Programme overview
Technical depth: Practitioner · Practical mode: Case study
Introduction
Governments now offer hundreds of services online, yet many simply move a paper form onto a website. Citizens still submit the same documents repeatedly, abandon applications halfway and fall back on counters and call centres. This Core Concept course equips public-sector managers to redesign services around user needs, from journey research and service blueprints to accessibility, digital identity, data sharing and performance measurement. Participants work through cases from several administrations and leave with a Digital Service Improvement Plan for a priority service in their own organisation.
Course Objectives
- Assess a public service's current performance and user pain points with journey mapping and completion data
- Apply the OECD Digital Government Policy Framework and ISO 9241-210 human-centred design principles to set service design priorities
- Redesign end-to-end service journeys using service blueprints, once-only data sharing and life-event service bundles
- Specify accessibility, identity assurance and inclusion requirements using WCAG 2.2 and ISO/IEC 29115
- Define service performance indicators and feedback and complaint loops that drive continuous improvement
- Produce a Digital Service Improvement Plan ready for approval by the service owner
Target Audience
- Service owners and managers accountable for citizen- and business-facing public services
- Digital transformation managers in ministries, municipalities and public agencies
- Customer experience and service channel managers responsible for service quality
- Policy managers whose programmes are delivered through digital channels
- Product and delivery managers leading public digital service teams
Course Outline
Day 1: Digital Government Context and Service Baseline
- From E-Government to Digital Government: Maturity Stages
- UN E-Government Development Index and Online Service Index Components
- Public Service Inventory and Life-Event Clustering
- Current-State Journey Mapping and Pain Point Analysis
- Service Baseline: Completion Rate, Digital Take-Up and Cost per Transaction
Day 2: Frameworks and Design Principles
- OECD Digital Government Policy Framework: Six Dimensions
- ISO 9241-210 Human-Centred Design Process
- Double Diamond Service Design Method
- Government as a Platform: Shared Components and Reusable Services
- ITIL 4 Service Value Chain for Public Digital Services
Day 3: Designing and Delivering Digital Services
- User Research Plan: Interviews, Usability Testing and Personas
- Service Blueprint for Front-Stage and Back-Office Processes
- Once-Only Principle and Interoperable Data Exchange Design
- Proactive and Bundled Services Triggered by Life Events
- Minimum Viable Service and Alpha-Beta-Live Delivery Phases
Day 4: Inclusion, Trust and Service Quality
- WCAG 2.2 Accessibility Conformance Review
- Digital Identity Assurance Levels under ISO/IEC 29115
- Assisted Digital Channels and Digital Inclusion Measures
- ISO 10002 Complaint Handling and Feedback Loops
- Service KPI Dashboard: Customer Effort Score, Satisfaction and Cost to Serve
Day 5: Case Work and the Service Improvement Plan
- Business Licensing Case Study: Journey Redesign and Data Reuse
- Social Benefits Case Study: Accessibility and Assisted Channel Review
- Own-Service Journey Map and Service Blueprint Build
- Digital Service Improvement Plan Drafting
- Service Owner Review Panel and Plan Defence
Skills You Will Gain
- Public Service Design
- User Research
- Customer Journey Mapping
- Service Blueprinting
- Digital Accessibility Assessment
- Service Performance Measurement
- Digital Identity Planning
- Government Data Sharing Design
Why Attend This Course
- Return with a Digital Service Improvement Plan for a priority service, reviewed by a service owner panel
- Show leadership where users drop out of a service and what fixing it would save
- Move from digitising forms to redesigning whole services around life events
- Compare practice with public-sector managers from other administrations and countries
Conclusion
A digital public service succeeds when people can complete it the first time, without extra visits, repeated documents or specialist help. This course moves from measuring current services and understanding the principal digital government frameworks, through user research, service blueprints and data sharing, to accessibility, identity, inclusion and quality. The final day applies these methods to public-sector cases and to each participant's own service, producing a Digital Service Improvement Plan that service owners can approve and delivery teams can act on.
