DesignGov Design Thinking Compendium December 2013

1. DesignGov Design Thinking Compendium December 2013 design@design.gov.au | (02) 6125 4974 | GPO Box 9839, Canberra ACT 2601

2. DesignGov was set up by the Secretaries Board in July 2012 as an 18-month pilot to demonstrate the value of design thinking in the Australian context through design-led projects tackling “wicked problems”, further developing design thinking capabilities in the public sector and fostering collaboration and networks What is Design Thinking? Introduction to DesignGov design@design.gov.au | (02) 6125 4974 | GPO Box 9839, Canberra ACT 2601

3. What is Design?(overall) • Design is a discipline, a process and an output • Design goes beyond aesthetics and styling: • Design is a disciplinethat combines multiple bodies of knowledge from the arts, social sciences, business and engineering. • Design is a processthat seeks to achieve organisational objectives through people-oriented, iterative problem solving. • Finally, design is the output of the aforementioned process. This includes both physical products, processes and intangible services. • Some examples of designoutputs: • product packaging,software, corporate architecture, organisational structures, policies and processes, reports, advertising, telephone calls, pitches, strategic plans, internal processes and systems and organisational values are all designed. CONTEXT Usability Cultural Factors Human Factors Economic Factors DESIGN Function Form Aesthetic & Symbolic Factors Technical Factors Exhibit A: Design is the discipline, process and products that bring together knowledge and techniques from different professions and perspectives. This way, design balances the need for form, function and usability, taking into account the cultural, economic and technological factors stemming from the context. Technological Factors Note: information in this compendium has been drawn from a number of sources and references which are on the DesignGov website

4. What is Design Thinking?(in a nutshell) • Design Thinking is • an iterative and data driven problem solving method aimed at achieving organisational vision through the understanding and satisfaction of people’s needs • Design thinking is a method that uses design-led innovation at every stage of product and service development • There is no one single recipe for doing design thinking. • Generally, design thinking is a method which uses design, bringing together the creative and rational thinking of multi-disciplinary teams to develop better solutions to various problems, including complex problems. • In the public sector design thinking aims to develop better strategies, policies, communications, products, services, and engagement by placing citizens at the centre of its development process. • In the private sector design thinking is about better understanding the customer, their needs and wants (unstated as well as stated), and how products or services can best address those needs and problems. Design as Innovation Design as Process Design as Styling Non- Design Exhibit B: The ladder of design. (Danish Design Council 2003) Design thinking takes design from not being used at all or only for style in an organisation (the lower rungs), to design as innovation (the highest rung) – with design pervading each part of an organisation’s process of problem solving and creating and delivering products and services.

5. What is Design Thinking?(public sector) • Design methods vary, but each has five credos at their heart that support a focus on people’s needs and a bias for doing Create and deliver solutions with people for people, by looking at and defining the problem from the point of view of the citizen (the user) Understand and appreciate the context and environment in which the problem operates, by investigating a wide range of factors, such as: national identity, social and economic drivers, organisational and incentives structures. Analyse the impact that these have on the user, the problem and the potential solution Be concrete in the representations of the problem and potential better solutions, and communicate clearly, by telling a compelling story through which the problem and solutions can be readily visualised and understood Reframe the problem in terms of positive and measurable outcomes: how might these be achieved in a different way? That is, question ‘what is’ and ask ‘what if’ and ‘why’ (‘whydeology’) in order to surface assumptions, constraints and human behavioural insights. Experiment, try and test possibilities and options with users and stakeholders. Prototype the ‘rough and ready’ concepts early and rapidly without fear of failure. Break away from desk bound perfectionism

