Thinkpieces

Government services are unique because they deliver economic, social, revenue, law and order and security outcomes for the nation. Compare this to commercial services, which are designed to satisfy the needs and wants of the consumer, and you may believe that the design processes have little in common. At ThinkPlace we have looked beneath the surface of commercial design processes and have realised that once you put the contextual differences to one side, a number of similarities emerge. As experts in the design of government services, we leverage the positives of commercial design to enhance the way government designs and delivers services to the community. To explore the similarities, let’s assume for a moment that a government service is conceptually similar to a commercial product or service.

• The utility to the customer of the customer service, such as an ATM network, or a product such as a media device, can be likened to the utility to the community of the public policy.
• The consumer’s freedom of choice to buy or not buy a consumer product can be likened to the citizen’s freedom of choice about whether to engage or not engage with the public policy.
• A consumer product flop can be likened to a government policy failure.

An obviously apparent point of difference is that governments have power to coerce the citizen to utilise public policy whereas the consumer product manufacturer relies upon voluntary uptake. But even here, the contextual difference is not as marked as it would appear to be.

• Democratic governments rely upon voluntary adoption or compliance over enforcement.
• Consumer product manufacturers rely upon voluntary choice to buy.
• The monetary profit for the consumer product manufacturer who relies on voluntary uptake of the consumer product is equivalent to the ballot box profit for governments whose citizens voluntarily uptake the public policy offering.

So, there is no real fundamental difference between service design processes in the consumer sphere and those that should be deployed in the public policy sphere. We can also see that the pitfalls in the design process that can lead to consumer product failure are similar to those that can lead to public policy failure. Some of the common pitfalls in the design process are:

What the commercial world recognises is that good design starts with a big idea for an unmet customer need. Consumer services such as an ATM network meet a compelling and enduring need for quick, easy and convenient access to financial services. Consider for a moment a successful consumer product – the iPhone. What Apple is known to do well is to tap into the end-user’s needs, emotions and aspirations. Successful production of Apple’s iPhone involves a design process that starts with building a strong connection with people who will use the product. Apple’s Steve Jobs has remarked several times that “Good product design starts from the outside and works its way inside”. This means the process is heavily informed by the desired experience of the end-user. The process for designing the iPhone successfully and seamlessly brings together the knowledge and expertise of interaction designers, industrial designers, engineers, technicians and marketing experts.

Let’s change context, where government is in the business of delivering services to the community – welfare payments, education, health, transport and border security. Some large government agencies in Australia have recognised a need for improved service delivery and are taking lessons from the commercial world. They are applying approaches to implementing government policy to ensure, as much as practicable, that the community has confidence in government and, when engaging with government services, has a good experience.

Typically, a government policy will go through a few phases (and hands) before implementation: policy design, legislative design and administrative design. Several government agencies are involved, each with different responsibilities in and different perspectives on bringing the policy into the world. Conversations between policy and administrative agencies are occasionally difficult because of political or power issues. Also, tension can arise between meeting the needs of the community and the possible cost of sacrificing government requirements and vice-versa. An integrated design approach and a user needs focus is a process by which both the needs of the community and the needs of government can be aligned through innovative solutions.

Much the same as the commercial world, a desired user experience can be a focusing end point for a coordinated policy, law and administrative design conversation. The critical ingredients to successfully designing government services and implementing public policy changes include:

• Policy agencies, administrators and the community having an equal voice and a common understanding of the policy idea and objectives.
• Policy agencies and administrators having an understanding of how the law can impact on community behaviours and decisions, and a real understanding of who in the community is affected a public policy.
• Research about how a public policy might affect the community. It should be focussed on understanding the context, needs and expectations of people affected, rather than simply their demographics.
• Research and community involvement, which drives the design of the experience and interaction with government services.
• A need to recognise, and wherever possible, to involve the community in the design process, as early as possible.
• How government can differentiate services based on user types or needs (segments or individuals).
• Administrative arrangements, such as systems, procedures, compliance strategies, education and information capabilities. These need to be developed to give effect to the law and enable and support the community to interact with government.

While the contexts are different, there are many similarities between how products and services are designed in a commercial context and how government services can be designed to meet the needs of the community. At ThinkPlace we design government services by following a disciplined design process that starts with building a strong connection with people who will experience the service. We believe that a good service design is one that is heavily informed by the users and their desired experience. Our process for designing services successfully and seamlessly brings together the knowledge and expertise of policy makers, administrators and the community. Community involvement in the process of designing and implementing public policy can ensure a unique and compelling experience of government services and as a result, governments have a better chance of staying in touch with the communities they serve. An integrated design process between policy makers and administrators can help get the conversation closer to a constructive collaboration across government to achieve the best outcome for users, and in the process, for government.