Making stats easier to understand
Benjy Stanton
Kieran Forde
Interaction designer
@benjystanton
March 2019
Content designer
@kieran_forde
#SDinGov
@benjystanton and @kieran_forde
Benjy Stanton
@benjystanton and @kieran_forde
Kieran Forde
Content designer
1½ years at ONS
Magor
@benjystanton and @kieran_forde
ONS collects, processes and publishes stats
@benjystanton
Better statistics, �better decisions
@kieran_forde
Digital Publishing
@benjystanton
The role of Digital Publishing
Run the ONS website
Rest of organisation creates content
We guide and help
@kieran_forde
2. Kick-off
@benjystanton and @kieran_forde
Frame the problem
Why are we doing this?
Who are our users?
What problem will it solve?
What are our key metrics?
hollidazed.co.uk/2015/07/28/frame-the-problem
@benjystanton and @kieran_forde
Bulletins
Long and complex
Try to do too much
Don’t meet user needs
@benjystanton and @kieran_forde
Information foragers
Expert analysts
Inquiring citizens
Information foragers
Expert analysts
Inquiring citizens
Data literacy
Information foragers
Expert analysts
Inquiring citizens
Bulletin users?
@benjystanton and @kieran_forde
Find
Use
Learn
@benjystanton and @kieran_forde
Find
Use
Learn
Bulletins
Good services are verbs
Noun: bulletins
Verb: understand new data
designnotes.blog.gov.uk/2015/�06/22/good-services-are-verbs-2/
@benjystanton and @kieran_forde
As an information forager I need…
…clear language and simple layout, so that I can understand the content.
…a way to switch between different sections easily, so that I can understand things at my own pace.
@benjystanton and @kieran_forde
Design sprint pros
Everyone in room together
Talking and sketching
Intro to service design ways of working
digitalblog.ons.gov.uk/2018/06/22/redesigning-�bulletins-my-first-and-benjys-second-design-sprint/
@benjystanton and @kieran_forde
Design sprint cons
Group think
Too fast?
Skips past difficult problems
@benjystanton and @kieran_forde
@benjystanton and @kieran_forde
Launched some design changes
@benjystanton and @kieran_forde
In hindsight…
Prototype built on assumptions
Didn’t validate them properly
Iterated and iterated
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3. Content
@benjystanton and @kieran_forde
Arrange content around your users world, not your own
@benjystanton and @kieran_forde
@benjystanton and @kieran_forde
Find
Use
Learn
Bulletins
@benjystanton and @kieran_forde
Analysis
Methods
Data
What people want to learn
Bulletins mixed tasks and topics
@benjystanton and @kieran_forde
Our theory
Structure content around task-based headings
�
Write about the topics �people are most �interested in
@benjystanton and @kieran_forde
Our plan
....once we’ve finished the proofreading.
@benjystanton and @kieran_forde
make sure all ONS bulletins adopt this structure
For our team of five to
How do you build an organisation’s capability to meet �user needs?
@benjystanton and @kieran_forde
https://digitalbaking.tumblr.com/
@benjystanton and @kieran_forde
@benjystanton and @kieran_forde
4. Problems
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“…there will be more interesting stories to share by the time the conference rolls around.”�
– me, 2018
@benjystanton and @kieran_forde
It’s complicated
Realities of involving rest of org created pressure
Difficult to keep team together
Teams fell into old silos
@benjystanton and @kieran_forde
Scepticism crept in
@benjystanton and @kieran_forde
Moving from “alpha” to “beta”
Without a formal process
Worried about risks
Reviewed our initial work, turned it into a formal discovery
@benjystanton and @kieran_forde
As a user,
I need a clear and simple page layout,
so that I can read it easily.
@benjystanton and @kieran_forde
As a policy maker,
I need to know if knife crime has decreased,
so that I can evaluate my intervention.
@benjystanton and @kieran_forde
Census
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1st
25m
45k
Digital-first Census
End
users
Field�staff
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Effects of restructure
Interrupted momentum
No formal rotation policy in place
Harmed well-being
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@benjystanton and @kieran_forde
How to be more resilient
Work in pairs
Build relationships
Chat with friends
Switch off
benjystanton.co.uk/blog/how-to-be-a-more-resilient-service-designer/
@benjystanton and @kieran_forde
Zoom out
Visualise problems
It’s a long game
Keep going
5. Stakeholders
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User centred design �is messy
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It’s OK to be inconsistent (sometimes)
@benjystanton and @kieran_forde
Get buy-in from the top
@benjystanton and @kieran_forde
And the bottom
Get buy-in from the top
@benjystanton and @kieran_forde
And the bottom
Get buy-in from the top
But don’t forget the middle
@benjystanton and @kieran_forde
Bringing people with you takes time
@benjystanton and @kieran_forde
You cannot plan for all the things
@benjystanton and @kieran_forde
Working in the open, within the building
@benjystanton and @kieran_forde
As a member of your team, �I want to...
So that...
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6. Conclusion
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How did we know we were making things better?
@benjystanton
33
6052
91
Rounds of research
Miles travelled by train
Face to face participants
@benjystanton
80%
41%
197%
user satisfaction score
increase in pageviews
increase in the proportion of words that could be read
@kieran_forde
Thanks!�
@benjystanton and @kieran_forde