The more steps Defra takes towards becoming a user-centric, service design-focused organisation, the more we learn about changing the way we work and collaborate. That’s made more difficult in an organisation like Defra, which despite our best efforts over many …
A few weeks ago we posted a blog about how we’ve simplified the waste permits service. We've also made a short film about the agile team working on the service and how they are continually improving it based on feedback from users.
Minimum viable products (MVPs) are a hugely important part of service development. By aiming to release as early as possible you reduce the risk of never releasing at all. You also get valuable feedback from users using the system in …
A few weeks ago, we were invited to speak at an internal event for managers in one part of Defra. The subject of our talk was "What are digital skills, and how do we develop them?" We think that good …
How do you help people in a large organisation find out about the benefits of agile ways of working? Where can people go with specific questions about agile and how they should use it in their role? How do agile …
There’s a poster on the wall of our office in Warrington that says “ITERATE” in big letters on a bright yellow background. It’s there to remind us nothing we build is ever finished - there’s always something you can make …
Taking fresh water from any natural source is called "abstraction". Most people or organisations who want to abstract more than 20,000 litres of water per day from any single water source in England have to apply for a licence from …
This is a post about how Defra is using user centred design and agile delivery practices to rethink its performance management arrangements. Agile is still quite new in government, but it’s more common in software delivery teams - it’s not …
A cross-government collaborative team recently started a discovery looking at how waste movements are tracked across the UK. The team is keen to hear from regulators and businesses, to find out more about their needs. In this post I’ll explain …
The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) is one of Defra's delivery bodies. It is responsible for safeguarding animal and plant health for the benefit of people, the environment and the economy. Part of its work involves inspecting all sorts …