6. What is Design Thinking?(for example) • Design Thinking employs tools that put people’s needs and the bias for doing at the forefront of its problem solving Methods such as contextual interviews, journey mapping and personas allow design thinkers to reframe problems CONTEXTUAL INTERVIEWS Problem: Traditional research may be too impersonal to yield enough insights about user needs, resulting in products that users do not value. Process: Exploratory, immersive interviews and observation of the user in the physical environment where the user encounters the problem. Outcome: Unique insights into users’ needs. JOURNEY MAPPING Problem: The problem is considered devoid of the whole contextual experience in which it occurs. Process: Communicates the entire user experience from beginning to end. Outcome: Broader, sophisticated and holistic knowledge of user experience helps challenge the status quo. PERSONAS Problem: It takes too long to read and remember information gained about users. Process: Use that information to construct a composite persona who is a typical user. Outcome: Concrete, memorable and shared understanding of the end user and their problem. Rapid prototyping allows design thinking to test and develop solutions, be concrete and value the citizen RAPID PROTOTYPING Problem: Traditional consultation and testing late in the development process means that users come into the process too late to make valuable improvements. Without such participation, products and services are less likely to reflect user needs – or valuable insights from users will come too late to improve the product. Process: Testing of tangible models with the user for the product or service, including through scene visualisation, sketching, building mockups of the product/service, while going through stages of iterations. Outcome: Final product or service better suits the user’s needs and is more valued by the user.

7. What is Design Thinking?(organisations) • The private sector, third sector, academia and public sector agencies already use design thinking with great success • Many public, private and third sector organisations use design thinking as their chief problem solving method • MindLab is an initiative of the Danish government that applies design to public policy. Other similar examples are Finland’s Sitra and the UK’s Design Council • The Australian Centre for Social Innovation (TACSI) is a third sector body that uses design to find innovative solutions to wicked social problems. • One of its designed programs is Family by Family, a network where families help other families, and which has generated impressive results for people as well as reducing state costs in the longer term • Academic institutions in Australia have strong and growing design areas: for example UTS, Swinburne and QUT • Stanford University’s Institute of Design teaches design thinking. Other high-ranking universities have design schools – e.g. the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Sydney’s Business School and the University of Virginia’s Darden Business School

8. What is Design Thinking?(organisations) • The private sector, third sector, academia and public sector agencies already use design thinking with great success • Other organisations have dedicated Design Thinking departments and teams • Public sector organisations such as the Australian Tax Office, Customs, Border Protection and the Department of Human Services already have dedicated design teams and use design methods. Other examples are the UK Cabinet Office and New Zealand’s Better by Design Program. • Health organisations use design to understand patient experiences to improve healthcare services such as the UK’s National Health Services (NHS) and not-for-profit Patient Opinion, a peer review platform for health and social care. • Consulting firms such as IDEO, a design and consulting firm with a design-led problem solving method, serve public and private sector clients. IDEO’s CEO Tim Brown is an influential design thinker. • World leading businesses use design to improve their brand and product and service offerings, including BSkyB, LEGO, Microsoft, Sony, Starbucks, Virgin Atlantic, Xerox, Whirlpool and Yahoo.1 In Australia, financial organisations AMP and BT Financial Group employ design to improve their customer experience. 1. Source: UK Design Council (http://www.designcouncil.org.uk/designprocess)

9. What is Design Thinking?(needs) • Design Thinking’s focus on citizen/customer needs results in better outcomes than other policy and program development methods In many policy and program development methods, citizen and key stakeholder needs are considered through consultation and research but they still often reject the final product For example, needs are considered in policy formulation through consultation processes, submissions from users and meetings with users, and analysis of quantitative surveys and data. This generates some insights that can help ensure the product is fit for purpose. People’s needs are also considered in implementation to obtain their views on how effectively the policy or program is operating – although often too late to inform development. Some stages may include little, superficial or no interaction at all with users. Exhibit C – A possible policy and program development cycle: More traditional policy and program development takes user needs into account through consultation and desk-based research, particularly at the formulation phase. This is a good start to deriving insights from the user to help ensure the final product will reflect user needs, however often the users still reject or do not value the final product

10. What is Design Thinking?(core focus) • Design Thinking’s focus on user/citizen’s needs results in better outcomes than other policy and program development methods Design thinking’s user/citizen needs focus goes much further than traditional consultation methods – with more sophisticated engagement that occurs at every stage of policy and program development, delivering products and services that users will prefer Design thinking includes the consulting and quantitative research processes used in more traditional policy and program development. But it goes much further too: for example, in problem identification, design thinking uses ethnography and contextual interviews to build a shared and genuine understanding of the problem to address. In implementation, a co-design process is used: prototyping the solution with the citizens/users – ensuring their experiences, ideas and feedback on the product or service can be used to inform development, not arriving after the process is already complete and it is too late to fix anything. This ensures design thinking identifies problems and develops solutions that genuinely and intentionally reflect citizen needs and are therefore more likely to be effective and accepted by them once implemented. Citizen focus Exhibit C - Policy and program development cycle: Design thinking focus goes much further than many public policy consultations – with citizen needs taken into account at every stage of development. This ensures the final product is far more likely to be accepted and valued.

