The actual problems to be solved

#SDinGov@kateldn / @ayeshamoarif
The actual
problems to
be solved
Kate Tarling @kateldn

Ayesha Moarif @ayeshamoarif #SDinGov

1. Getting to the right problem
2. The right kinds of solutions
3. Building in the right kind of way

Getting to
the right
problem

The better you
define the problem,
the better the
solution

Some challenges
● Tech fixes for ill-defined problems

● Teams and budgets focussed on own problems

● Different solutions for same core issue

● No overview of work delivered... or if it’s making
anything better
#SDinGov2017@kateldn / @ayeshamoarif

Problem or solution?
“Let’s scan documents to cut down on paperwork”

“We’ll tackle the backlog with a streaming tool”

“An online portal will modernise our process”

Do we “transform” our
systems or update them?
What’s the wider service
the systems support?

What do we need to
improve and how?
What’s the real problem?

“We need a portal for
applicants to submit
their bank statements
electronically”
1. Break down a brief

electronically”
Who is
“we”?
Why now?  
Or else?
Why do
users need
to do this?
What does
this allow
us to do?
What are
users really
trying to do?
What does
this data
tell us?
Why this?
How else?

● What is it we couldn’t do before? Why do it?

● Who is it for, i.e. users and internal people?

● What outcomes are they looking for?

● What do we do now and why?

● What critical things are we assuming?

● Anything we need to be aware of?

● How would we know we’re successful?
2. (Re)write the brief

● What are people actually doing or what’s the
end-to-end service as they would know it?

● What core need does the service meets?

● Where does the work fit in that?

● What does the work make better on a
service level?
3. Frame the problem

Services exist
because
someone wants
to do something

Real needs go
beyond the service
Start there

“Study in the UK”
not
“Class 3 visa application”

A service
Sub-services
Activities
Capabilities
Technology
Data
What someone needs to do, e.g. “study in the UK”
Major steps e.g. applying or deciding
All the things people need to do
The ability to deliver those things
Systems and tools to enable delivery
The actual data e.g. name, address

#SDinGov@kateldn / @ayeshamoarif*example service for demo purposes only

● Get people to work together on this

● See where we do and don’t agree

● Build shared understanding of the problem

● Identify other parties involved but not
present

● Decide what we are and are not going to
tackle
4. Agree the problem boundaries

(Decide a solution) (Question everything)
“Prevent x

Allow y
Faster n
Less z”
Describe
outcomes
“Build a
portal”
“Why study
abroad?”
5. Give “better” a shape

(Decide a solution) (Question everything)
electronically”

We believe that how we get users to
prove they meet our financial criteria 
isn't working well because people don’t
provide the right information, what they
send isn’t clear and it takes a long time
to determine

which results in a costly service to run,
with lots of paperwork being checked
manually, and lower confidence.

How can we make knowing whether
people meet this criteria clearer, faster
and easier?

“Speed up decision-making by
checking financial eligibility in a way
that reduces the chances of sending
incorrect or out of date information”
(Decide a solution) (Question everything)Describe
outcomes
6. Get ready for discovery

If it’s got a
name, it’s not
a discovery

1. Break down solution to uncover the problem
2. Frame it in wider service / what people are
doing
3. Agree broadly what problem is and isn’t
4. Discipline thinking to define “better”
outcomes for now
5. Use it to start discovery and iterate

Think of a way to reframe the problem underlying this brief and re-write it:

“We want a digital hub where people can log in to
manage their council tax and self-serve more”
Exercise

The right
kind of
solutions

It’s easy to come up with ideas and
solutions…

...that bear no resemblance to anything
you’ve actually learned or are really
trying to achieve.
The problem

The best service is
one where no one
has to do anything

● Go back to first principles

● Ask the fundamental questions

● Go back to the original brief and ask why again

● Write down what actually needs to happen - not
just what is happening now
What problems are we solving?

Use the wrong
words and you’ll
focus on the wrong
problems

What actually
needs to happen?
Find out how...

Check eligibility

Get proof

Report something

Stop something

Make a decision
Unclear
activities
Managing…

Reviewing...

Working a case

Verify application

Streaming work

Working a case
#SDinGov2017
What actually
needs to happen?
Check suitability

Check eligibility

Check entitlement

Make decision

Notify of a decision

Issue proof
Unclear
activities

Check eligibility

Check entitlement

Make decision
Remove need for
checks

Use what we know

Manual checks

Automate checks

Triage checks

Issue proof
Ways we could do
these activities
What actually
needs to happen

Trying to
find out
what is
happening
Need
passport
back
Worry about
posting
passport
Users don’t
know what
to expect

Don’t block
yourself in. There
won’t be one neat,
single solution.

Idea
“An application tracker so people can see
what’s happening with an application”

For your idea to be
the answer, what
would have to be
the problem?

Make provocative statements
● People expect it won’t take very long. If we explain
clearly what’s involved up front, they’ll worry and
chase less.

