◂ CONTENTS PROJECT 01 · GMCA · P. 3–8 IN DISCOVERY, IN DEVELOPMENT

PROJECT 01 · THE SYSTEMS UNDER A PUBLIC SERVICE

Beeline

Beeline?BEELINEThe Greater Manchester service that helps young people up to 25 explore careers and find a next step. is how we speak to young people about the MBacc?MBACCThe Greater Manchester Baccalaureate, a framework that shows young people technical and academic routes into work., Greater Manchester’s framework of technical and academic routes into work. It runs across the region’s ten local authorities and serves people up to 25 years old.

IN THE PRESSSchools to offer technical subjects to pupils from age 14 in England, Burnham saysBBC News, 27 July 2026

ROLE · PROGRAMME MANAGER, BEELINEMANCHESTER · 2026 – PRESENT
PROBLEMYoung people aged 14 to 18 are unsure what jobs exist and what qualifications they need.
MY PART
  • Discovery QuizLIVE
  • Beeline Unplugged?BEELINE UNPLUGGEDThe offline card toolkit version of Beeline, for groups with low digital access or additional needs.1,200 DECKS
  • Planner Board and its AI layerIN DESIGN
  • Features across the YEO portfolioNOW
OUTCOMEJob searches?WHY JOB SEARCHESA job search shows a young person knows which jobs to look for. The quiz shows them how they fit into the gateways and where to start, so they leave with a clearer idea of what to search for. Quiz finishers open more than twice as many job searches as visitors from the landing page. opened per visitor
Quiz finishers5.4
Landing page2.4
Phase 1 live since 8 July 2026.
THE JOB COVERED · APPROXIMATE SHARE OF MY TIME
DISCOVERY AND STRATEGYProblem model and roadmap
UX AND UIDiscovery Quiz and the Planner Board
AI FEATURESSuggested cards and nudges
SERVICE AND CO-DESIGNLandscape, blueprint, Unplugged, sessions
METRICSMetric ladder and Learning Moments
DELIVERYDesign assurance log and handoff
MORE ABOUT THE ROLE ▾
ROLEMANCHESTER · 2026 – PRESENT
JOB TITLEProgramme Manager, BeelineProduct lead across ten boroughs in the region of Greater Manchester
QUESTI lead the product and service design of Beeline: the problem model, the roadmap and the metrics framework. I designed the Discovery Quiz and Beeline Unplugged?BEELINE UNPLUGGEDThe offline card toolkit version of Beeline, for groups with low digital access or additional needs., and I am designing the Planner Board and its AI layer, matrix-managing the team building it.
TEAMWeb developer, user researcher, the wider digital team, the wider YEO team, and a commissioned creative agency.
JUMP TO THE QUIZ ON A PHONE ▸
SHIPPED · BUILT FOR WEB AND PHONES

The Discovery Quiz, on a phone

A young person lands on Beeline, answers four questions about what they enjoy, what they feel confident about and what matters to them in work, and sees three gateways to explore.

  1. 01
    Beeline landing page on a phone. Purple hero reading BEELINE, then in yellow: Are you aged 14-18? Unsure what jobs are available or what qualifications you need? Then Beeline is for you!
    LANDINGWho it is for, in one question.
  2. 02
    Start your journey panel with a Take the gateway quiz button, above a Creative, Culture and Sport gateway card listing Sports Coach, Graphic Designer and Sound Mixer.
    LANDING · GATEWAYSThe gateway cards load in a random order on each visit.
  3. 03
    Quiz step 1 of 4: How old are you? as three buttons, and Which borough do you live in? as a dropdown, with a Next button.
    STEP 1 OF 4Age and borough, with a line that there are no wrong answers.
  4. 04
    Quiz step 2: What do you enjoy most? Six statement cards in two columns.
    STEP 2What they enjoy: six statements, one pick.
  5. 05
    Quiz step 3: Which of these are you most confident about? Six statement cards.
    STEP 3What they feel confident about.
  6. 06
    Quiz step 4: In the future, what is important to you when you think of work? Six statement cards.
    STEP 4What matters to them in work.
  7. 07
    Your Beeline Quiz Results: three gateways, Digital and Technology, Education and Early Years, and Creative, Culture and Sport, with a Download next steps button and links to see all gateways or restart the quiz.
    RESULTSThree gateways, a next-steps download and an invitation to retake the quiz.
THE ROUTE