11. What is Design Thinking?(innovation) Design’s tools and method give public servants an innovative process to manage the increasing complexity of their work Australia faces short and medium-term policy challenges that are making public sector work more difficult – for example, climate change, the ageing population and entrenched disadvantage. Some of these problems are wicked – featuring stakeholders with different world views and frames for understanding the problem. Against this backdrop, we face tight fiscal constraints on public service organisations which threaten many core operations and priorities. Design’s tools and method can help public servants find innovative solutions to contemporary policy and program challenges. By involving and focusing on the user/citizen, understanding the problem in context and experimenting to succeed quickly and innovatively, design thinkers can find new ways to address these complex challenges. Design’s user focus also helps address wicked problems by recognising, analysing and finding innovative insights into the contributing conditions: system fragmentation; and involving the social network of controllers, influencers and the impacted. • Design Thinking’s focus • on user/citizen’s needs makes it ideal for addressing contemporary challenges in public policy • and programs Design delivers citizen centred public policy and programs and helps meet rising citizen expectations of governments Social media, the internet and new technology is changing the way institutions, including governments, interact with the public. The demand for customised and personally tailored services is placing pressure on both private and public sectors. As such, public servants must involve the citizen in the design and development of services and policies. And expectations are rising that governments deliver services in an innovative way, in line with private sector developments, particularly to take advantage of new technologies and advancements in ICT. This creates opportunities for innovation and new ways of delivering information and services. Design can help public servants seize those opportunities. Design’s user focus, experimentation and doing bias, and rigorous innovative method can help public servants deliver citizen centric public policy and programs that meet rising expectations. “solving a wicked problem is fundamentally a social process understanding and involving the controllers, the influencers and the impacted” Jeff Conklin (www.cognexus.org)

12. What is DesignGov? Introduction to DesignGov design@design.gov.au | (02) 6125 4974 | GPO Box 9839, Canberra ACT 2601

13. What is DesignGov?(background) • The Australian Public Service Secretaries Board established DesignGov to apply design led innovation • to cross agency public policy problems • Name: DesignGov, the Australian Centre for Excellence in Public Sector Design. • Established by: Secretaries Board of the Australian Public Service. • Start date: July 2012. • Organisation type: 18 month experimental pilot (funding from July 2012 – December 2013). • Objective: Under its Charter document DesignGov was set up to apply design-led innovation to problems that are: • Customer-facing and user-centric in nature • Of strategic significance and not readily undertaken within the normal operations and existing processes of government • Cross-cutting or multi-portfolio in scope and of central interest to several departments, and • Would benefit from new thinking, in particular a design thinking approach. • The intent was to address problems that are in the ‘white space’ – the problems that fall in the gaps between agencies. • Motto: • ‘Reframing problems, Reshaping Experiences’. • Operational format: DesignGov was a lean team supported by small seed funding from four investing agencies (Department of Industry; Department of Immigration and Border Protection; Department of Education; and the Australian Taxation Office) as well as in-kind support from the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet and the Australian National University. Historical context: The establishment of DesignGov was the result of a series of reports from the public service examining its public sector innovation capability. It was recommended by the APS Innovation Action Plan which was released in June 2011 and set out the expectations of the leadership of the public service in terms of innovation. Original DesignGov Board Mr Greg Smith (Chair) Dr Don Russell (Industry) Prof Jane Halton (DoHA) Mr Andrew Metcalfe (DAFF) Ms Lisa Paul (DEEWR) Mr Chris Jordan (ATO) Mr Steve Sedgwick (APS Commissioner) Mr Chris Lonchampt(External Expert) Ms Jane Treadwell (CEO)