● The hardest thing isn’t applying, it’s having to be away
from one’s passport. So let’s stop taking them away.
● People seem to call every 7 days or so. If we email
weekly with an update they’ll feel more confident.

By coming up with ideas you’re moving
away from research insight to (informed)
assumptions.

And towards ways to test how right or
wrong you are.

2. Reduce
the time it
takes to
make
decisions
3. Check
eligibility
without
passport
4. Notify
users
regularly
1. Set
realistic
expectations
up front
5. Track
your
application

If you can’t easily relate your ideas back
to how you framed the problem, either
you were wrong about the problem or you
are wrong about your solutions.

1. What really needs to happen & what
are the real user needs
2. ‘How might we…’
3. Don’t block yourself in
4. Make provocative statements
5. Turn statements into clear ideas
6. Find out how wrong or right

Idea
● 5 second summary

● Which user needs addressed

● Why else do this and what we get

● What we need as input to do this

● What it involves

● Key risks & challenges

● How might we measure

● Future opportunities to hold space for?

5 second summary Notify users regularly about application progress
Which user needs addressed Need my passport back, don’t know if the right thing is
happening, feeling anxious
Why do this and what we get It’s about how we communicate while we’re checking eligibility.
If we get it right this idea may help increase confidence, reduce
support centre costs and time
What we need Input from operational area, input from policy
What it involves Could be GOV.UK Notify and email or SMS updates
Key risks & challenges Getting updates may require change to legacy system. May be
long periods of time where nothing is happening. This fixes a
symptom not the root cause (time/passports)
How might we measure? Confidence from users the right things are happening, ratio of
contact about this.

Level of complexity,
cost, resources

How expensive?
Potential impact on the core
problems and what you’ve learned

is it a good idea or not?
2. Reduce
the time it
takes to
make
decisions
3. Check
eligibility
without
passport
4. Notify
users
regularly
1. Set
realistic
expectations
up front
5. Track
your
application

Think of a way to reframe the problem underlying this brief and re-write it:

How might we help people know what to expect and
how long it might take, when applying for something?
Exercise

Write a pitch
● 5 second summary

● Which user needs addressed

● Why else do this and what we get

● What we need as input to do this

● What it involves

● Key risks & challenges

● How might we measure

● Future opportunities to hold space for?

Building
(or changing)
things in the
right kind of way

It’s easy to let the momentum of the build
drive everything.

Especially when we’re not sure we’re
addressing the right problems - and even
when we are.

Where things go wrong
● Are we building features or working towards
outcomes?

● What’s the difference between user needs
and user stories?

● Who should stories refer to?

● When is a story ‘ready’?

What is a user need?
● Things people need to do - functional needs

● Emotional needs - perhaps people feel stressed
or anxious and they need reassurance

1. If you show this need to a real end user would they
recognise it as their own need?

2. Does it help you to organise or prioritise the work for
your project?

3. Does the need describe the problem and not the
solution?

4. Will the need stay the same regardless of changes to
technology, policy or how an existing service works?
Litmus test for user needs by @leisa

When you move away from research
insight and lived experience towards lists
of user stories, you immediately increase
the likelihood of building the wrong thing

User stories
A set of assumptions about what will

● meet user needs

● get what it is that you want to achieve

● support the outcome you’re after,

given

● what you have learned about the problems and context

● In order to learn how right or wrong you are

Who are stories for?
“As a security specialist I need people to authenticate
themselves securely so that sensitive data is better
protected.”

This is dangerous.

Keep the connection
Why we set
out to do any
of this
Actual user
needs
User stories.

Assumptions
we’re making
Outcomes
we’re after.

Policy intent
Acceptance
criteria
What we’re
learning
about this
way of doing
something
How well this
is going to
perform,
given what
we’re trying
to do

Write stories as
a team from
now on

https://cucumber.io/blog/2015/12/08/example-mapping-introduction

Track what
you learn
from Josh Seiden at Interactions16 conference - @jseiden

http://melissaperri.com/2015/07/22/the-product-kata/#.WLraDUWLSnc#SDinGov2017@kateldn / @ayeshamoarif
Track what
you learn

● Get everyone to acknowledge this is all assumptions

● Keep tracking the important connections throughout

● Agree how you’ll handle the things you’re wrong on

Lots of red questions
suggest you’re not ready
When is a story ready?

Summary
1.Getting the right problem
2. The right kind of solutions
3. Building in the right kind of way

https://designpatterns.hackpad.com/Common-tasks-I4NgXoebESl

https://cucumber.io/blog/2015/12/08/example-mapping-introduction

https://www.slideshare.net/7thpixel/introduction-to-assumptions-mapping-agile2016

http://melissaperri.com/2015/07/22/the-product-kata/#.WLraDUWLSnc
Thanks to Alice for the slide template
http://alicebartlett.co.uk/blog/how-to-do-ok-at-slides
Thank you.

The actual problems to be solved

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The actual problems to be solved