In most digital projects content is involved late. But agile methods create an opportunity to refocus content work on meeting user needs instead of publishing information. I was part of the team that developed GOV.UK, the single government website designed around user needs. Our content designers work in agile teams alongside developers, designers, researchers, and analysts. This shared ownership enables the team to create services that are simpler, clearer, and faster. Learn how to: - adapt agile principles to the needs of content-heavy websites - avoid the cult of volume by focusing on what your users need - lead an agile team by encouraging people to publish early and iterate

1. Lisa Scott
Product Manager
Government Digital Service
@lisa_e_scott
GDS

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4. • 9 million visitors every week
• home to ~350 departments
and agencies
• saving over £62 million a
year
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6. “Fix publishing”
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9. • start with user needs"
• build a multidisciplinary team"
• do the most important things
first"
• publish early and respond
quickly
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11. • page metrics"
• site-search data"
• external search referrers"
• customer feedback"
• user research
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16. https://www.gov.uk/government/
publications/govuk-proposition
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17. • evidence of demand?"
• does government need to do it (is
someone already doing it better?)"
• position in the hierarchy of need?
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20. • identify need"
• build a solution "
• test with users "
• measure performance"
• improve the solution
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22. https://github.com/alphagov/maslow"
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https://github.com/alphagov/
govuk_need_api"
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https://github.com/alphagov/info-frontend"
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23. • record a need"
• add evidence for demand"
• notes on how need will be met"
• URL of content that meets
need"
• performance statistics
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24. co-located,
multidisciplinary
team, not a linear
process
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27. • “the 15th week before the week in which the baby is due”
• “an amount which at least equals the lower earnings limit
which applies on the Saturday at the end of your qualifying
week”
• “you've been employed and/or self-employed for at least
26 weeks in your 'test period' (66 weeks up to and
including the week before the week your baby is due) -
part weeks count as full weeks”
• “you earned £30 a week averaged over any 13 weeks in
your test period”
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30. meeting user
needs ≠ publishing
information
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35. • publish early…how
early?"
• when is it good
enough?
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36. “I’ll know it when I see it”
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37. done ≠ finished
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39. done = publish when
the need is met
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40. •find the answer "
•understand the answer"
•know what to do next
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Focus on
user needs

50. • start with the needs, not with the information"
• unite as a team (not as a discipline)"
• research continuously and make decisions with
data "
• put the most effort into meeting the most
important needs first"
• publish early, not perfectly"
• respond quickly to trends in feedback
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51. GDS blog – http://gds.blog.gov.uk
Design principles – www.gov.uk/design-principles
Digital strategy – www.gov.uk/digitalstrategy
Service manual – www.gov.uk/service-manual
Performance – www.gov.uk/performance
Assisted digital – http://assisteddigital.blog.gov.uk
Digital inclusion – http://digitalinclusion.blog.gov.uk
Our code – www.github.com/alphagov
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52. Thanks!
"
Lisa Scott
@lisa_e_scott
GDS