How did a handful of web nerds kick-start a chain of events that will save the UK government billions of dollars each year? And how do 10 simple design principles underpin how the UK’s Government Digital Service is revolutionizing government online? Paul Annett, Creative Lead at the Cabinet Office, will discuss the cultural and technological shifts now underway, and how you can bring them to your workplace.

1. Revolutionising
GOV.UK
Paul Annett
Creative Lead
UK Government Digital Service (“GDS”)
@nicepaul UK Government

2. How’s that for a quote! Not entirely accurate, but
there is something incredible happening here.
@nicepaul https://twitter.com/revdancatt/status/164475286111518720

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

4. Let’s take a look at some classic British designs…
Routemaster bus
@nicepaul http://flic.kr/p/55dAUS

5. Let’s take a look at some classic British designs…
London tube map
@nicepaul UK Government

6. Let’s take a look at some classic British designs…
Red telephone box
@nicepaul http://flic.kr/p/MteqM

7. Let’s take a look at some classic British designs…
British Rail train
@nicepaul http://flic.kr/p/9wFCAg

8. Let’s take a look at some classic British designs…
London taxi
@nicepaul http://flic.kr/p/9wFCAg

9. Let’s take a look at some classic British designs…
Road sign system
@nicepaul http://flic.kr/p/e6YpZx

10. Let’s take a look at some classic British designs…
Even our sewers...
@nicepaul http://flic.kr/p/ajdgny

11. Public sector web design is a different story.
This is the old government site for businesses.
@nicepaul UK Government

12. And the old government site for everyone else.
@nicepaul UK Government

13. Hundreds of old department sites. It was
expensive, hard to find stuff & hard to use.
@nicepaul UK Government

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

15. For one particular digital
service, each user had to
call the helpline on
average SEVEN times.
@nicepaul UK Government

16. Improving digital services
[and developing in-house]
will save £1.7 to £1.8 billion
per year.
Source: Digital Efficiency Report, 2012
http://publications.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/digital/efficiency/
@nicepaul UK Government

17. “ It’s unacceptable that
[with large IT suppliers]
changing one line of code
in one application could
cost up to £50,000.
Chris Chant, former G-Cloud Programme Director
Source: audio at 8m00s
http://digital.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/listen-to-chris-chant
@nicepaul UK Government

18. 1,700 central
government websites
closed in 2011/2012.
@nicepaul UK Government

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

20. Recommending:
1. Create GDS
2. Fix publishing
3. Fix transactions
4. Go wholesale
@nicepaul UK Government

21. “ Single place online for all
government services and
information
“ The Cabinet Office should
have absolute control of
the user experience across
all digital channels
Source: Martha Lane Fox’s report
http://bit.ly/marthas-report
@nicepaul UK Government

22. There are 660 different government services
Some obvious ones
driver’s licences
passports
pensions
benefits
taxes
@nicepaul UK Government

23. Register to vote
Not yet online, but would be useful for a huge
audience so we’re working on it.
@nicepaul http://flic.kr/p/dtxfW3

24. Burial at sea
Online service pre-dates GDS, and used only
10 times last year! Important to prioritise...
@nicepaul http://flic.kr/p/7KwatN

25. We’re prioritising services to fix, using data
http://transactionsexplorer.cabinetoffice.gov.uk
@nicepaul UK Government

26. 25
exemplar
services
We’re helping teams from departments around
the country raise the bar for digital services.
@nicepaul UK Government

27. Private sector digital transactions =
Ecommerce
@nicepaul http://flic.kr/p/tRSgx

28. Public sector digital transactions =
“Grudge transactions”
@nicepaul UK Government

29. What is the government committing to?
http://publications.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/digital
@nicepaul UK Government

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

31. Beta (public) – first steps towards a live site.
@nicepaul UK Government

32. Released site, autumn 2012.
@nicepaul UK Government

33. Government Digital Service
Design
Principles
By publishing design principles we’ve changed
how stakeholders think and talk about design.
@nicepaul UK Government

34. Design Principle 1
Start with needs
* user needs, not government needs
@nicepaul UK Government

35. “ 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
@nicepaul UK Government

36. Analyse search terms to find what users need.
@nicepaul UK Government

37. The old site wasn’t designed around user
needs, all information was presented equally.
@nicepaul UK Government

38. @nicepaul UK Government

39. The new site is designed to highlight the most
commonly needed information.
@nicepaul UK Government

40. @nicepaul UK Government

41. Design Principle 2
Do less
@nicepaul UK Government

42. We shouldn’t give broad advice on specialist
subjects, like this old page about keeping bees.
@nicepaul UK Government

