
Improve zero-result experience
Create a scalable solution for multiple municipalities
Ensure accessibility according to WCAG
Research
The project started with stakeholder interviews involving multiple municipalities to understand how citizens searched for information and where existing search flows failed.
Together with content specialists, product owners and municipal representatives, we analysed search behaviour, existing analytics, customer questions and common user frustrations.
The research focused on identifying recurring patterns instead of municipality-specific issues, allowing us to design a reusable search experience.
Process
The design process consisted of multiple iterative phases.
Discovery
I organised workshops with several municipalities to understand differences in content structure, priorities and existing search behaviour.
Analysis
Using existing analytics, user feedback and stakeholder input, I mapped the complete search journey and identified the largest friction points.
Ideation
Multiple concepts were explored around search hierarchy, filter behaviour, search suggestions and empty states. Early concepts were reviewed with stakeholders before moving into high-fidelity designs.
Validation
Interactive prototypes were tested internally and discussed with municipal stakeholders. Feedback was continuously incorporated into new iterations to improve clarity and usability.