For a couple of Christmases I was part of the NHS.UK senior leadership team. When they were making the holiday cover rota, I used to joke, "you know where I am if there's a service design emergency". Well I won't be making that joke again. We have a Slack channel where designers share weekly updates … Continue reading Weeknote: 9 to 13 March 2020 – “We have the best team” edition
What inspired me this week? Conversations with candidates at our graduate traineeships assessment centre in London. The candidates are always impressive. A preview of Rochelle, Shirley and Emma's talk at Service Design in Government. By all accounts they did brilliantly. A joint show and tell by two of our teams. The NHS App team showed … Continue reading Weeknote: 2 to 6 March 2020
I'm typing this on the sofa. Across the living room, the laptop display is mirrored to the television. I can comfortably read them both. Unremarkable to you, maybe. To me it seems like magic because just before Christmas I picked up my first pair of varifocals. While people have been complimenting me on the frames … Continue reading “No one’s laughing at the lenses”, or the service-dominant logic of my new pair of specs
What connections did I make? Met more people who care deeply about digital, data and technology (DDAT) skills in health and care at the second of the DDAT in health unconferences, this time in Leeds. As in London the week before, the event was excellently run by the organising team. Had a call with a … Continue reading Weeknote: 24 to 28 February 2020
What inspired me? A design huddle in our new accessibility lab. Seeing colleagues present their work to visitors from the computer science faculty at Durham University. Listening to presentations on Screening, the NHS App and NHS.UK, I was proud of the user-centred work these teams are doing, and how they might work together as a … Continue reading Weeknotes: 10 to 21 February 2020
What leadership teamwork did I see? As we discuss new ways of working for our product development directorate, I had catch-ups with several of our senior leaders who are figuring out what this means for their own areas. We have many demands on us as a directorate, and are working within constraints, but everyone wants … Continue reading Weeknote: 3 to 7 February 2020
What inspired me this week? The design team away day brilliantly produced by Brie, Becca and Andrew. I couldn’t stay for the whole day, but it was lovely to see the community assemble, and to hear head of design Tero and practice lead Dean outlining their vision for design at NHS Digital and beyond. Starting … Continue reading Weeknote: 27 to 31 January 2020
The year is 2000. I am a product manager. I’ve worked with designers and a usability specialist to specify a new feature for a consumer news service for a major telecoms operator. But what comes back from engineering is unrecognisable. It doesn't work as we specified. Worse than that, the engineers have added all sorts … Continue reading Delivering digital service: this much I have learned
What inspired me this week? The discovery team on Book, Refer & Manage Appointments is making progress on user research and mapping at an impressive rate, picking up new team members as it goes. Ideally, teams like this should start together. Having new people join 2 or 3 weeks in can be disruptive, so it's … Continue reading Weeknote: 20 to 24 January 2020
How did I uphold the NHS Constitution? "view the services you provide from the standpoint of a patient" - Staff responsibilities in the NHS Constitution for England I topped up my 2 hours every 6 weeks of exposure to primary user research by listening in on some calls with patients about their experiences of getting … Continue reading Weeknote: 13 to 17 January 2020
What inspired me this week? The team getting started on the book, refer, and manage appointments discovery. Will, the delivery lead, is doing a brilliant job setting up the team for success A couple of new starters and promotions in the Digital Services Delivery profession that I lead. I'm looking forward to catching up with … Continue reading Weeknote: 6 to 10 January 2020
Around the start of 2010, I concluded that the next part of my career lay outside the telecoms operator Orange. My decade there had taught me loads. I got a ringside seat for the rise of the smartphones. I learned how to design for service at scale, and saw how technologies are socially constructed by … Continue reading The twenty tens: my lucky decade
In part 1 of this update, I looked at what's changed for me at work over the past 6 months. In part 2, I shared what I've learned through my participation in the NHS Leadership Academy's Nye Bevan Programme. To round off these reflections, I'm thinking about what's next, with a nod back to the … Continue reading More serene: Two and a half years into my work at NHS Digital – part 3
In part 1 of this update, I talked about some of the things that have changed for me at work over the past six months. Much of that is down to the challenge, support and learning I’ve experienced on the NHS Leadership Academy’s Nye Bevan Programme. The programme is designed to: ”develop the skills, knowledge, … Continue reading Things I have learned: Two and a half years into my work at NHS Digital – part 2
I’m starting to write this on a sleepy Friday evening train back to Leeds, two and a half years and one day since I started at NHS Digital. I won’t publish it for a week or so now, out of deference to the pre-election period. This morning at Leeds Station I popped my postal vote … Continue reading Levelling up: Two and a half years into my work at NHS Digital – part 1
Matt Edgar writes here 