On April 27, we held Teacamp #2, which delved into practical ways of identifying user needs and conducting user research, which is point one of the Local Government Digital Service Standard.
This was the second of our teacamp series, which is a free event for people working on the digital transformation of public services in London. At these informal gatherings, we bring in experts to share best practice, ways of working and case studies, so that colleagues across London can network and learn from each other.
I’m pleased to say that Teacamp #2 was fully booked again and we had attendees from Hackney, Lambeth, Camden, Bexley, Lewisham, Harrow councils as well as from City Hall, London Councils, Agilesphere and LoGov. We heard from Chris Daniels, Digital Portfolio Manager at City Hall and Steph Troeth, Head of Research at Clearleft, who told us about their experience building user focused digital services.
Chris and Steph explained how we focused on user needs in our design and development of London.gov.uk and also their experiences on other local government projects at Brighton and Hove and Westminster Councils.
They gave the group plenty of food for thought and it was productive to break out into small groups to discuss various elements of user research in more detail.
We looked at the challenges staff in councils are facing and provided advice on how to demonstrate the importance of user research to senior stakeholders and get organisational buy-in; how to audit, measure and build your analytics capability; and the different research techniques available.
There was plenty to talk about and it was encouraging to hear colleagues exchanging tips and genuinely learning from each other.
Thanks to everyone who participated in Teacamp #2, especially to Steph and Chris for your presentations and to Agilesphere and LoGov for the tea and cake.
Want to know more?
Read these more detailed write-ups of Teacamp #1 and Teacamp #2
Sign up to our mailing list for future events by emailing [email protected]
Our next teacamp is coming up in June and will be focusing on the Digital Marketplace, giving you tips on how to procure the right delivery partners and talent to help make your digital services a success
Check out this user research tool kit put together as part of the Verify Local work.
By Natalie Taylor, Senior Manager Digital Transformation & Co-chair of the London peer group for the adoption of the Local Government Digital Service Standard.