GOV.UK
Creating common ground with design standards
Creating common ground with design standards
Senior designer Michael Owen explains how design standards can help inform good design choices
What does transformation really mean?
There’s a lot of talk about transformation. People who use services don’t care if something has been ‘transformed’ or not. They just want to do something. So when we talk about ‘transformation’, we’re already speaking from an internally-focused perspective rather …
Internal service assessments: how we maintain quality
Hi, my name’s Alex and I’m a Digital Standards Manager in Home Office. My role is to support our digital teams to meet the Government Digital Service Standard. What is the standard and why does it matter? The GDS Standard …
Sharing design patterns to work smarter
In a team as big as Home Office Digital, there’s always the danger that we replicate each other's work. Knowing what others are working on or have worked on becomes really important. But what’s the best way to do this …
The latest from the Home Office's Service Optimisation team
Hi all, my name’s Wasim and I'm one of the delivery managers in the Service Optimisation (SO) team. It’s been an interesting few months over here in our Metro Point office where the team’s based, with refurbishment going on, new …
Three things I learned using future-mapping tools with users
If I asked you how you make a cup of tea, I'm sure you could tell me pretty quickly.
Why we should all try being a content designer
I joined the content design team in the Home Office in March and I’ll be leaving at the end of August. Design has never been something I saw myself doing long-term, but my brief foray has taught me a lot. …
My experience as a female developer
I’ve been a woman all my life and a developer for all my working life, so I feel it’s important to acknowledge the limitations of my experience before I start to describe it.
The government’s role in open source
What is open source and why do I believe the government should become one of the biggest open source contributors?
Make invitations to beta services better
If you are not careful you can antagonise users before they have even started testing your service.
Tips on how to proofread your own content
The best way to proof your content is for someone else to read it. But sometimes you don’t have time - how can you be sure you’ve caught all the typos before you send it out?