A few weeks ago we posted a blog about how we’ve simplified the waste permits service.
The Environment Agency’s waste permit service is used by businesses needing licences and permits to work in the waste industry.
This short film is about the agile team working on the waste permits service and how they are continually improving it based on feedback from users.
https://twitter.com/DefraDigital/status/978611882880847872
There's also a text transcript below, if you’d prefer to read one.
Waste Permits, Standard Rules Service
Adam Priestley, Product Manager: We’re looking to digitally transform the standard rules waste permits. The current service is an amalgamation of 20 or 30 PDF forms. But the main driver was to make the process a lot simpler for our users.
Stuart Taylor, Service Owner: We will have our customers come on to an interface, go through an application process. That gets sent to us electronically which will then populate into a backend system – that’s where we can start using the data automatically.
Amruta Bendre, Quality Assurance: This application will provide a one stop shop which will be more easy, more reliable and a quick way to process your applications and get the waste permits.
Agile ways of working
Adam Priestley, Product Manager: Because we’re working in an agile way, we get the feedback we can then iterate on the feedback and go back out a week later and test it again on the users: continuous testing, continuous user feedback.
Walt Buchan, User Researcher: We fix things as we go along. The more people we speak to the more research you do; the more that can feed into the solution that’s being built.
Chris Jibb, Developer: We can change to the demands - if new requirements become apparent as we’re doing the work we can factor that into the developments.
Jason Haywood, Business Analyst: The involvement with the customer is continuous. Essentially we develop the solution in steps. It enables you to be able to change course very quickly and ensures that what you develop in those stages is what meets with the business need.
Development – the future of the service
David Thomas, Delivery Manager: The system that we’ve built should be adaptable - that will work for waste permits but it will work for water permits, it will work for all sorts of other permits.
Jason Haywood, Business Analyst: It will grow to become the solution for licencing and permitting across the business.
Stuart Taylor, Service Owner: There’s a whole range of follow-ons to happen. Hopefully within the next three years we’ll have covered all the bases, we’ll have iterated the system across all the regimes.
Benefits: how digital development helps
David Thomas, Delivery Manager: I care most about the customers. It’s so difficult to apply for a waste permit – it’s a very complicated process and very expensive as well if you get it wrong. Moving that all online its making their lives massively easier.
Stuart Taylor, Service Owner: Our customers get the service that they deserve which helps them as a business to deliver the growth and their economic output while at the same time protecting people and wildlife and the environment from the potential harm that those activities can cause. Everyone’s a winner and as we go forward it will only get better and better.
