Digital by Default Slides

‘Digital by default’ in local public services

Martin Greenwood

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‘Digital by default’ How might local public services respond to the spirit of this central government policy? • Does our service need to meet such a standard? • How will our local services possibly be assessed against any equivalent standard? • What steps should local services now take now in this journey? • What if local services fail to meet the opportunities of going digital?

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The most important thing to have happened in our web world in 2013………………..

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The World’s Very First Website (1992)

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The World’s Very First Website (1992)

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2013

Design of the Year 2013 (Design Museum) The jury unanimously agreed that GOV.UK was the overall winner for its well thought out yet understated design, making the user experience faster and easier. The website is regarded as one of the leading government websites in the world. www.socitm.net

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Let next year be the year of simplicity! “Still the norm for a council home page is clutter, chaos and confusion. Menu after menu; overlapping subjects; cryptic labels; unexplained logos; important things hidden below the fold or buried in footers. Exhortations to ‘do it online’ or to ‘find it’ etc

But the answer is to simplify, de-clutter, reduce the number of menus, make things easier to use. Yes, top tasks are a good idea – but adding a top tasks menu in as a fifth or sixth way to navigate the home page is not that helpful. Better connected 2013 reviewer www.socitm.net

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Key principles • You should know what your top tasks are from evidence • The design of your site should be shaped around your top tasks • It should not be based on hunch, fashion or pressure from above! • The customer journey should be smooth, quick and accurate for all tasks.

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1

GDS principles of navigation • Focus on meeting user needs (not building websites!) • Be obsessed with user feedback and constant user testing • Prioritise common case (not the exception) • Achieve consistent user experience for all parts of online government (across the council)

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GDS mantra Digital services so good that all who can use them prefer to use them….

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GDS mantra Digital services so good that all who can use them prefer to use them…. and we would add Focus on the customer and savings will follow (Principle 1 on customer experience, Digital Insights) www.socitm.net

It’s not just about website design Going digital means: • Completely re-thinking service design from customer viewpoint • Web, mobile, social media etc • Major changes in ways of working at every level and in every service

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Digital by Default Service Standard • 26 criteria to meet, eg 1.

Understand user needs – conduct research to develop a deep knowledge of who the service users are and what that means for digital and assisted digital service design.

• To meet standard, ask if your service is: o completely new and/or being redesigned? o processing (or likely to process) more than 100,000 transactions every year? o responsibility of a central government department, agency or non-departmental public body? www.socitm.net

But local public services are different • • • • • • • •

Range of services Costs of enquiry handling and channel shift The line between front and back office Complexity of some services Impact of outsourcing Differences of scale Differences in local requirements Differences in democratic accountability

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Digital Insights Key principles 1. Customer experience 2. Service re-design 3. Engagement 4. Ways of working

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Supporting principles 5. Leadership 6. Capability 7. Demand management 8. Usability 9. System selection 10. Performance 11. Sharing 12. Agile working 13. Take-up 14. Assisted digital 15. Transparency

Digital Insights - key principles 1.

Focus on the customer and savings will follow

2.

Redesign services from first principles taking advantage of digital technologies

3.

Use ‘digital first’ for engagement with citizens and customers.

4.

Adopt digital techniques for internal working practices

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Service Design Manual Some 87 guides grouped under nine subjects: • agile • assisted digital • making software • measurement • operations • phases of service design • technology • team • user-centred design www.socitm.net

Service Design Manual: 5 useful examples 1 Writing government services GDS says: ‘The GOV.UK style guide tells you what writing conventions to adopt for GOV.UK. There’s also more general advice on how our users read and how to write for government services and transactions’ • Digital Content Guidelines from LocalGov Digital (October 2013) www.socitm.net

Service Design Manual: 5 useful examples 2 Job descriptions 3 Agile 4 Measurement 5 Assisted digital

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New report out yesterday from CLG…. Results of short survey (7 questions) with 200 respondents (councils and suppliers): • Impact of digital • Success criteria • Leadership • Strategy • Already digital • Tools and techniques • Barriers www.socitm.net

Important to success? 1. 2. 3. 4.

Digital leadership within my organisation Creating a business case for any digital‐led change An internal skilled digital resource to support and drive this work Sharing best practice and experience of developing local digital services 5. Leadership across local government about developing digital public services 6. Creating a guiding digital strategy for my organisation 7. Sharing of data / information between organisations 8. Access to shared digital assets 9. Hearing more about exemplars of digital success in public services 10. A pool of high quality suppliers of digital tools, skills and technologies 11. National government's digital strategy www.socitm.net

Our own in-depth survey in summer • Digital leaders from 50 invited councils • Responses from 30 councils • Workshop in September for participants from 20 councils • Overall, a patchy picture

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Adoption of digital principles

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Leading the way? East Riding of Yorkshire • • • • • •

Commitment from the top Shared objectives across the organisation Ambitious objectives Comprehensive programme of work Proven track record in customer service Also, a very good website

• Selected by LGA in 2012 as one of five in Future Councils programme www.socitm.net

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Better with less: Delivering local public services in this digital age • • • • • • • • • •

East Riding of Yorkshire Argyll & Bute Birmingham Buckinghamshire Edinburgh Hackney Islington Glasgow Newham Newport

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• • • • • • • • • •

Rhondda Cynon Taf Salford Shropshire Solihull South Tyneside Suffolk councils Surrey Swansea Tameside West London Alliance

and more

Better with less: Delivering local public services in this digital age

New report being prepared now Case studies welcome!

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‘Digital by default’ in local public services

Any comments?

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‘Digital by default’ in local public services

Thank you for your time

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