14. What is DesignGov?(approach) • Apply design to wicked problems • in the white space between agency • responsibilities to co-develop • practical solutions • Governance • Business Model • Working Name • Wicked Problem Identification and Selection • Business and Government • Interactions Project • Prospectus X 3 • Procurement • Ethnography • Networks – collaboration • Prototype nomination • Leadership • Co-Design Network • International Advisory Group • Public Sector Leaders Forum • Exposure and Engagement events • Professional Development – private and public sector initiated 1 2 • DesignGov had four major value propositions, and aimed to deliver both insights and impact for its key stakeholders Build Capability of decision makers in Design Thinking

15. What is DesignGov?(approach) • Co-develop a shared language • and approaches for design-led • innovation • Shared understanding of current penetration, value and examples of design in the public sector. • Building a registry of case studies • Building common citizen personas and citizen journey maps • Alignment and learning – Global Dialogue • Introduce new methods and • tools for problem identification, • solving and prototyping • Conduct and contribute to the public sector use of methods and tools • Seminars • Agency planning workshops • Insight Seminars • Use of Blogs and Social Media • Start-up experiences • Whole of Government approach vehicles • Ideas for innovations • Online Dialogue with businesses and public servants 3 4 • DesignGov has four major value propositions, aims to deliver both insights and impact for its key stakeholders

16. What is DesignGov?(method) • DesignGov’sadapted * double diamond method solves problems through a five stage design process, with different techniques for each stage 1- SEEKING to understand the present context, the problem, the outcome sought and gain shared ownership of the shared intent Techniques: Ethnography, immersive fieldwork, contextual interviews 2- ANALYSING knowledge and identifying insights from a ‘citizen point of view’ Techniques: Memorable and engaging tools; including stories, scenarios, visualisations, enactments and descriptive frameworks 3-SYNTHESISING and generating new ideas, concepts and possibilities Techniques: Brainstorming, rehearsing potential new futures and selecting potential concepts 4- PROTOTYPING and evaluating the new ideas that are likely to achieve the desired user experience and outcome. Learn by doing and fail early so as to succeed sooner Techniques: Developing proto-types to trial the new ideas, evaluating out-comes and refining the prototypes 5- SCALING the selected design solution in order to meet the needs of the broader user base Techniques: Applying best practice project and change management approaches to implement the changes. Understand and influence the broader context. * Note: Double diamond method adapted from the Double Diamond method used by the UK Design Council. (http://www.designcouncil.org.uk/designprocess)

17. DesignGov’s Inaugural Project: How might we dramatically improve business and government interactions? Introduction to DesignGov design@design.gov.au | (02) 6125 4974 | GPO Box 9839, Canberra ACT 2601

18. DesignGov’s Inaugural Project (seeking) • DesignGov’s first • project addressed the problem of ‘How might • we dramatically improve business and government interactions?’ • The project consisted of two parts, with part one reaching completion in July, 2013 • The DesignGov Board (consisting of a number of Secretaries and Agency Heads as well as the CEO and two external representatives) chose this project as meeting the DesignGov Charter’s priorities. The project followed a two part process. • Part 1focused on understanding the problem and attempting to reframe it into specific areas to be explored further and addressed through experimentation. This involved: • Development of a ‘Design Prospectus’ as a vehicle for seeking investment from interested agencies • Twelve agencies contributing funds or staffing (through secondments and MoUs) • Undertaking contextual interviews with business people, representatives of business intermediary groups (such as peak bodies), and individual public servants • An open ideas platform, accessed through the internet, seeking ideas about how interactions could be improved • A survey of 300 public servants to better understand their interactions • Validation workshops with additional business people and public servants to test the findings • Development of a model for understanding interactions and the key areas for intervention PART 1 Note: For further information on the experience with the project, see the website’s project page: http://design.gov.au/doing/projects/business-and-government-interactions-project/

