this is very good www.gov.uk/service-manu...

Where is design getting a seat at the table? In the French gov’t 🇫🇷 Today, we spoke to over 10 Chief Design Officers from French government ministries—from education to foreign affairs and interior to justice. My colleague Marion and I shared our work, setup and approach in a 90-minute exchange.

How does the UK practically recognise the State of Palestine? While being the design lead of the now-shelved ‘GOV.UK Registers’ offering, I worked closely with the UK’s data custodian for the country and territory register at the FCDO. Every state has a start date. Which is Palestine’s? Today’s?

That worked well! The room was so packed that some people were turned away. @karakane-kk.bsky.social & I had a productive yet brief #SDinGov workshop with 60+ people on making end-to-end services finally happen. We collected approaches on how to get there. Slides here: github.com/martin-jorda...

“Everything shareable across government in one place – to support the delivery of digital services” @nikolagoger.bsky.social sharing their cross-gov Reuse Library work at #SDinGov: reuselibrary-dev.apps.cloud-platform.service.justice.gov.uk

Benefits of using #ServicePatterns when designing gov’t services: —organise & understand the services you offer —a framework for planning new services —avoid repeating research —a guide to reusable assets & components —consistent user experiences across multiple services #MoJ at #SDinGov

Great to see this here: “‘Move carefully and fix things‘ is a small sticker by Bill Hunt that isn’t just a sticker, but it’s an approach of working with dignity and care” — @rdietkus.bsky.social at #SDinGov

“Care is not a sentiment; it’s an operating system that belongs at the centre” — @rdietkus.bsky.social at #SDinGov

On “hypernormalisation”, @rdietkus.bsky.social at #SDinGov: “The chaos is not normal.”

“This is a clarification. It’s not new.”— Lucy Kimbell “ #PublicDesign is an iterative process of generating, legitimising, and achieving policy intent whilst de-risking operational delivery. ” #SDinGov

Great to see @karakane-kk.bsky.social bridge the policy-process-service gaps in their Test, Learn & Grow programme through partnerships between Whitehall departments and frontline service providers. And always good to have more people see the helpful double triangle from Nesta.

Hello #GovDesign crowd! I’m en route to Edinburgh 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 and @sdingov.bsky.social, while working on content for our Friday workshop on finally making end-to-end #serviceDesign happen. Despite the grim weather forecast, the weather in Scotland looks gorgeous. It’s almost a #BlueSky right now! See you!

My expectations for this #Oatly are wayyyyyyyy too high!

As a public servant, I write weekly notes to let people see what I do. For 2 days, I supported @feuerherd.bsky.social in running #ServiceDesign training. It came with a little epiphany on how to evolve & bundle the training with other activities. I also prepared for a visit from a senior official

What are we doing to raise the quality of public services in Germany broadly? With @egovpod.bsky.social, BMDS policy officer Ralf Käck and I spoke about the German #ServiceStandard: What is it? How did we co-create it? How do we support service teams? Is it mandatory? —podcast in German 🇩🇪 🎧

And sent 📮 This morning, a new starter welcome package went out to a designer who will join us in October. As always, it includes the latest edition of the #ServiceGazette and the latest collection of columns by @digitalservice.bund.de CEO Christina Lang. In a written note, I share greetings.

1 week to go: Next Friday afternoon, @karakane-kk.bsky.social and I will be running a workshop on making end-to-end #serviceDesign finally happen. Join us if you’re attending @sdingov.bsky.social. The format is just coming together – after (as always) valuable input from @claragt.bsky.social.

World premiere: Today, we are running the ‘Intro to #ServiceDesign’ in German for the first time. It’s the training that @claragt.bsky.social and I started in UK government back in 2018. Sabrina @feuerherd.bsky.social is steering it. I am assisting. Cross-gov folks from BDR and DRV are here, too

Summoning intl #GovDesign talent— At @digitalservice.bund.de, we have now hired folks from 3 other digital government units. An engineer from 🇳🇴 Norwegian NAV, the digital unit of the welfare department, a designer from the 🇦🇺 Australian Digital Transformation Agency and designers from 🇬🇧 UK’s GDS.

“Across China, tens of thousands of people tagged as troublemakers like the Yangs are trapped in a digital cage, barred from leaving their province and sometimes even their homes by the world’s largest digital surveillance apparatus.” “Most of this technology” came from US companies.

Delighted to have @richardpope.org stopping by remotely at @digitalservice.bund.de to share his wisdom. Made a little poster for the kitchen space to let people coming to the office know about it. In 3 years, this will be the 3rd guest speaker joining us, following Martha Lane Fox and Marty Cagan.

German citizens were asked what government, state and administrative offices could do better. 85% want fewer regulations. 79% want shorter processing time. 66% want more public services online. Also, 73% believe the German state is overwhelmed with current tasks. (Source: dbb)

As a public servant, I write weekly notes to let people see what I do. Due to holidays, my weeknote 174 got delayed. I went to record another podcast on the #ServiceStandard. I also wrote a talk on rapid prototyping and participated in kick-off workshops for new work. [@weeknotes-bot.bsky.social]

Why do I suspect a straight male train exec came up with the name for the ‘Hop on the next available train’ service? HOTNAT allows you to take the next high-speed train when your original connection is cancelled or delayed. Someone in the boardroom laughed. Someone in marketing rolled their eyes.

