Defra digital

What we learned about our users when we went fishing in their shoes

Posted by: Phil Baird, Posted on: 17 August 2017 - Categories: Defra digital, Defra services, Digital transformation

Being a Product Manager is about championing the needs of the users of a service. Our team, responsible for the “I want to fish” service (of which buy a rod fishing licence is a part), has got into the habit …

What we've learned about preparing for discovery

Posted by: David Thomas, Delivery Manager, the Environment Agency, Posted on: 7 August 2017 - Categories: Defra digital, Defra services, Digital transformation

Over the last year or so, I’ve heard a lot of colleagues in Defra talk about “pre-discovery”. They mean it as an additional phase of work to be done before discovery, which leads into alpha, beta and then live. My …

Why we care about data architecture

Posted by: Sarah Burnett, Head of Data Architecture, Data Transformation Programme, Posted on: 4 August 2017 - Categories: Data Transformation, Defra digital

We’re beginning to tell the story of how critical getting data architecture is to 'getting data right' for the Defra group.

A film about the flood digital service

Posted by: Dominic Burton, Posted on: 3 August 2017 - Categories: Defra digital, Digital transformation

The Environment Agency’s flood digital service is used by the public to check for local flood warnings by location as well as current river and sea levels. We spoke to the agile team that developed the service about how they are continually …

Time to talk, time to think, time to help

Posted by: Betsy Bassis, Posted on: 2 August 2017 - Categories: Defra digital

Hands up: who feels like they've got a lot on these days? Some days I'm so busy that I feel like I don't have time to breathe, let alone pause between meetings to gather my thoughts and think ahead. Part …

Better access to data to tackle Bovine TB

Posted by: Steve Wilkinson, Head of Innovation, Defra Data Transformation Programme, Posted on: 1 August 2017 - Categories: Data Transformation, Defra digital, Digital transformation, Software tools

Bovine TB is a complex and costly disease in cattle. Bringing Defra’s data together and providing better access and tools will really help us to tackle it.

Email less, talk more

Posted by: Colin Banno-Thorton, Head of Enabling Digital Transformation team, Defra, Posted on: 27 July 2017 - Categories: Defra digital

I want to talk about the subtle shift in communication approach within teams. Effective digital teams are good at trust and openness. It takes time to build behaviours like these, but I think they’re essential if you want your team …

Smarter working means making Defra a better place to work

Posted by: Betsy Bassis, Posted on: 24 July 2017 - Categories: Defra digital, Digital transformation

Read a blog post from Betsy Bassis, Defra Chief Operating Officer, explaining what it means to work smarter and why it's important

Collaborating, reflecting and iterating

Posted by: Stefan Janusz, Communications, Defra Data Programme, Posted on: 21 July 2017 - Categories: Defra digital

We teamed up with our friends in Digital Transformation to show what #datacando... With the help of Defra Leaders and Data and Digital experts, we showed off some of our work in data and digital services and made the case that transformation is about people, processes and culture...

John Murray mashing geospatial data at #DataMash

Posted by: John Murray, Data Science Lab, University of Liverpool, Posted on: 18 July 2017 - Categories: Defra digital

John Murray's work with #opendefra LiDAR yields 'actionable insights' – by mashing geospatial data from a range of sources, he shows how social patterns follow physical features.

Blog Defra digital

Flood digital: user-driven service design and agile working