Sizewell C: Accommodation Management System (AMS)
The brief
Having successfully designed, developed and launched the new public-facing website for the Sizewell C project at the start of 2023, it wasn’t long before we were called upon again for another ambitious web project. This time, our brief was to develop “Sizewell C’s version of Airbnb” where local people could register as accommodation providers and create ads, and SZC workers could register as accommodation seekers and find suitable rooms or properties.
A potential showstopper
This project was an integral part of the Development Consent Order (DCO) and therefore, the new AMS platform had to be online by 4th January 2024. The only issue was we couldn’t get started on it until late October and the Christmas break would be getting in the way, effectively giving us an 8-week window to spec it all out, design, build, test and launch it. No pressure then!
The design phase
Fortunately, we had already designed and built a demo of what an extranet PWA might look like for Sizewell C, which had already been approved by the Brand Manager, so we were able to expedite the design process by using this app-like look and feel for the AMS.
User flow diagrams
We quickly set about mapping the user journey and wireframing screens for each user type. We also had to design the admin functions in accordance with the requirements catalogue we received, which included a streamlined user approval process and detailed data capture for reporting purposes.
Building a fortress
As with our previous project with SZC, cybersecurity, compliance and governance standards were critical so we implemented heavyweight security protocols and put the AMS through rigorous penetration testing prior to launch.
UX embellishments
Due to the time constraints, we approached the AMS very much as an MVP that could be soft-launched, beta-tested and developed further post-launch; however, we managed to squeeze in some additional embellishments to enhance the user experience, including the ability for seekers to save/favourite ads, for providers to preview their ad as the seeker would see it, comprehensive search filtering for seekers, and a detailed reporting tool for admin users.
Front-end design & development
As well as login area dashboards for seekers and providers, we also had to create a front-end for the AMS platform comprising information pages and FAQs so people would know what they were signing up for. Again, we had an advantage here as we had already built a vast library of flexible content blocks for the public website which we could reuse with minimal modification.
The AMS platform has been live since the start of the year and so far the feedback from accommodation seekers, providers and the admin users responsible for approving users and adverts and managing the system day-to-day has been excellent. We look forward to continuing to work with the Sizewell C accommodation team to develop the platform further.
