I’ve been at DWP Digital for almost 18 months now, but haven’t felt comfortable about blogging about my work.
That’s mainly because I’ve been finding my feet, I didn’t think I had the time and I’ve not been sure about how much I can actually say.
But now the time is right. I can talk about the approaches I’m taking to my work, without going into too many of the sensitive details of the subject matter.
And I’m making the time to do it. Starting right now.
Tuesday
This was my first day back in the office after almost 4 weeks of not being here. A 3 week holiday and a hot and sunny bank holiday were just what the Dr ordered.
I felt refreshed, re-energised and ready to take on new challenges.
It started as the usual day back from a holiday – checking emails and Slack. There was a daily stand up with some of the team dialled in remotely from Harrogate and I handed out biscuits from France and talked a lot about my holiday adventures.
The team have been busy since I’ve been away, and the pilot service I’m working on is progressing well. But there was one email thread which did initially deflate me. Something I’d been working on for a good few months with our helpful and knowledgable embedded policy SME, had been pulled from use at the last minute. I’d finished the first version of it just before I went on leave and it felt like it was in a good place, and was looking forward to iterating it based on user-research.
But some key people hadn’t seen it, and confirmation of their views on the direction of it hadn’t found their way to me. I do understand the concerns with it, and I do share some of them myself. But there’s that thing about work done with the information you have at the time, and it was a hard piece of work. I’d needed to balance minimum policy and legal requirements, with the basic principles of content design – keep it simple, using plain English.
I did find it was a little frustrating that I wasn’t there to explain my design decisions in more detail, and work with the senior stakeholders and the team to find a solution together.
There were some positives to take away, though. The content team rallied around and dealt with it quickly and professionally, and there’s now an opportunity to make sure our assurance processes include all of the right people at the right time. It’s also nice to know for future reference that senior stakeholders really do want to make our content as user-centred and friendly as possible.
I went home happy.
Wednesday
Ceremonies day. The day started with review and retro. It was great to see the work everyone has been putting in to ensure the service is truly user-centred.
During one playback, it was clear that there’s still work to do to make sure the research, thinking, and ideas exploration parts of the design process are valued, and that designers and developers are working together as closely as possible. A product that had previously been deployed to users as an MVP had been iterated by our developers in a couple of days without any design input.
It was done with best intentions – they wanted to make it more user-friendly, which is great to hear. They’d put a lot of effort in and were pleased with what they’d done. But it means the designers are now playing catch up, and some changes that were required following some previous user-research hadn’t been captured.
It’s nobody’s fault – annual leave and a couple of team changes meant it’d fallen through the gaps. These things happen. It’s not a disaster by any means, but it’s a reminder that like in any relationship, the bond between design and development needs constant attention.
Retro was really positive – it’s good to hear so many people enjoying their work.
Show and tell was really enjoyable – it was brilliant to hear an overview from our fantastic user researcher, Jo, and some of our front line staff about the findings from the pilot so far. Everyone is doing such a good job.
We finished off with sprint planning. A solid 2 weeks to follow, with some tickets to pick up on some letters I need to work on, and some planned user research to focus on content. Top stuff.
Thursday
A bit of a bitty day.
After stand up I had a catch up over coffee with a couple of people about a project I’ve been waiting to hear news on, which was followed by our weekly (and always good natured) ‘Town Hall’ meeting. This gives an opportunity to hear what our 3 feature teams and wider support teams have been up to. It’s also an opportunity to greet new starters and get the lowdown from our leaders on what’s happening at a strategic level.
Smashed out another 550 metres (20 lengths) in the pool over lunch, but had my first experience of pool rage. Someone in the fast lane wasn’t stopping for anyone. We all want a good swim, but there’s no need to be so rude. 700m the day before and 550m on Tuesday – I’m enjoying this breaking up my day and giving me time to relax and think.
In the afternoon had a good session with the design team (Jo, Mikey and Sam in the room, and Izzy dialled in through Slack). We agreed a way to tackle some fixes to the work the developers had shown us on Wednesday, and planned some more user research on it which we’d love to get them involved in. We also had a laugh – a really good laugh, and this is really important in a team. Certainly for me.
I ended the day with a positive chat with Dan, our senior leader, who’s kindly given me an opportunity to spend a couple of days each week working in the DWP health transformation team. I’m pleased I’ll be able to give the people I line manage more of my time, as well as a development opportunity for myself.
Left a bit earlier than usual to take my eldest to his swimming lesson. He’s just moved up groups, but didn’t look out of place. He’s lightning quick!
Friday
Over to Harrogate to see how the team are getting on over there. It’s been over a month since I last visited, and I’d forgotten how relaxing the scenic train journey is through Lower Wharfedale.
The pilot service here is in full swing now. It was great to see a physical board has been set up by the team here, to track the progress of people who are taking part in the pilot service. There’s also a great new ‘learnings board’ with cards full of information of things we can learn from to iterate the service.
Had a call after lunch to talk about the discussion guide for the research we’re doing next week in Pontefract. We’re testing a letter and an information booklet. Jo has done a brilliant job preparing for it – never underestimate the value of a great user researcher. Looking forward to a meaty day of learning.
In summary
It’s been a decent few days back. A few things to chew over, but looking forward to a full week next week, starting with a visit to our Manchester hub to spend a day with our wonderful Content Design community, user research in Pontefract on Tuesday, and a drive over to Blackpool on Wednesday to spend some time with the content designers there, learning about what they’re working on.
But now it’s the weekend and time to relax. Have a good one, whatever you’re up to.