What is guidance, and what’s support?
Guidance
Export Service guidance is content that allows users to self-serve information they need digitally.
We try to present guidance content in a similar way each time. We do this by applying content ‘patterns’. Patterns help us make sure guidance is clear and consistent.
Guidance is available to the public as well as authenticated users. It helps users:
- understand website context and use
- understand export requirements relevant to them
- access and complete authenticated, account-specific transactions.
Guidance is not just text content. Some common examples of guidance are:
- web content, like the unauthenticated space pages in the Export Service
- user interface (UI) design, like information architecture (IA) and navigation
- guides and guidelines, like this guide or a step-by-step process
- forms, like a tailored response to user inputs or a field’s hint text
- patterns, like the interactive guidance tool to Find an export guide for agricultural goods
- templates, like those in AgDS
- communications, like Austrade’s Export Service News page
- legal content, like disclaimers and consent content.
For more information, see Types of content.
Good guidance should:
- help users to feel confident to self-serve in most situations
- reduce unnecessary burden on support
- include triage pathways to support at key moments.
For more information, see the Guidance/support feedback loop.
Back to topSupport
When guidance is not enough to allow users to self-serve, they seek support. Support is human-led. Because of this, it’s resource intensive.
Our support channels or mechanisms in the Export Service include:
- feedback buttons, where users can submit instant comments on a page
- support desk phone and email interactions, including support desk scripts
- direct contact with business teams.
Guidance/support feedback loop
Users can self-serve using digital guidance first. If they need more help they can seek human-led support. We aim to:
- reduce the need for human-led support by improving guidance
- offer fewer, but more effective, pathways from online guidance to support.
Building a relationship between guidance and support:
- helps improve our guidance and support
- reduces Export Service support desk burdens now
- will continue to reduce the future need for human-led support.