CHSP Meal Provider Network — ERP System

GoSource rescued and rebuilt a distressed ERP product for the CHSP meal provider network so essential in-home services could continue with confidence.

Challenge

The Commonwealth Home Support Programme (CHSP) comprises a network of not-for-profit providers, including the largest network of in-home meal providers in Australia (Meals on Wheels), enabling many elderly Australians to live independently. After a necessary one-time subsidy of $78M to keep the service afloat during the Covid-19 pandemic, the Department of Health undertook a “Future Fit” transformation programme to enhance the resilience of the meal provider network. The programme included a digital product development component that had become a distressed project by late 2023 — the incumbent digital product team was behind schedule, the system was unstable, relationships with stakeholders were deteriorating, and continuity of in-home services for vulnerable Australians was in jeopardy. GoSource was engaged in November 2023 to rescue the product under challenging circumstances with a compressed timeframe.

Solution

GoSource deployed a multi-disciplinary team supported by six staff covering design, user experience, user research, change, transformation, development, implementation, and quality management. The team was embedded in the operations of a CHSP meal provider site that was struggling with the first version of the digital product, gaining first-hand understanding of the complex stakeholder network: recipients of in-home care, their families and communities, volunteers and staff delivering services, and suppliers.

• User-centred design: Low-fidelity mock-ups articulated UX designs based on user stories and a user-story map; qualitative and quantitative user research prioritised features
• Rapid prototyping: Features were rapidly prototyped in a low-fidelity back-end system to test operational hypotheses in the live production environment
• Design system: A comprehensive design system was developed with high-fidelity mock-ups and a reusable UI component library employed consistently throughout the application
• Parallel delivery: Design, re-platforming, and re-development activities ran in parallel to meet the compressed timeframe

Outcomes

• Sprint 1 (fortnight): Mapped stories and low-fidelity designs for the entire current system; highest priority missing features designed and under test; automated build, test, and deployment to a new cloud environment operational; functional prototypes of highest priority new features demonstrated to users
• Sprint 6 (3 months): An entirely new system in production — fit for purpose, ergonomic, and confidence-inspiring MVP with all essential features plus convenience features to support Future Fit programme goals
• Design artefacts delivered: Prioritised backlog, design guide, and other artefacts ready to support ongoing collaboration and post-MVP feature delivery
• Stakeholder trust restored: The team’s responsiveness and hands-on support was deeply appreciated by end users and seen by the broader network as a key factor in successful delivery
• Open-source sustainability: System released as free, open-source software through an independent charity; governance and operations established with existing vendors and organisations to support a long-term sustainable FOSS programme now led by established MoW sector executives

Technologies & Methods

• Agile delivery (2-week sprints, multi-disciplinary team)
• User research (qualitative and quantitative)
• UX design (low-fidelity mock-ups, user-story mapping)
• Design system with reusable UI component library
• Rapid prototyping in production environment
• Cloud deployment with automated CI/CD
• Open-source software (FOSS)

Team Size

6+ staff (multi-disciplinary team with senior design lead plus specialised design, UX, and user research roles)

Sustainability

Australia’s Meals on Wheels network comprises 350 independent charities operating 600 distribution centres. For the system to be sustainable beyond the Future Fit programme, the community needed to support, operate, and enhance it without dependency on any single vendor. GoSource worked with an independent charity to release the system as free, open-source software and helped establish governance for a long-term FOSS programme, now led by established MoW sector executives.