Add a post about communicating changes to our interface (#267)

Author: frankieroberto

app/record-a-vaccination/2025/10/how-we-told-users-about-a-change-to-the-interface/coming-soon-email-section.png

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+---
+title: How we told users about a change to the interface
+date: 2025-10-03
+description: How we helped users adapt to a new interface through communications and a 2 month period of dual-running.
+opengraphImage:
+  src: /record-a-vaccination/2025/10/how-we-told-users-about-a-change-to-the-interface/record-vaccinations-new.png
+  alt: Text saying ‘Record vaccinations’ followed by ‘New’ in a blue box
+---
+
+For the autumn 2025 winter vaccination we made some major changes to the interface for recording and editing vaccination records.
+
+Whilst we were confident that the new interface would be simpler and easier to use, we know that changing things can be disconcerting, and some users may want reassurance.
+
+Here’s how we tried to resolve this by providing users with additional communications and guidance, and by allowing a 2 month period of dual-running of the old and new interfaces side-by-side.
+
+## Getting ready
+
+On 26 August we sent all users an email with the subject line ‘Get ready for autumn vaccinations’.
+
+This email contained a checklist of tasks for users to do, such as checking they can still log in, reactivating any users, and setting up their vaccine batches.
+
+It also contained a section titled ‘Coming soon’:
+
+![Screenshot of an email with the text: ‘Coming soon. We are continuously updating RAVS based on user feedback. Changes you can expect to see in the next couple of months include: an even simpler recording journey, an easier way to record multiple vaccinations for the same patient, longer sessions so you have more time before you are logged out. We'd love to hear your suggestions for other things we could improve. Please continue to give us your feedback.](coming-soon-email-section.png)
+
+## The week before
+
+On 25 September we sent all users a second email, this time purely focused on the new interface and containing some further details.
+
+![Screenshot of an email with the content: Dear FirstName LastName. In the first week of October, we're adding 2 new sections to RAVS: 1. 'Record vaccinations' will offer a simpler, quicker way to record vaccinations. 2. 'Records' will allow you to easily view and edit vaccination records. The current 'Find a patient' section will still be available for recording vaccinations and editing records until 30 November 2025. Find out more. Watch a video and read our updated guidance: Record vaccinations includes a short video plus a description of what you'll be asked and what has changed. Records describes how you can find and edit vaccination records. Kind regards,NHS Record a vaccination](new-way-to-record-vaccinations-email.png)
+
+The email linked to our [user guide](http://guide.ravs.england.nhs.uk) which described the 2 new sections.
+
+We’ve added a ‘New’ tag to help the new information stand out in the contents list for the user guide.
+
+![Screenshot of a webpage with the heading ‘How to use the Record a vaccination service’ followed by a contents list in which ‘Record vaccinations’ and ‘Records’ both have a ‘New’ tag next to them.](guidance-site-contents-list.png)
+
+The Record vaccinations guidance now also contains a short video which shows how the new recording journey works.
+
+![Screenshot of a webpage with the subheading ‘Video: Record vaccinations’ and an embedded video](record-vaccinations-video.png)
+
+## On launch
+
+On the 29 September, we launched the new interface for all users.
+
+We made the decision to not initially remove the old interface, which is labelled ‘Find a patient’. Instead, both the old and the new interfaces are available at the same time.
+
+The new sections are highlighted with ‘New’ tags in the header navigation:
+
+![Screenshot of a webpage with a blue header with an ‘NHS Record a vaccination’ logo and then a navbar with ‘Home’, ‘Find a patient’, ‘Record vaccinations (New)’, ‘Vaccines’, ‘Records (New)’.](dual-running-header.png)
+
+Making both interfaces for recording vaccinations available at the same time has the potential to cause confusion, but we hope that it gives users more flexibility on when to switch over to the new interface, rather than having to do it unexpectedly at the start of the busiest time of year for vaccinations.
+
+## Future plans
+
+We plan to retire the old ‘Find a patient’ interface on 30 November 2025.
+
+This date has been included in the guidance site, and we plan to additionally communicate it within the service by adding a panel to the top of each section:
+
+![Screenshot of a webpage with a banner on it saying ‘This new section makes it easier to record vaccinations. You can continue using Find a patient until 30 November 2025. Find out more (opens in new tab).’](new-section-banner.png)
+
+We may send some additional emails to alert users of the removal of the old interface if needed, depending on what our analytics show for how many of them have already switched over.
+
+After 30 November, we also will remove the ‘New’ tags from the header, and remove the guidance page for the old interface.
+
+
+
+