Pipeline project show and tell

• The current phase of the pipeline project has come to an end, and we concluded it with a show and tell.

The purpose of the project…

• “To build a clear and consistent way of reporting and sharing the status and details of projects to enable collaborative working within local authority and public sector organisations”.

The process…

• Supporting Lydia at Rainmaker Solutions, we researched user needs, built a platform with the needs, tested it with users and used the feedback to make it more user-friendly.

Not knowing how something will turn out can be difficult, but it’s amazing (and bittersweet) to see how our small daily efforts turned into something great.

I’ll keep you updated on the next phase! In the meantime, learn more about the project here, and look out for our lead delivery manager Nic, who will be presenting the work at LocalGovCamp18.

Income collection Beta testing

• This week I attended the Income collection beta testing. Although I’m not actively involved in the project, I attend as an observer and support (if needed).

Having been a part of few rounds of testing, there are time when I’ve wanted to step in and guide the discussions back on track. However, sometimes learning entails making mistakes.

As stated by the delivery manager Dennis: “ It always amazes me the obvious things you can totally miss when you are designing a service. Don’t worry, the users will sort you out”.

If you’re looking to fail more.. Ideo has a few tips on how to fail successfully.

GDS accessibility empathy lab

• This week Richard our lead user researcher arranged a visit to the GDS accessibility empathy lab.

The lab is fully equipped with assistive technology and softwares, as well personas to highlight common barriers.

It’s easy to forget and design for a “fictional average user”, but the lab does a great job of reminding us of the common barriers to using something. Moreover, it brings awareness of hidden or not easy to perceive barriers.

The team is very keen to go back and test some of our work as well as building lab in Hackney!

We are hosting an event at Service design fringe festival 2018

• A few weeks ago I mentioned that I had submitted to host an event at Service Design Fringe festival 2018.

I’m pleased to announce that we have been selected to host on Thursday 18th October. I’ll post more details soon, but keep the date free =)

Personal development chat with Cate

• I recently asked Cate our head of delivery to be one of my mentors, as I admire her management and leadership skills.

This week we had a catch up, and it was nice to learn more about Cate and her journey. She also gave me loads of great tips and resources I could start with. You’ll find a lot of them on her medium page (Cate McLaurin).