On the way out, Eurostar treats you equally well in the morning with breakfast. It’s the best of English and French hospitality—even though the croissants are not of Parisian quality. Fantastic service from silver status onwards. You can take another takeaway coffee and a newspaper on the way out

The V&A East Storehouse in Stratford is an absolute gem! You are immersed in half a million art, architecture, craft, fashion, and design objects. You can watch researchers and conservationists work on site. A one-hour visit was too short, so I must return for more.

The Guardian on our study published today: www.theguardian.com/environment/...

I love working from Eurostar’s lounges, like the one in Brussels Midi, whenever I can as part of the journey. You get treats, comfy chairs, and reasonable Wi-Fi speed. It’s also nicely quiet. To enter, you only need silver status in @bahn.de’s reward scheme, which is a rather low bar. Try it!

Train time is writing time. I always look forward to the next long train journey for focus time. Today, I’m heading towards London again. That means getting through my list of focus writing tasks, including #GovDesign blog posts.

You might not know: There used to be a hidden page for many services on GOV.UK, which would display the underlying user need through a user story and its alignment with the platform proposition. You just had to insert /info to any service landing page’s URL. I still think it’s brilliant.

Friends, using gen AI to create user personas is a *really* awful idea. 🚩☹️🚩 This suggestion comes from the AI Knowledge Hub prompt library on GOV .uk. Here's the problem: AI is designed to give you back only what you already know. It will generate what it thinks you want to hear.

‘How to find joy in the slow pace of change’ —I finally listened to @maredwards.bsky.social’s conversation with Marc Fonteijn on the #ServiceDesign Show. It’s a great reminder that there is enormous value in planting seeds and sharing things openly, which can change things unexpectedly over time.

„Great design in government isn’t about fonts and colors. It’s about whether a small business owner can get help without waiting months; whether a senior can see their doctor without wondering who will be peering through her files […]“ — @erie.bsky.social

Podcast recorded: @egovpod.bsky.social invited @bmi.bund.de’s Ralf Käck and me to talk about the German #ServiceStandard, its (re)creation and application. Introducing the Service Standard to even more people working on public services will always be a task. This work will never be done. Onwards!

An update on my little German #GovDesign job board: There is a new #ServiceDesign working student opening at @digital-agentur.de, in @simonecarrier.bsky.social’s team. And in-house consultancy PD is still looking for brand designers based in Berlin. verwaltungsgestaltung.de#positionen

Working on the 3rd book for my niece is a wonderfully engaging Sunday exercise. I can get lost in Wikipedia and the rest of the internet, reading about the most interesting lives of fascinating historical women called Ida. I’m also starting to prepare the first book for my partner’s niece, Agatha.

As a public servant, I write weekly notes to let people see what I do. In my week 173 at @digitalservice.bund.de, I returned to the ministry for digital for a workshop and became a house tour guide. I also interviewed service designers and planned workshops, talks and a meetup.

Deutsche Bank shut down its entire customer-facing infrastructure in Germany this weekend: No online banking No API access for external apps No credit card payments with 3D Secure in online shops They announced a proper ‘big bang release’ for tomorrow. Why are things still done this way?

Question for user-centred design leaders across UK gov’t: Why isn’t policy designer part of the DDaT framework? Isn’t that a missed opportunity to formally describe a closely linked role? Is it in the making or elsewhere covered? ddat-capability-framework.service.gov.uk#user-centred...

“The new government invites”, posters all across #Berlin say – to welcome citizens and residents to federal government departments & agencies this Saturday and Sunday. The annual summer open house is a great demogratic way to engage with the public, give insight into the work, and answer questions.

The #NoMouse Challenge is a global effort to raise awareness about accessible web design. Try using your website without a mouse. Use the keyboard instead. Is it possible to access all features and operate all buttons, sliders, and other controls? nomouse.org

Our DEI community at @digitalservice.bund.de commissioned stickers. They say: “Sounds gay, I’m in :-)” They are printed on rainbow holographic foil, of course. 🌈

La Suite numérique. “A collection of digital commons designed for the #PublicSector and reusable by all.” lasuite.numerique.gouv.fr/en

As a public servant, I write weekly notes to let people see what I do. In week 172, I recorded a video to promote the #ServiceStandard and participated in a usability test for the standard’s new website. I also helped co-develop a prototype for introducing the cross-government umbrella brand.

Meanwhile, in another reality: Trump has Putin arrested on American soil and handed over to the International Criminal Court in Den Haag

Global warming is a deliberate policy of death for the poor, sick and vulnerable. A global necropolitics. jksteinberger.medium.com/climate-necr...

It’s an old #serviceDesign debate: designing front-to-back or back-to-front. At @digitalservice.bund.de, we have seen and done both in the justice service space. Both were legit. For court claims, we started with the frontend before now wiring new systems that connect courts and lawyers. 1/X

Doing bits of my “two hours every six weeks”* — in a remote user research session and usability test with a service team member from the City State of Hamburg who is seeing and using the new #ServiceStandard page for the first time. Great observations! Excellently led by @joseernestorodriguez.com

I kind of like the redesign after a decade or so of stagnation. Will it be enough to onboard a new generation of users, though?

A term/abbreviation I learnt today: CODA – child/children of deaf adults (For more: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_o...) My grandmother was a CODA, as both her parents were deaf. Thanks for teaching me, @tobiaswitt.bsky.social! #InclusiveDesign #Accessibility