19. DesignGov’s Inaugural Project (findings) • During the first part of the project, DesignGov found that mutual • misunderstandings and systemic problems were the key issues to be addressed • Part 1 made 13 key findings, which indicated that clashes of perceptions, expectations and concerns matter most in business-government interactions • When the project was agreed, it was thought that the volume of “red tape” and transactional payments and reporting were the main problems for businesses • However, Part 1’s 13 key findings indicated that these were not the primary issues; rather a highly nuanced picture emerged • Beyond the transactional relationship, it appeared that it is often a clash of perceptions, expectations and concerns that shape the interactions and can lead to frustration and waste of time, money, effort and interest • It was also found that some deficiencies in business and government interactions were manifestations of seemingly unrelated systemic problems within the public service • Drawing on these findings, • DesignGov reframed the problem as one of shared striving but mutual misunderstandings • At its heart the reframed problem was that although businesses, business intermediaries and public servants are working towards common aims (shared striving) there are different, and sometimes clashing, perceptions, expectations, concerns and even language (mutual misunderstanding) that shape the interactions • This underlying tension means that while each side has significant common ground, current dealings between business and government can mean the common ground is lost in translation Note: For further information on the findings, see the website’s findings page: http://design.gov.au/2013/09/11/understanding-business-and- government-interactions-lost-in-translation-shared-striving-and-mutual-misunderstanding/

20. DesignGov’s Inaugural Project (interactions) • DesignGov developed • an interactions framework for action to set out the five specific problems to address • The framework to the right at Exhibit D drew on the needs, insights and findings of the project to identify where initiatives are most likely to lead to better experiences • The framework highlights: • the concerns of businesses, intermediaries and public servants when they are interacting • matters that need to be addressed to ensure that any one interaction is successful • aspects of the overall system of interactions which need to be addressed to achieve the best outcomes • The project findings combined with the frame-work suggested five specific problem areas within the broader business and government inter-actions problem space, namely: • The context for interactions between business and government keeps changing • Finding answers from government, in particular those that are meaningful, is hard • Businesses perceive consultation as “nonsultation” and engagementas limited • There is a lack of clear problem solvingchannels that span agencies and jurisdictions and that affect businesses • The preconditions for high standard service provision in the APS, allowing forrespect and consideration, are not consistently available throughout the public sector Exhibit D – Stage 1 Interactions Framework

21. DesignGov’s Inaugural Project (concepts) • DesignGov identified five concepts for prototyping to dramatically improve the five sub-problems • Against the sub-problems identified in Exhibit D (previous slide), Exhibit E sets out the five concepts identified as suitable for prototyping, to test their suitability and feasibility in dramatically improving business and government interactions • 1. Emerging Issues Detection – shared intelligence for adaptive readiness: a systemic approach for sharing emerging issues that might have relevance for business and government interactions, and giving agencies and industry time to consider implications and make connections • 2. BabelGov – navigating government with crowd support: a peer-to-peer crowd-support platform, where people can ask questions about navigating government and government processes, and other people (business people, public servants, intermediaries or just interested citizens) can provide answers. Such peer-to-peer crowd-support platforms have been successfully used in many different settings, including commercial ones (e.g. Telstra’s Crowdsupport) • 3. OneConsultation.gov.au – increased consultation options in one place:a single place for conducting consultations, supplemented by a suite of consultation and engagement tools and options to suit a variety of stakeholder and agency needs • 4. Fix-it Squads – tackling priority problems through immersion:a form of tiger team made up of seconded public servants from relevant agencies who are charged with investigating issues identified by business and agreed by government • 5. Service by Design – embedding a bias for service within the public service:a common framework of service design principles and service infrastructure Exhibit E – Interactions Framework with associated prototypes

22. A – Design methods and tools B – Examples of design C – Examples of the work of international design firms D – Examples of design in public policy E – General sources on design F – Examples of design tools Appendices Introduction to using design in government design@design.gov.au | (02) 6125 4974 | GPO Box 9839, Canberra ACT 2601

23. Appendix A – Design methods and tools

24. Appendix A – Design methods and tools

25. Appendix A – Design methods and tools

26. Appendix B – Examples of design generally

27. Appendix C – Examples of the work of international design firms

28. Appendix C – Examples of the work of international design firms

29. Appendix D – Examples of design in public policy • What’s been done

30. Appendix E – General sources

31. Appendix E – General sources

32. Appendix F – Examples of design tools