Catch up summary: User-centred design boot camp

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Lesson 1: What does user-centred design in government mean?

In lesson 1 we learnt that “Strategy is how we get from where we are now, to where we want to be. It’s as much about saying what we’re not going to do, as it is about deciding what we will do.” We also heard how “Strategy focuses the organisation’s efforts towards a common goal.” and that “User-centred design is one of your best tools to define that.” A good way to think about this is that the strategy is delivery, and user-centred design is the strategy to deliver the right things.

We also explored how design thinking is transforming the way public servants approach wicked problems by making them more intelligible and tangible. For example, in Tanzania design thinking has been applied to improve access to education for deaf children by designing agile, cost-effective policy responses with broad coalitions that have the user at their centre.

And finally, we saw how in the UK, Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service puts the user first when designing new services by working with user researchers to understand the experience of current users.

Lesson 2: Putting the user first

In lesson 2 we started by looking at six practices that public servants can follow to be more user-centric. They are:

1. Define the outcome you’re trying to achieve for your users, from their point of view
2. Understand what life is like for your users
3. Develop ways to test your assumptions about users’ needs, behaviours and opinions
4. Involve users by working with them to co-create policies and services
5. Observe users’ actual behaviour and feelings, in context
6. Deliver, test, learn and adapt

We then heard about five steps you can use to mainstream human-centred design in government. Use these strategies to get buy-in from your colleagues and your organisation:

1. Know your audience and build empathy
2. Calibrate the design thinking tools at your disposal to each audience
3. Before inviting anyone into a human-centred design initiative give everyone time to get confident and ready to think differently
4. Appreciate all levels of the bureaucracy; by working at all levels you make it easier to institutionalise reform
5. Identify champions who can promote human-centred design

And finally, we learnt three reasons why human-centred design is the best way to design policy. This is because human-centred design:

1. Shifts the blame for unsatisfactory outcomes from the user to the designer
2. Provides a structured process to improve design
3. Is an iterative process, meaning your ideas are never “finished” and implemented

Lesson 3: Using data in design

In this week’s lesson we take a look at how big data, nudges and human-centred design are changing the way governments reach scale. Data and human-centred design are helping public servants design interventions in a way that enables them to scale from the beginning. New technology and the increasing digitisation of government has also in turn improved our application of human-centred design by expanding access and enabling better segmentation of users, as well as deepening and sustaining engagement with them.

Another growing trend in human-centred design is using ethnography to go beyond simple surveys when designing policy. By being ‘on the ground’ physically in participants’ offices, village halls and living rooms, you get more data points through deeper observations and insights which provide a better understanding of the user.

To finish we hear from Sébastien A. Krier, Artificial Intelligence Policy & Governance Adviser in this video which explains why inclusive data practices are a must in the design process and what happens when you don’t ensure your data is inclusive.

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