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Revolutionising GOV.UK

Paul Annett Creative LeadUK Government Digital Service (“GDS”)

https://twitter.com/revdancatt/status/164475286111518720nicepaul@

How’s that for a quote! Not entirely accurate, but there is something incredible happening here.

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That’s me. The Government Digital Service is right at the heart of the UK government.

http://flic.kr/p/55dAUSnicepaul@

Routemaster busLet’s take a look at some classic British designs…

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London tube mapLet’s take a look at some classic British designs…

http://flic.kr/p/MteqMnicepaul@

Red telephone boxLet’s take a look at some classic British designs…

http://flic.kr/p/9wFCAgnicepaul@

British Rail trainLet’s take a look at some classic British designs…

http://flic.kr/p/9wFCAgnicepaul@

London taxiLet’s take a look at some classic British designs…

http://flic.kr/p/e6YpZxnicepaul@

Road sign systemLet’s take a look at some classic British designs…

http://flic.kr/p/ajdgnynicepaul@

Even our sewers...Let’s take a look at some classic British designs…

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Public sector web design is a different story.This is the old government site for businesses.

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And the old government site for everyone else.

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Hundreds of old department sites. It was expensive, hard to find stuff & hard to use.

In 2011, 1 in 5 phone calls to government helplines were as a result of failed online transactions.

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For one particular digital service, each user had to call the helpline on average SEVEN times.

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Improving digital services [and developing in-house] will save £1.7 to £1.8 billion per year.

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Source: Digital Efficiency Report, 2012http://publications.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/digital/efficiency/

It’s unacceptable that [with large IT suppliers]changing one line of code in one application could cost up to £50,000.

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Chris Chant, former G-Cloud Programme Director

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Source: audio at 8m00shttp://digital.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/listen-to-chris-chant

1,700 central government websitesclosed in 2011/2012.

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In a 2010 report, the UK government’s “Digital Champion” Martha Lane Fox called for revolution,not evolution in online public services.

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1. Create GDS2. Fix publishing3. Fix transactions4. Go wholesale

Recommending:

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Single place online for all government services and information

The Cabinet Office should have absolute control of the user experience across all digital channels

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Source: Martha Lane Fox’s reporthttp://bit.ly/marthas-report

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Some obvious ones

driver’s licencespassportspensionsbenefits

taxes

There are 660 different government services

http://flic.kr/p/dtxfW3nicepaul@

Register to voteNot yet online, but would be useful for a huge audience so we’re working on it.

http://flic.kr/p/7KwatNnicepaul@

Burial at seaOnline service pre-dates GDS, and used only 10 times last year! Important to prioritise...

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We’re prioritising services to fix, using datahttp://transactionsexplorer.cabinetoffice.gov.uk

exemplarservices

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We’re helping teams from departments around the country raise the bar for digital services.

http://flic.kr/p/tRSgxnicepaul@

EcommercePrivate sector digital transactions =

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“Grudge transactions”Public sector digital transactions =

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What is the government committing to?http://publications.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/digital

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What came after Martha’s report?Alpha (public) – proof of concept to gain support.

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Beta (public) – first steps towards a live site.

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Released site, autumn 2012.

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Government Digital Service

Design Principles

By publishing design principles we’ve changed how stakeholders think and talk about design.

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Design Principle 1

Start with needs* user needs, not government needs

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The Government Digital Service is committed to ensuring that, as we reform the delivery of public services, they are designed around the needs of the user rather than, as has been far too often the case in the past, being designed to suit the convenience of the government.Minister for Cabinet Office, speaking in the House of Commons

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Analyse search terms to find what users need.

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The old site wasn’t designed around user needs, all information was presented equally.

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The new site is designed to highlight the most commonly needed information.

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Design Principle 2

Do less

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We shouldn’t give broad advice on specialist subjects, like this old page about keeping bees.

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Niche topics like how to identify a wave are covered in more depth by experts elsewhere.

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We needn’t give common sense advice like“wrap up warm or go indoors if you get chilly”

http://flic.kr/p/8u6JwEnicepaul@

US gov also closing unnecessary websites to save taxpayers’ money. Search for fiddlinforesters.gov

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Design Principle 3

Design with data

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Don’t assume you know your users. Informal usability testing is better than nothing.

http://flic.kr/p/5QfsNznicepaul@

Your call centres will know exactly which parts of your website provoke most calls.

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Design Principle 4

Do the hard work to make it simple

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The old site presented complicated policies, left people to work things out for themselves.

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The new site asks a few questions and only gives the information that a user needs.

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Example from twitter.com/signupnicepaul@

Being helpful can unwittingly expose information about users. Avoid this on high risk services.

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Design Principle 5

Iterate, then iterate again

http://flic.kr/p/bw8oGmnicepaul@

Websites aren’t space rockets, taking years to build and launch with no hope of changing them later.

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Betaiteration 1

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Betaiteration 2

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Betaiteration 3

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Betaiteration 4

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Site design at launch. More changes to come. Details at: http://digital.cabinet-office.gov.uk

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Design Principle 6

Build for inclusion

Inclusive design is good design for everyone.

http://flic.kr/p/8Bt1HGnicepaul@

Those who need government services most are the most vulnerable & hardest to reach.

http://flic.kr/p/p4y94nicepaul@

Consider content to meet access needs, not just technically accessible websites.

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In 1997 I retracted the guideline to avoid scrolling pages because users had acclimated to scrolling on the Web.Today, users will scroll.

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Jakob Neilsen, 2010

But novices haven’t learnt how the web works.Do your own research based on your audience.

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Design Principle 7

Understand context

http://flic.kr/p/DvVuXnicepaul@

Context isn’t just about responsive design. Think about environments and emotions.

http://flic.kr/p/daTjSDnicepaul@

We design for users who are suffering or under stress. Death, disability, taxes, etc.

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Design Principle 8

Build digital services, not websites

http://flic.kr/p/dP8uhAnicepaul@

What can we do digitally to make user’s lives easier? It’s not just about making websites.

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Design Principle 9

Be consistent, not uniform

http://flic.kr/p/a8QSttnicepaul@

Create designs consistent with underlying principles, not rigidly constrained by a styleguide.

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Guides and resources on how to build good government services: http://gov.uk/servicemanual

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Design Principle 10

Make things open (it makes things better)

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If we give away our code, we’ll be repaid in better code. We open source all we build.

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British public sector design projects have always inspired governments around the world

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London, 1933

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Paris

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Moscow

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Madrid

Tokyo

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Sydney

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Washington DC

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http://flic.kr/p/9ZSaAnnicepaul@

UK had a mish mash of road signs until government made them consistent, inspiring…

…Greece

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Kournas_road_sign.jpgnicepaul@

…Australia

http://flic.kr/p/aFiw26nicepaul@

…UAE

http://flic.kr/p/i6JKVnicepaul@

http://flic.kr/p/dGF4onicepaul@

I’m not saying we always get it right! I’m not saying GOV.UK is as iconic as these projects.

www.gov.uk@ nicepaul UK Governmentnicepaul@

But with governments visiting us from around the world, maybe we can start a design revolution.

WEBSITE

www.gov.ukDESIGN PRINCIPLES

www.gov.uk/designprinciplesSERVICE MANUAL

www.gov.uk/servicemanualDIGITAL STRATEGY

publications.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/digitalBLOG

digital.cabinetoffice.gov.ukCODE

github.com/alphagovTWITTER

@GDSTeam

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Useful links

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Paul Annett Creative LeadUK Government Digital Service