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User-centred Design
Civil Service Learning workshop02.06.2015
TheSession
On the 2nd June 2015 the Policy Lab and the Government Digital Service led a workshop organised by Civil Service Learning to help co-design and develop a specification for a user-centred design (UCD) course as part of the Civil Service Learning offer from April 2016. During the session the Lab outlined some early thinking on what this offer might look like and then worked to revise and define it, bringing in user perspectives, exchanging knowledge and generating ideas. A mix of learners and training experts worked collaboratively to develop 6 pen portraits of potential users, create over 40 ideas and come up with 12 definitions for user-centred design. This summary provides a snapshot of the session.
Creating pen portraits
Pen portraitNiall and Linda
Niall is a COO and Linda is a Chief of Staff. They are preparing for a spending review and want to work out how to achieve cost reductions while delivering a business that is responsive to user needs. They have technical qualifications, supplemented by an MBA for Niall and a background in education and customer service for Linda.
Both have a limited awareness of UCD and not much spare time so are unlikely to be willing to get into the detail before a short, compelling exposure to gain an understanding of what it is and why they should/need to use it.
Ideally, after the course Niall would like to:•Be in a position to manage change more effectively•Know how to commission UCD projects•Articulate what UCD is, why use it and be able to inspire others. For Linda, who will do much of the planning, it will be key to:•Be able to operationalise UCD – how best to apply it and when/where/to what problem - and understand the resources involved•Know how to manage UCD alongside other approaches •Ensure the use and take up of UCD approaches more widely. For them UCD is… “A way of generating and using a clear picture of the person at the end of your line… and ensuring that the changes we make and the services we provide work for our customers”.
Pen portraitNiall and Linda
Pen portraitSusan
Susan is an operations person responsible for ensuring that performance is maintained against KPI’s through periods of change and is currently working on maintaining levels of service whilst moving through the Legal Aid Agency reforms and workplace transformation.
She is quite confident using social media and e-learning, although mobile apps might be trickier. She is motivated to learn in order to further develop her skills and is particularly interested in understanding what UCD is, why she needs it and what are the techniques that can help her apply it in her day job, especially where it comes to problem-solving and change management. She tends to learn best through concrete experience and active experimentation.
Pen portraitSusan
Ideally, after the course she would like to:•Be in a position to better identify where individuals are on a change curve and support them•Motivate the staff and team, and develop them effectively through periods of change•Deliver key messages and inspire others For her UCD is… “The way we design and apply the tools we need to manage change and engage staff in the process.”
Pen portraitSarah
Sarah is a stats officer at the Department of Health (HEO/SEO level) and is currently working on developing more effective, evidence-based policies. She is a maths grad and previously worked for an NGO.
She is relatively confident with social media and mobile apps but more so with e-learning. Her main goals would be to get a broad understanding of UCD and how to uncover user needs.
Pen portraitSarah
Ideally, after the course she would like to: •Know how to ask the right questions of users and gain confidence in doing this•Understand user behaviour and know if her stats are usable •Build better relationships with policy colleagues•Be more efficient at her job •Be able to transfer knowledge to colleagues For her UCD is… “A methodology to find out what a problem actually is, rather than what you think it might be, from your users’ perspective.”
Pen portraitJenny
Jenny is a work coach at DWP. Her role is in delivery and cost service and she is currently working on helping customers into work in order to improve their lives. She previously worked at a contact centre and is quite confident on e-learning and mobile apps but less accustomed to using social media for work.
She wants to learn about UCD in order to improve her confidence in the judgements she is making, help her in handling customer conversations and create more ideas for improvements to services. Her main motivations for learning are to do what is best for the customers and to grow in her role; she tends to learn best through concrete experience and reflective observation.
Pen portraitJenny
Ideally, after the course she would like to be able to: •See the bigger picture•Improve staff morale and engagement•Lead for the department in serving customers•Improve customer service and outcomes•Save money•Build relationships, network, share experiences and good practice For her UCD is… “A process where design teams go about understanding users, their environments and their goals and use that information to design better stuff… walking in your customers’ shoes”.
Pen portraitDerek
Derek is a social researcher in a policy team at the Department of Energy and Climate Change and he is currently working to apply research in the development of policies to help householders move to low carbon heating, e.g. heat pumps.
He wants to know what UCD is, why it is relevant to his work and what specific techniques he can use to apply customer insights in the development of usable policies. He is also interested in collaborative engagement approaches. His main learning motivation is, as a social researcher, to see policy built on insights and he learns best through concrete experience and active experimentation.
Pen portraitDerek
Ideally, after the course he would like to: •Know the role that user-centred design has •Be able to sense-check policies from user perspective; will they be easy to use?•Having techniques that feel more robust and knowing when to apply them •Know when UCD doesn’t apply or when to stop using it because it’s enough• For him UCD is… “Not just a mind-set and approach to designing policies but a set of tools we know how to apply and when”.
Other definitions of UCD….
“A process to create a service or product that understands and responds to individuals’ needs”. “Designing things with a focus on users”. “Creating things that reflect the wants and needs of people who use them.” “Finding out who your user is and what their latent needs are and converting this into insight.”
“How we design government services that actually meet user needs while delivery policy outcomes.”
Thank you, please keep in touch.
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@policyLabUK
