Digital Service Strategy

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Designing Service Nobody Wants

Dominique + Blair | The Province of British ColumbiaSDN 2013

BLAIR NEUFELDDirector, Service DesignGovernment Communications + Public Engagement

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DOMINIQUE BOHNExecutive Director, Service ReformMinistry of Justice | Court Services

WE ARE IN THE BUSINESS OF DESIGNING SERVICES AND POLICY THAT PEOPLE WOULD PREFER TO AVOID.

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PEOPLE LOOK TO GOVERNMENT SERVICE WHEN THEY ARE SICK, POOR, ANGRY, IN CRISIS.

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Or government service comes after you!

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AND COURT, ESPECIALLY, IS NOT A PLACE MOST PEOPLE WOULD CHOOSE TO BE.

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Court is a place, an idea, a byzantine process, a social performance, and a whack of paperwork.

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Including registries and other back stage and near stage touchpoints.

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ADDITIONAL TO ITS HISTORY AND DEEP SOCIAL MEANING, JUSTICE, AND COURTS ESPECIALLY, IS A SERVICE TO CITIZENS.

BUT THOSE OF US WORKING IN COURTS SHOULD TAKE RESPONSIBILITY TO MAKE THE EXPERIENCE THE BEST POSSIBLE, FOR CITIZENS, STAFF, JUDGES, LAWYERS…

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MUDDLES AND SERVICE FAILURES AMOUNT TO A MISCARRIAGE OF JUSTICE. (We can’t F it up.)

“...focus on timely, balanced justice and public safety

operations, on better service to the public in civil,

family, administrative and criminal law settings, and

on innovation in citizen-focused justice

processes.”

“ 1. Put the Public First Too often, we focus inward on how the system operates from the point of view of those who work in it. Until we

involve those who use the system in the reform process, the system will not really work for those who use it. “

- Action Committee on Access to Justice in Civil and Family Matters

Good directions, but need some navigational tools to

get us there. And we have challenges seeing the

middle distance.

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The BC Service Design Playbook First Release (October 2013)

Good service design is hard work, especially in government. Here’s help.

Most of the time, we’d prefer to go about our lives and not have to deal with government. But when we do need something from government – a permit, a tax break, or care for an ageing parent – we want the service to be simple and supportive.

This playbook describes the BC government’s approach to make peoples’ experience of government better. Its about building services with people and not for them. The design method brings together citizens and government staff to understand where the challenges are now and make sure we are solving real problems. These are practical tools to help us imagine, make and measure improved services. …more

Why?We can do even better. This is a new yet proven way to improve service holistically so that its better for citizens and for staff. It builds on our success with User Experience Design, Lean and Transformation Planning.

Who is this for?This approach is aligned with the IM/IT process, and is a required step if you are beginning an approved capital project or considering developing a business case.

How is it done?Four phases, four months. An intensive research, prototyping, testing and planning project.

And when?Before embarking on a capital project, work with the Digital Services Office to initiate a service design project following the methods in this playbook.

4 Phases DiscoveryOpportunityPrototypeRoadmap

in 4 months, in line with

4 PrinciplesService is our businessDesign with citizens,

not for themTry before you buyStart with simple

THE GOAL IS TO MAKE SERVICE BETTER FOR BOTH THOSE PROVIDING THE SERVICE AND THOSE USING IT.

THE WORK IS BASED ON RESEARCH WITH REAL PEOPLE IN REAL SERVICE ENVIRONMENTS.

IT IS BOTH POSSIBLE AND NECESSARY TO TEST AND MEASURE SERVICE. Photo by Vicki / Knitorious on flickr

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PAIN POINTS, EMOTIONAL RESPONSES, CONTEXTS OF SERVICE, AND MORE.

FUEL TAX CREDIT FORM50% failure rate with current form. In-context usability testing uncovered obvious design problems.

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Maybe there is a smarter default? Why not a point of sale discount rather than a rebate?

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LANDLORD – TENANT DISPUTE RESOLUTION: On the Government Services Top Ten List!

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Online form use is down; up to 75% of counter service walk-in form submissions have errors.

Staff estimate that 25-30% of forms accepted into the system still have errors. We measured 5 applications with errors over a 3 hour period with an average of 10 minutes per application. (~27%)

Plenty of thoughtfully written supporting information in offices and online.

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Telephone tribunals work well, but not without complications: missed hearings, incomplete files, etc.

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CREDIT CARD ONLY PARKING PRESENTS MORE DELAYS AND MISSES.

And wayfinding in the building is difficult. The office doesn’t have an obvious government presence.

Tenant

“Actually I’d prefer to do [telephone arbitration] 'cause I would be really uncomfortable sitting in a room with these people that yell and scream, you know?

I wouldn't want to have to be in a hostile environment. This way I'm in my own home where so I'll be able to talk.”

“I'm not paying tax. I'm losing income. And that's loss for the government, too.”

Like just going through this process which takes a long time, it's like very frustrating … all this process, it's a disaster. Even phone calls here. You have to wait one hour to get a call back.”

EXPERIENCE MAP revealed more of the process, narrowed and sharpened priorities, and identified opportunities.

PROTOTYPING WITH REAL USERS:• New intake forms• Status awareness for cases• Peer to peer online dispute resolution

FORMS ARE HOW CITIZENS INTERACT WITH GOVERNMENT

Ease the volume and bottlenecks by helping people keeping on track with their hearing dates, paperwork, evidence.

Will online dispute resolution work in this context? Peer to peer?

NEW SERVICE MAPPING• Address service expectation gap• Provide resources in lieu of legal advice to improve

applications• Direct some cases to alternate dispute resolution

1. ADDRESS THE EXPECTATION GAP

The core service is to issue a DECISION or ARBITRATION based on evidence from applicants.

But applicants expect us to record complaints, provide compensation, enforce decisions and offer social services.

2. PROVIDE RESOURCES IN LIEU OF LEGAL ADVICE TO IMPROVE APPLICATIONS

Applicants have no legal representation, but staff (except arbitrators) cannot give legal advice.

Improve “dispute clarification” materials online to support front line staff and applicants.

3. DIRECT SOME CASES TO ALTERNATE DISPUTE RESOLUTION

Instead of directing most clients to a FORMAL HEARING with arbitrator, offer

- better dispute avoidance resources- party to party dispute resolution- intervention from arbitrator

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR THE TRANSFORMATION OF JUSTICE?

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BLAIR NEUFELD + DOMINIQUE BOHNProvince of British Columbia, Canada

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