Transforming the Home Office with user centred design and agile Head of User Research and Design – Katy Arnold, @katyarnie Head of Service Design – Kate Tarling, @kateldn

Revolution not evolution.

Think about the whole system Image from https://gds.blog.gov.uk/2015/08/18/mapping-new-ideas-for-the-digital-justice-system-2/

Users include people who help deliver the service

Understand people’s lives first

Do contextual research

Find out what people are doing, what’s good, bad. Opportunities. Find out that checking passports can happen on a bus

How users think, feel, behave How we support How might we..?

What do actual user needs look like? As a user I need to get my passport so that I can prove my identity / travel

> Send it by post when it’s ready?

What do actual user needs look like? I live in a big shared house and I’m worried about who has access to my mail. And I work so I might not be there anyway. And my flight is on Weds.

> Delivery by post? > Secure collection points? > Same day service around work hours?

Thinking about only one part of a problem causes bigger problems.

Key life stages and major transitions Moving to the UK Getting a job or employing someone Moving home

Understanding what users need from government. Not just what a department needs from users.

Reframe the problem

● Who are the users? ● What are people actually trying to do? ● What outcomes do people want? ● What outcomes does government want? ● How will we know if it works? Key metrics?

Doing less but doing better things

A service ● Is a verb not a noun ● Has a beginning, middle and an end ● Not just the digital part ● Has a policy intent ● Is usable by anyone who needs it ● Can work across all channels

Common service patterns ● Getting permission to do something ● Checking entitlements ● Asserting my right to… ● Proving things about myself (identity, income) ● Meeting the rules ● Enforcing rules

Some ways in which services fail

● Manual processing ● Contact because things aren’t clear ● Contact to find out what’s happening ● Repetition ● Hours wasted of people’s time

Most of the time a better service is a more efficient service

Reducing this.

1. Passport 2. Photo 3. Employers  le4er 4. Le4er  of  invita;on 5. Bank  deposit  cer;ficate 6. Bank  statement 7. Property  cer;ficate 8. Marriage  cer;ficate 9. Re;rement  cer;ficate 10. Family  book  (Hukou) 11. Business  registra;on  cer;ficate 12. Car  insurance 13. Cer;ficate  of  rela;onship  to  parents 14. U;li;es  bills,  P60  council  tax  bill

1. Passport 2. Photo 3. Employers  le4er 4. Le4er  of  invita;on 5. Bank  deposit  cer;ficate 6. Bank  statement 7. Property  cer;ficate 8. Marriage  cer;ficate 9. Re;rement  cer;ficate 10. Family  book  (Hukou) 11. Business  registra;on  cer;ficate 12. Car  insurance 13. Cer;ficate  of  rela;onship  to  parents 14. U;li;es  bills,  P60  council  tax  bill

25% Reduction in paper documents needed for a visa application

Ask for a small, specific thing

What user researchers and designers do in discovery, alpha, beta. By @leisa

Show rather than tell

Seeing the team building things and learning, every week

Rather than talk about opinions, see whether something is good or bad by doing it

What? No one knows what this means

What? No one knows what this means

Oh, I need to pay in case I see a doctor

Seeing the team building things and learning, every week

Some ways to measure •  Cost per transaction •  Hours spent doing something •  Volume of transactions •  Able to complete first time •  Confidence in decision making •  Preference to use

Use design hypotheses and research to prove or disprove

There’s a government community making evidence-based design patterns https://designpatterns.hackpad.com

Changing the way people do things

Use numbers of things

1 user researcher per agile team or user journey

User research from week 1

Exposure hours: 2 hours every 6 weeks

Do user research every sprint 5 people for interviews and/or usability testing

Focus on users. Not just on writing stories.

Changing how we speak and communicating more.

User experience is not one person’s job title. People who hold budgets, set deadlines, make policy can have more impact on experience than a designer - @leisa

Better not to do user research than research that has no impact. Don’t show that it’s optional, not that useful or that it can be ignored.

Summary •  Understand people’s lives first •  Do less but do it better •  Show rather than tell •  Change how people do things •  Change how we speak and communicate more

Thanks Head of User Research and Design – Katy Arnold, @katyarnie Head of Service Design – Kate Tarling, @kateldn And thanks to @leisa and @jwaterworth