The whole learner experience, redesigned

Built on experience and journey mapping. One “I am…” selector, set by readiness and intent, anchors each journey, and every route ends in the Planner Board, where a young person’s plan lives.

  1. START“I am…” selectorReadiness and intent
  2. STOP 1Discovery GameOffline, in class
  3. STOP 2Discovery Quiz and resultsGateways?GATEWAYSThe seven broad sectors in the MBacc, like Digital or Financial, that young people explore careers through. chosen
  4. STOP 3Gateway pages and Employer HubReal jobs and routes
  5. STOP 4Next Steps GuideWhat to do next
  6. SAVE POINTPlanner BoardSuggested cards and nudges, a shared view for an adult
SAVE POINT · DESKTOP AND PHONE

My Plan, designed

The Planner Board is where a young person’s plan lives. They lay out the steps from their current subjects to the job they want, and share it with the adult helping them decide. I designed it for desktop and phone, shown here through one young person’s path at 16. The wireframe is in the rough work.

My plan

Saved on this device ✓
Share with an adult
I am …wanting to learn a trade or get a qualification ▾
Your gateways
Health and social care
Education and early years
Engineering and manufacturing
Construction and the green economy
✓Creative, culture and sport
Financial, business and professional services
✓Digital and technology
Retake the quiz
Sectors
✓Digital, creative and media
Manufacturing and technology
NHS, medical research and social care
Logistics and e-commerce
Business, finance and professional services
Green industries
Explore sectors
Cards to add
AllSubjectsActivitiesExperiencesCoursesJobsAmbitions
Job ambition

Games designer

from your quiz gateways
Subject

Art and Design GCSE

from your subjects
Course

Intro to data course

from the finder
Event

Digital careers open day

from the finder
Activity · suggested

Write for Curriculum for Life

Vacancy

IT support apprentice

from Employer Hub
Click a card to add it to the stage where it fits.
My journeyDigital and technology, Creative, culture and sport · 9 cards · every stage has a stepPlan complete ✓
Discover
subjects, tastersWhy this matters ▾
Subject

Maths

Subject

Computer Science

Explore
activities, volunteeringWhy this matters ▾
Activity

Code club

from the finder✓ done
Event

Game jam for 14 to 18s

from the finder✓ done
Connect
work experienceWhy this matters ▾
Experience

Work experience

from Employer Hub
+ Find one
Practisefocus
courses, qualificationsWhy this matters ▾
Apprenticeship

Data analyst apprenticeship, Level 4

from Employer Hub
Skills

My words and stories

from CV translator
Decide
apprenticeships, first jobsWhy this matters ▾
Vacancy

Data apprentice

from the finder
Keep going
ambitionsWhy this matters ▾
Ambition

Data scientist

More routes
Other ways lead to this ambition too. See routes →
GMACSFor employersFor providersAboutContactPrivacyAccessibilitySearch
DESKTOP · MY PLANEvery stage holds a step, with a More routes nudge on his ambition.
ON A PHONE · ONE PATH, FOUR SCREENSDylan, 16, wanting to learn a trade or get a qualification
  1. 01
    I am … wanting to learn a trade or get a qualification ▾

    My plan

    Saved ✓
    DigitalCreativeChange
    DiscoverExploreConnectPractiseDecide
    Practisefocus
    courses, qualifications · Why this matters ▾
    Apprenticeship

