Summary
Moving beyond the service blueprint or user journey map, this case study explores some of the more non-traditional outputs and outcomes driven by service design, particularly through the lens of creating long-term transformational change. Stefanie will overview a variety of recipes for achieving transformative outcomes at three levels within government agencies: the product/service experience, program-wide or platform initiatives, and fundamental agency technology operations. The challenges for each layer are unique, but also offer different opportunities for where service designers can achieve sustainable, real impact. We’ll explore specific examples achieved by a breadth of designers, product managers, and engineers working within government before exploring how this model might be replicated across other partner government agencies to achieve our vision of making more government services become as simple, effective, and accessible as possible.
Key Insights
-
•
Transformation design applies human-centered design at every layer of government service delivery, including technical infrastructure.
-
•
Nava focuses on building better foundations, not just better facades, to create lasting organizational change.
-
•
Agile iteration culture is still not universal in government and introducing it through design can shift entrenched waterfall mindsets.
-
•
Designers embedded within technical teams, like at the VA, enable faster release cycles by identifying friction points and co-developing support processes.
-
•
Program-level service design can unify cross-agency teams with shared language, playbooks, and frameworks to synchronize complex federal initiatives.
-
•
Simplifying processes such as cloud infrastructure onboarding can reduce provisioning from months to 48 hours, saving costs and increasing adoption.
-
•
Using plain language playbooks helps caseworkers across states better understand and administer programs like Medicaid and SNAP.
-
•
Designers at the deepest organizational levels can advocate for policy and procurement changes to eliminate bottlenecks and burnout risks.
-
•
Despite challenges, design advocacy at technical and operational layers can build allies over time and spread human-centered design practices across agencies.
-
•
The scale of government systems means design improvements can have massive impact reaching millions of users and affecting significant portions of GDP.
Notable Quotes
"Build better foundations, not better facades."
"The highest impact levers for long-term transformation exist in technical infrastructure and operations."
"Many federal benefit programs face challenges verifying income, causing stress and leaving billions in unclaimed benefits."
"Injecting a culture of agile iteration sets the precedent that things can and will change as the team learns."
"Designers can help cross-functional teams learn and grow together through building shared understanding and common language."
"Making onboarding easier at the infrastructure layer results in huge efficiency gains and cost savings."
"Designers embedded alongside technical teams can spot unseen issues in the spaces between operational silos."
"An agency developing shared technical infrastructure must market to itself why change is preferred, not just rely on top-down mandate."
"It can be hard for designers to immediately understand or advocate for the real value of design at deeper technical layers."
"What one government agency does often serves as the playbook for success at another."
Dig deeper—ask the Rosenbot:
















More Videos

"The design is how you show up in response to probing the system day in, day out."
John Mortimer Milan Guenther Lucy Ellis Patrick QuattlebaumPanel Discussion
December 3, 2024

"Most B2B research is done remotely and online, so we needed a tool that was easy to use without in-person facilitation."
Sean DolanA Practical Look at Creating More Usable Enterprise Customer Journeys
October 31, 2019

"If you’re sitting there thinking I need to build out this project and nobody else is saying the same thing, it means you have to do it, period."
Catt Small Micah Bennett Brian Carr Jessica HarlleeWhat's Next for ICs: Exploring Staff and Principal Designer Roles
February 22, 2024

"Most business winners are not the inventors but great integrators of existing ideas."
Greg PetroffDesign is the Differentiator: Bringing New Design Innovations to a Very Antiquated and Very Large Industry
June 9, 2021

"When the product team asked the UX research team to understand the needs of IT decision makers, we pointed them to existing market research."
Andy WarrUnder My (Research) Umbrella: The Benefits and Challenges of Building a Unified Insights Function
March 25, 2024

"Hiring team members with lived experience was key for authentic engagement and facilitating workshops."
Alexia Cohen Adriane AckermanIncreasing Health Equity and Improving the Service Experience for Under-Served Latine Communities in Arizona
December 4, 2024

"The market is a cultural mosaic diversifying faster than many teams can anticipate."
Kevin BethuneGatekeepers and Servant Leadership
January 30, 2020

"You can’t calm the other person until you’re calm yourself."
Laura WeissTurn Down the Heat: 3 Ways to Handle Conflict in the Moment
November 20, 2024

"Involving stakeholders with lived experience empowers design and enriches domain knowledge."
Sheryl CababaLiving in the Clouds: Adopting a Systems Thinking Mindset
June 6, 2023
Latest Books All books
Dig deeper with the Rosenbot
What does it mean for design ops to shift from managing existing processes to architecting infrastructure and cultural change at scale?
How can a large enterprise operationalize a business process transformation at scale?
How do differing incentives across research, product, design, and content ops affect collaboration?