Personalised interaction: RAF case study

At the heart of good interaction design is making complex processes simple and enjoyable – and relevant to each and every user.

Below is an example of how we’ve done this in practice – in this case as part of our digital delivery for the RAF (see RAF case study).

The tools shown below make the complicated (and potentially boring) job of sifting through around 70 different RAF jobs both easy and enjoyable. These vary from jobs aimed at school leavers to careers for degree-level professionals, and they cover dozens of professions (dentist, chef, musician, etc.). It’s not just about pilots!

We help direct users to the jobs which are most relevant and suitable for them. And by making the process intuitive and enjoyable, we can ensure that our users are fully engaged in the process, and not put off by it.

Here are some of the tools we’ve designed created to deliver this:

A. Job cards – unifying metaphor and tool

Every RAF career has its own Job Card. These can be viewed or collected across the site, and compared with one another at any stage.

As well as showing top-level information, the job cards link to case studies, interviews, live chats, etc. Job cards can be ‘flipped’ to reveal further information such as video interviews with real RAF staff who are doing the job in question.

The cards have variously been used across the RAF web estate, and are adaptable to the nuanced requirements of different sections. For instance the Job Cards on the RAF Reserves site flip to show a map for where applicants can apply.

There are a variety of integrated search and browse options to help users find the jobs of relevance and interest to them. These include:

B. Cover flow job selector

This uses an animating ‘cover flow’ of job cards, combined with three high level slider bars, which enable users to set and explore essential criteria (age, qualifications, etc,). As these sliders are moved, the available range of job cards updates automatically.

In this way, users can immediately see which job options are open to them.

C. Personality quiz

Here we combined the expertise of an Occupational Psychologist (who analysed more than 70 jobs and assigned Holland codes) with our interaction design team, to develop a customised (and fun to use) scenario-based personality quiz. This helps users match their personality-type and goals to the right job options for them.

The results, as always, are shown as collectable / viewable job cards.

The above is just one example of an integrated set of interactive tools which make a complicated and confusing career selection process both easy and enjoyable. Click here for more information on Binary Vision delivering all of the RAF’s websites and more.