    Data analyst apprenticeship, Level 4

    from Employer Hub
    Skills

    My words and stories

    from CV translator
    ✦ Suggested: Intro to data course, online, 4 weeks
    My plan so far
    2Discover
    2Explore
    1Connect
    2Practise
    1Decide
    1Keep
    MY PLAN · PRACTISE IN FOCUSThe stage set by his I am… choice, with a suggested course marked ✦.
  2. 02
    I am … wanting to learn a trade or get a qualification ▾

    My plan

    Saved ✓
    DigitalCreativeChange
    DiscoverExploreConnectPractiseDecide
    Practisefocus
    courses, qualifications · Why this matters ▾
    Apprenticeship

    Data analyst apprenticeship, Level 4

    from Employer Hub
    Skills

    My words and stories

    from CV translator
    ✦ Suggested: Intro to data course, online, 4 weeks
    My plan so far
    2Discover
    2Explore
    1Connect
    2Practise
    1Decide
    1Keep

    Cards to add

    ×
    AllAmbitionsSubjectsActivitiesExperiencesCoursesJobs
    Job ambition

    Data scientist

    from your quiz gateways
    Job ambition

    Games designer

    from your quiz gateways
    Subject

    Computer Science GCSE

    from your subjects
    Subject

    Art and Design GCSE

    from your subjects
    Course✓ added

    Intro to data course

    from the finder
    Event✓ added

    Digital careers open day

    from the finder
    Qualification

    T Level in Digital

    from the finder
    Vacancy

    IT support apprentice

    from Employer Hub
    Experience

    Theatre backstage taster

    from the finder
    Activity · suggested

    Write for Curriculum for Life

    Tap a card to add it to the stage where it fits.Done (2 added)
    CARDS TO ADDCards from the finder and the Employer Hub; a tap adds each to the stage where it fits.
  3. 03
    I am … wanting to explore my interests ▾

    Planner

    Focus: Explore · from I am … · Change

    How you have grown

    ✦ AI summary · Edit
    Y6

    Code club, with his mum

    Making games
    Y9

    Computing and T Level Digital

    Routes compared
    Y11

    Game jam

    TeamworkProblem solvingResilienceReliable
    DiscoverExploreConnectPractise

    Game jam for 14 to 18s ✓

    Event · done · 3 words

    Creative

    Code club ✓

    Club · Tuesdays since Year 6 · 2 words

    Digital

    My words and stories

    Practise · 6 words, 4 stories

    Digital

    Saved to your account since 13 · MBacc award

    HOW YOU HAVE GROWNAn AI summary of what he has done since Year 6, which he can edit.
  4. 04
    GMACS

    Dylan's plan

    ExploreCode club · Game jam
    PractiseData analyst apprenticeship, Level 4
    DecideData apprentice · closes 30 Nov
    Keep goingData scientist
    Words he chose
    ReliableLeadershipCommunication
    "I help coach a junior football team every Saturday, so I turn up on time each week."
    How you can help
    Be a reference, if he asks
    Look at the opening before 30 Nov
    Go with him to an open day
    Talk about it
    What did you enjoy most at the game jam?
    What would you want to know about the Data apprentice job?
    Download as a PDF
    SHARED WITH AN ADULTRead only, showing what he chose to share, with ways the adult can help.
SYSTEMS ARTEFACTS

Understanding careers education in England and in Greater Manchester, and building a place-based service for it

Six artefacts that carry the work: how careers education actually behaves across a region, and what a young person needs from something built inside it.

