6-month service design project for a central government organisation
The Challenge:
How might we help professionals share information so that they can save time and help families receive the right support at the right time?
We believe that better information-sharing tools and processes can enable a reduction in the time and effort professionals to spend inputting and processing family. From the discovery to the Alpha stage, the team decided to create to Alpha ideas:
1. Digital referral management process that supports professionals making a decision on whether to carry out a referral
2. Directory of professionals who have interacted with a child/family
The Approach:
Discover and Alpha stage (Human-centred design) – GDS (Government Digital Service)
As the senior service design, I was overseeing both of the Alpha projects with the help of a junior service designer
Across both the discovery and alpha stage, the following service design methods have applied the objectives to overcome these challenges were:
· Theory of change
· Alignment workshops
· Assumption mapping
· Prioritisation matrix
· Systems maps for local authorities
· Policy programmes map for growing well
· Service maps of different current referral journey
· Scenarios maps
· Referral pathway/ flow
· Success metrics and KPIs for the business
· Solution prototype
The Outcome:
A digital referral service is envisioned to be a fully online service that gives professionals within a family hub the means to identify and refer children/families to targeted services that would be of benefit to them. The service will be optimised through user-centred design to ensure that accurate, relevant and actionable information is provided within referrals and that informed consent is captured as part of the referral process.
The Impact:
By the end of the project, we were able to identify a service that helps improve the needs of local authorities and different government bodies at scale. By ensuring there are better outcomes for children and families. As well as best practice solutions that may be adapted for emerging family hub models