Optimizing for Outcomes: Transformation Design in Systems at Scale

Key Insights

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  Transformation design applies human-centered design at every layer of government service delivery, including technical infrastructure.

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  Nava focuses on building better foundations, not just better facades, to create lasting organizational change.

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  Agile iteration culture is still not universal in government and introducing it through design can shift entrenched waterfall mindsets.

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  Designers embedded within technical teams, like at the VA, enable faster release cycles by identifying friction points and co-developing support processes.

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  Program-level service design can unify cross-agency teams with shared language, playbooks, and frameworks to synchronize complex federal initiatives.

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  Simplifying processes such as cloud infrastructure onboarding can reduce provisioning from months to 48 hours, saving costs and increasing adoption.

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  Using plain language playbooks helps caseworkers across states better understand and administer programs like Medicaid and SNAP.

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  Designers at the deepest organizational levels can advocate for policy and procurement changes to eliminate bottlenecks and burnout risks.

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  Despite challenges, design advocacy at technical and operational layers can build allies over time and spread human-centered design practices across agencies.

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  The scale of government systems means design improvements can have massive impact reaching millions of users and affecting significant portions of GDP.

Notable Quotes