Embedding Service Design and Agile Practice within UK Planning Teams to Create Services that Last
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As part of a MHCLG funded transformation programme, we were tasked with redesigning an outdated, manual planning system into one fit for the 21st century.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."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"Start tinkering, playing around, and pushing AI’s limits because the industry shift is going to get faster."
Alnie FigueroaThe Future of Design Operations: Transforming Our Craft
September 10, 2025
"We are beginning to see cycles of history repeat themselves in accessibility, especially in gaming and AR/VR."
Sam ProulxTo Boldly Go: The New Frontiers of Accessibility
March 11, 2022
"I’m totally freaked out by facial recognition and wonder why we don’t get together as consumers to push back on bad designs."
Alexandra SchmidtWhy Ethics Can't Save Tech
November 18, 2022
"Participants want to take ownership of their stories and demand participatory, non-extractive, trauma-informed research methods."
Jemma Ahmed Megan Blocker Eduardo OrtizRedefining the research toolkit: Expanding methodologies for a changing world
March 12, 2025
"Could the Civic Design Library offer electronic book checkouts like the Toronto Public Library does?"
Ariel KennanCivic Design in 2022
January 13, 2022
"Research is too important to fail."
Jemma AhmedResearch at an inflection point: Adapting to a new era of collaboration, equity, and innovation
March 11, 2025
"All designers have responsibility to communicate upstream and downstream, sharing their work context and contributing to the DP&M system."
Ellie Krysl Jon FukudaPlanned Right. Managed Right. Designed Right.
June 6, 2023
"If you’re not the solution, you’re the problem."
Cheryl PlatzCollaborative Creativity through Improv
November 7, 2018
"Building on AI and generative AI means giving up control."
Katie JohnsonDisrupting generative AI products with just-in-time consumer insights
June 4, 2024
