The NSW Government delivers amazing services to our customers, and we're held to a very high standard of work. The number of our customers and users is huge and our services are often incredibly complex. Understanding all the expectations required of us in those situations can be challenging.
Working with users to make the standards more useful
The Design Standards were built to address that need, but they also need to evolve with the delivery teams they are designed to help. For the past 12 months, our team has been working alongside in-flight delivery teams from all over the NSW Government so we could better understand how we could help them cover all the things they need to consider in a way that complements how they work.
We found that while the current content was valid and valued, the format didn't fit with the systems and cadence teams worked.
A new, practical structure
We've redesigned the structure of the Standards so that every part of them has a distinct job to do, and are designed to fit seamlessly into existing processes (like assurance, procurement or capability uplift).
Our goal is to be as lean as we can - so that even the titles have jobs. There are three distinct sections of a Standard:
The title:
E.g. Deliver outcomes for customers, not solutions for government:
Sometimes it's useful to stop and ask ourselves - are we doing this? It's quick and easy to pause and consider, and often helps us make a choice when we need to.
Why it's important:
E.g. Learn about the people you're delivering outcomes for. Develop an understanding of the unique challenges they face and test any assumptions early and often to avoid building the wrong thing.
If needed in conversation- this is a concise value statement: what you get if you do it and what happens if you don't.
What it means:
E.g.
- frame your solutions around the customers' needs, and work across agencies, platforms, and channels to design a complete user experience to meet those needs
- etc
This talks about implementation - not how to do each thing, but what do I need to do, or what do I need to see to tell if it's being done.
Make them work for you
The Standards and their content have been co-designed with doer's and subject matter experts from all over NSW Government (and beyond). The new draft Standards have been published and we would love for everyone who may use the Standards to have your say.
Use the feedback form to let us know how they fit with how you work and if we've missed anything that needs to be there.
You can also reach out to us via email digital@customerservice.nsw.gov.au if you'd like to engage further.