01Service landscapeWhat the system is doing, the young person’s reality, what we build, and where it reaches.OPEN ▸02Problem modelA fear in a young person’s own words, traced to the people who carry it, the challenges it opens and the outcomes it resolves into.OPEN ▸03Decision trailOne barrier, the design decision taken against it, what the evidence then said, and what I did about the gap.OPEN ▸04Metric ladderFourteen metrics on a four-step climb, each one only moving up when the evidence allows it.OPEN ▸05MVP experience curveHow the Discovery toolkit felt to young people, phase by phase, from their own feedback.OPEN ▸06AI Conversational layerThe layer that reads a young person’s Planner Board and speaks about what is on it.OPEN ▸

PROBLEM MODEL · ONE SENTENCE, FOUR LAYERS

read left to right
6BarriersThe fear, in their own words. Written in a young person’s voice, never ours.
5PersonasWho carries it. One barrier can sit with two personas.
10Challenges“How might we…” questions. Every new proposal has to answer one of them.
24Outcomes“I can…” statements, from first steps to work-ready. They become the success measures.
METRIC LADDER

Five Learning Moments, one next-step rate

Engagement, Comprehension, Decision Quality, Confidence and Follow Through roll up into a Meaningful Next Step Rate?MEANINGFUL NEXT STEP RATEThe share of young people who go on to a real next step, rather than just using the service.. Each metric climbs one rung at a time, and only when the evidence allows it.

1 · NAMED
2 · DEFINED
3 · BASELINED
4 · TRENDED

SCORE SCREEN · TWO METRICS, IN ACTION

LM-03 · DECISION QUALITY
LAST YEAR20.9%
RANDOMISED17.2%

Sessions comparing two or more gateways, before and after the order of the gateway cards was randomised (z = −6.75, p < 0.001). Part of last year’s figure was people clicking the next card down, so the lower number is the truer reading.

BY GATEWAY · SESSIONS EXPLORING 2+ GATEWAYS · SCALE 0–50%
Digital and Technology≈35%
Engineering and Manufacturing≈35%
Finance, Business & Professional Services≈30%
Creative, Culture and Sport≈30%
Health and Social Care≈30%
Construction and the Green Economy≈25%
Education and Early Years≈20%
LM-05 · FOLLOW THROUGH
QUIZ5.4
BEST GATEWAY4.0
LANDING PAGE2.4

Job searches opened per person, by where they came from. The quiz does the job it was built for, so we adapted the user journey to include it.

read with Alex Edmans’ Ladder of Misinference: accurate, representative, conclusive, and does it hold everywhere?
ROUGH WORK · BEHIND THIS PROJECT · 6 SKETCHES ▾
ROUGH WORK · BEHIND THIS PROJECTFLIP TO THE ROUGH WORK ▸
LOOKING BACK

What I would do differently

I would settle each metric’s definition and tracking before a feature ships. Part of last year’s gateway comparisons came from people clicking down a fixed list, and the follow-through measure was redefined in August 2026, so nothing earlier can be compared. Now each claim is tagged with the rung of evidence it reaches, and the definitions stay fixed so Greater Manchester can build a year-on-year read of what young people move towards.

STAGES CLEARED · 6/6

Where I work across the lifecycle

  1. 01 · DISCOVER ✓
    • Landscape map of GM careers education
    • Problem model
  2. 02 · PROTOTYPE ✓
    • Unplugged offline toolkit
    • Discovery quiz and game
  3. 03 · PILOT ✓
    • Testing in schools, colleges and youth settings
    • Launch & Learn?LAUNCH & LEARNThe pilot where Beeline was tested with schools, local authorities and youth organisations across all ten boroughs. across ten boroughs
  4. 04 · VALIDATE ✓
    • Design assurance?DESIGN ASSURANCECollecting feedback from partners and young people in one log, so each point leads to a fix, a research question or a decision. rounds with young people
    • Show & Tells
  5. 05 · BUILD ✓BEYOND THE BRIEF
    • Roadmap and feature map
    • Developer and supplier handoff
  6. 06 · MEASURE ✓BEYOND THE BRIEF
    • Learning Moments?LEARNING MOMENTSFive stages of progress that Beeline measures, from first exploring careers to taking a real next step. and next-step rate
    • A metrics framework that checks itself

All six stages, from mapping the system to the metrics the board reads.