Policy x Design Blog
In response to the Plain Writing Act of 2010, government agencies have been charged with re-writing in a “clear, concise, well-organized manner” all communications, including forms and publicly distributed documents. Plain language is a topic we’ve been closely following since our very first post, and we were excited to see that the Center for Plain Language is hosting an upcoming conference in Washington, D.C.
Clarity 2012, taking place May 21-23 at the National Press Club, will provide the opportunity for those affected by the act to learn from one another, as well as experts in the field, over two full days of presentations from a wide range of government practitioners from all over the world.
Presentations range from plain language in the law, with cases from the U.S., Sweden, and elsewhere, to the role of plain language in mobile development, mortgage disclosures, and health care. Of particular interest to us is a presentation titled “Design and Infographics: Highlights of What’s Possible,” to be given by Si Fisk. The conference program is here, and abstracts of the presentations are also available online. There’s no live stream, but presentations will be posted after-the-fact.
May 15, 2012 | Categories: Federal, Government, International | Tags: Conferences/Lectures, Plain Language, Washington DC
In the world of service design, many terms get tossed around – end user, co-production, experience mapping, just to name a few. While these concepts are actually helpful when re-conceiving service experiences, people new to the field (meaning most of us) benefit from clear guidance on how apply these ideas. In the case of co-design, a research and creation method where users collaborate with designers, Catalina Naranjo-Bock of UX Magazine takes us through the process step by step.
Beginning with self-reflection research methods, Naranjo-Bock outlines considerations for preliminary stages of design, from formulating research goals to determining how your audience may influence the design tools you use.
In the next step, she discusses how co-design workshops can be done on-site and details a range of research-participation methods, including collages, modeling, storyboarding, and paper prototyping. (The importance of a pilot test of a workshop is also emphasized, so researchers have the chance to run their script ahead of time and work out any problems that may arise — wise advice.)
Finally, Naranjo-Bock briefly sketches trends in mobile and digital co-design, with reference to crowdsourced design platforms, such as eYeka. For more information on that, as well as an excellent list of references and further reading, check out the article here.
May 09, 2012 | Categories: Design/Policy Resources, Policy [x] Design | Tags: Co-Design, Crowdsourcing, resources
Helsinki Design Lab — an initiative of the Finnish government’s innovation fund, Sitra — has released a book documenting their strategic-design process. HDL’s Bryan Boyer visited PPL recently and was kind enough to share a hard copy, and it is a beaut, both in form and content.
In Studio: Recipes for Systemic Change, written by Boyer, Justin Cook, and Marco Steinberg, is a narrative of HDL’s process for addressing systemic challenges facing government, a how-to guide to set up your own studio using their model, and a repository of in-depth case studies from Sitra’s work in Finland. (more…)
May 08, 2012 | Categories: Design/Policy Resources, Government, International, NGO, Policy [x] Design | Tags: Finland, Helsinki Design Lab, Publications
May 04, 2012 | Categories: Design/Policy Resources, Policy [x] Design, Private Sector | Tags: Commentary, Service Design
Redistricting has long been a backroom practice, with crucial map-making done far from the eyes of constituents. In an effort to make the process more transparent, in 2010 the city of Minneapolis scrapped their closed-door system in favor of a completely public redistricting process. See their handy video introduction to redistricting above.
This year, the Minneapolis Charter Commission implemented this new process, and as the Minneapolis Post reported, through a “sometimes painful” public-consultation process, commission members “moved lines and split hairs” over where boundaries should be drawn. (more…)
May 03, 2012 | Categories: Government, Local, Policy [x] Design | Tags: Co-Production, Minnesota, Redistricting
As the U.K. builds out its Government Digital Service — a newish team within the Cabinet Office dedicated to improving (you guessed it) government digital services — the agency also continues to update the public and solicit feedback on its progress. We wrote about this at the project’s inception, but the team’s latest update contains an expansion of the seven original design principles and also details how those principles have been working.
While it’s easy to be charmed by GDS site’s clean design, the most impressive aspect is the wealth of information about just how the digital services are being developed and tested.
(more…)
May 02, 2012 | Categories: Government, International, Policy [x] Design | Tags: Digital Govt., United Kingdom, Websites
May 01, 2012 | Categories: Design/Policy Resources, Policy [x] Design | Tags: Commentary, Innovation, Service Design
For all of our Australian service design enthusiasts and practitioners, heads up! The UX Australia Service Design Conference 2012 will be taking place a week from today, on May 4, 2012, in Melbourne. It promises to cover a wide range of topics – “strategy and scope, design research, designing end-to-end solutions, case studies about completed services, designing public services, communicating design, influencing related projects and implementing complex services.”
The conference will be a one-day event, featuring presentations from those involved in service design and a selection of 10-minute talks. We are particularly interested in the scheduled presentation titled Public Sector Design: Driving Internal and External Change One Step at a Time, to be given by Mel Edwards and Justin Barrie of Australian firm DMA. Hoping there will be video posted after the event for those of us stateside and worldwide!
For more information on the other presentations, speakers, and registration, check out the conference’s website here.
Apr 27, 2012 | Categories: International, Policy [x] Design | Tags: Australia, Conferences/Lectures, Service Design
Information captured during a user-research session is invaluable to creating a more effective service – it’s hard to argue with that. How to capture that information effectively, though, can be a real challenge. With so many voices and so much information to preserve for future analysis, what are the best approaches?
In an article on UXmatters, Jim Ross, Principal of Design Research at Electronic Ink, outlines the most common methods for recording user research. From the benefits and challenges of handwritten notes to the advantages and disadvantages of photography and video, each method is clearly discussed. Ross then outlines eight considerations to help researchers determine which methods will prove most effective, including:
What Your Audience Needs
Are you capturing this information for only your own use, or are there others who will need to review the data that you gather? While you may be able to understand your own notes, others may need video or audio clips to understand your findings.
This breakdown becomes an important resource when doing any kind of user research, as the methods which are employed can more easily determine how the research itself will be conducted. For a full look at the article, check it out here.
Apr 25, 2012 | Categories: Design/Policy Resources, Policy [x] Design | Tags: Conferences/Lectures, Toolkits, User Research
Apr 24, 2012 | Categories: Policy [x] Design | Tags: Commentary
Fundamentals of Service Design
In a recent post on Continuum’s Insights blog, principal Brian Gillespie summarizes what he believes are the key elements of the approach outlined in This is Service Design Thinking, particularly as applied to the design of financial services: (more…)