43. Niche topics like how to identify a wave are
covered in more depth by experts elsewhere.
@nicepaul UK Government

44. We needn’t give common sense advice like
“wrap up warm or go indoors if you get chilly”
@nicepaul UK Government

45. US gov also closing unnecessary websites to save
taxpayers’ money. Search for fiddlinforesters.gov
@nicepaul http://flic.kr/p/8u6JwE

46. Design Principle 3
Design with data
@nicepaul UK Government

47. Don’t assume you know your users. Informal
usability testing is better than nothing.
@nicepaul UK Government

48. Your call centres will know exactly which
parts of your website provoke most calls.
@nicepaul http://flic.kr/p/5QfsNz

49. Design Principle 4
Do the hard
work to make
it simple
@nicepaul UK Government

50. The old site presented complicated policies,
left people to work things out for themselves.
@nicepaul UK Government

51. @nicepaul UK Government

52. The new site asks a few questions and only
gives the information that a user needs.
@nicepaul UK Government

53. @nicepaul UK Government

54. Being helpful can unwittingly expose information
about users. Avoid this on high risk services.
@nicepaul Example from twitter.com/signup

55. Design Principle 5
Iterate, then
iterate again
@nicepaul UK Government

56. Websites aren’t space rockets, taking years to build
and launch with no hope of changing them later.
@nicepaul http://flic.kr/p/bw8oGm

57. Beta
iteration 1
@nicepaul UK Government

58. Beta
iteration 2
@nicepaul UK Government

59. Beta
iteration 3
@nicepaul UK Government

60. Beta
iteration 4
@nicepaul UK Government

61. Site design at launch. More changes to come.
Details at: http://digital.cabinet-office.gov.uk
@nicepaul UK Government

62. Design Principle 6
Build for
inclusion
Inclusive design is good design for everyone.
@nicepaul UK Government

63. Those who need government services most
are the most vulnerable & hardest to reach.
@nicepaul http://flic.kr/p/8Bt1HG

64. Consider content to meet access needs,
not just technically accessible websites.
@nicepaul http://flic.kr/p/p4y94

65. “ In 1997 I retracted the guideline to avoid
scrolling pages because users had
acclimated to scrolling on the Web.
Today, users will scroll.
Jakob Neilsen, 2010
But novices haven’t learnt how the web works.
Do your own research based on your audience.
@nicepaul UK Government

66. Design Principle 7
Understand
context
@nicepaul UK Government

67. Context isn’t just about responsive design.
Think about environments and emotions.
@nicepaul http://flic.kr/p/DvVuX

68. We design for users who are suffering or
under stress. Death, disability, taxes, etc.
@nicepaul http://flic.kr/p/daTjSD

69. Design Principle 8
Build digital
services,
not websites
@nicepaul UK Government

70. What can we do digitally to make user’s lives
easier? It’s not just about making websites.
@nicepaul http://flic.kr/p/dP8uhA

71. Design Principle 9
Be consistent,
not uniform
@nicepaul UK Government

72. Create designs consistent with underlying
principles, not rigidly constrained by a styleguide.
@nicepaul http://flic.kr/p/a8QStt

73. Guides and resources on how to build good
government services: http://gov.uk/servicemanual
@nicepaul UK Government

74. Design Principle 10
Make things
open (it makes
things better)
@nicepaul UK Government

75. If we give away our code, we’ll be repaid in
better code. We open source all we build.
@nicepaul UK Government

76. British public sector design projects have
always inspired governments around the world
@nicepaul UK Government

77. London, 1933
@nicepaul UK Government

78. Paris
@nicepaul UK Government

79. Moscow
@nicepaul UK Government

80. Madrid
@nicepaul UK Government

81. Tokyo
@nicepaul UK Government

82. Sydney
@nicepaul UK Government

83. Washington DC
@nicepaul UK Government

84. UK had a mish mash of road signs until
government made them consistent, inspiring…
@nicepaul http://flic.kr/p/9ZSaAn

85. …Greece
@nicepaul https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Kournas_road_sign.jpg

86. …Australia
@nicepaul http://flic.kr/p/aFiw26

87. …UAE
@nicepaul http://flic.kr/p/i6JKV

88. I’m not saying we always get it right! I’m not
saying GOV.UK is as iconic as these projects.
@nicepaul http://flic.kr/p/dGF4o

89. But with governments visiting us from around the
world, maybe we can start a design revolution.
@ nicepaulnicepaul
@ UK Government
www.gov.uk

90. WEBSITE
Useful www.gov.uk
links DESIGN PRINCIPLES
www.gov.uk/designprinciples
SERVICE MANUAL
www.gov.uk/servicemanual
DIGITAL STRATEGY
publications.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/digital
BLOG
digital.cabinetoffice.gov.uk
CODE
github.com/alphagov
TWITTER
@GDSTeam
@nicepaul UK Government

91. Paul Annett
Creative Lead
UK Government Digital Service
@nicepaul UK Government