Summary
As part of a MHCLG funded transformation programme, we were tasked with redesigning an outdated, manual planning system into one fit for the 21st century. Planning officers were grappling with systems that didn’t meet their needs. They were spending a lot of time on manual tasks and dealing with the impacts of human error. Our brief was to deliver a planning service designed by its users, in this case local authority planning officers. We took a radical approach of embedding with a team of subject matter experts, sharing knowledge around digital and agile as we went. This approach meant that user needs drove every action we took but also that the transformation of thinking and approaches from agile and service design started to have an impact on the local authorities themselves. We developed a set of design principles to keep both user needs and our collective vision at the heart of the process with a focus on moving from documents to data, reducing ‘noise’ and bringing the right information to users at the right time.
Key Insights
-
•
Service designers should take responsibility for the long-term viability, not just initial functionality, of services they develop.
-
•
Embedding agile practices within public sector teams helps break linear, siloed development habits common in government.
-
•
Planning officers can evolve from domain experts to empowered collaborators and product owners within digital service teams.
-
•
Close interdisciplinary collaboration between designers and developers leads to shorter iteration cycles and better solutions.
-
•
Design principles focused on moving from documents to data and reducing noise guided development effectively.
-
•
Creating a platform that allows planners to assemble new application types themselves enabled rapid service expansion.
-
•
Service design scope needs to expand beyond users to include procurement, funding, policy, and ecosystem-level viability.
-
•
Building communities and coalitions across councils and government bodies is key to sustained adoption and service evolution.
-
•
Long-term impact includes up to 30% reduction in application processing time and fewer human errors.
-
•
Service designers must be flexible with roles and tools, focusing on learning and human-centered approaches to meet complex challenges.
Notable Quotes
"Should service designers have a role in the long-term viability of the services they develop? Our answer is yes."
"A viable service is one that not only functions well but can also develop, grow, and flourish."
"Rather than handing off work, our designers and developers work side by side through sketching, testing, and iteration."
"Planning officers became product owners, gaining confidence in agile and design processes through ongoing involvement."
"We shifted from building each application type individually to creating a platform that planners can use to build their own."
"Service design isn’t about the tools but the way of thinking to approach any problem with a humanist approach."
"Procurement in local government favors old, single-sale products, making adoption of new services challenging despite long-term savings."
"Our role shifted toward building communities that tackle common challenges and build a robust ecosystem."
"The coalition of the willing has organically developed into a community for change."
"Change is fundamentally about people—our approach lives out agile principles in service design to create a team that can build."
Dig deeper—ask the Rosenbot:
















More Videos

"Maybe we cannot orchestrate everything, but we can dance with the system."
John Mortimer Milan Guenther Lucy Ellis Patrick QuattlebaumPanel Discussion
December 3, 2024

"Unless it’s designed for digital use it’s not going to get widely shared throughout the organization."
Sean DolanA Practical Look at Creating More Usable Enterprise Customer Journeys
October 31, 2019

"Propose new IC roles like a design problem: identify the need, gather research, and try it as an experiment with retrospectives."
Catt Small Micah Bennett Brian Carr Jessica HarlleeWhat's Next for ICs: Exploring Staff and Principal Designer Roles
February 22, 2024

"There are 700 software providers selling to two million agents; most didn’t work until they did."
Greg PetroffDesign is the Differentiator: Bringing New Design Innovations to a Very Antiquated and Very Large Industry
June 9, 2021

"We’re not doing this for the good of research. Research is merely a means to an end."
Andy WarrUnder My (Research) Umbrella: The Benefits and Challenges of Building a Unified Insights Function
March 25, 2024

"The more participatory the practices, the deeper and more intentional the engagement needs to be."
Alexia Cohen Adriane AckermanIncreasing Health Equity and Improving the Service Experience for Under-Served Latine Communities in Arizona
December 4, 2024

"Anyone anywhere in an organization can lead as a servant leader if they have conviction to do so."
Kevin BethuneGatekeepers and Servant Leadership
January 30, 2020

"Conflict actually strengthens relationships if we choose to engage with it."
Laura WeissTurn Down the Heat: 3 Ways to Handle Conflict in the Moment
November 20, 2024

"Designers are in the system, not outside of it."
Sheryl CababaLiving in the Clouds: Adopting a Systems Thinking Mindset
June 6, 2023
Latest Books All books
Dig deeper with the Rosenbot
Where do operational boundaries typically break down, and how can early cross-discipline involvement help?
How can teams effectively collaborate between different ops functions across departments to improve communication?
What benefits does linking Storybook documentation with AI-generated code offer to development?