I’ve been involved in the implementation of low code in a couple of councils, and in the right circumstances it’s a great fit. In the panel session, I’ll be exploring what those circumstances are, and what some of low code’s pitfalls are, as well as what it is brilliant at.
I’m going to be chatting with the following ‘legends of low code’:
Kev Rowe, Croydon Council
Craig Barker, Cumbria County Council
Clare Evans, Tewkesbury Borough Council
Ben Evans, Ashfield District Council
Lee Gallagher, Hertsmere Council
Big thanks to Nick Hill for organising the panel – as well as being informative, it should be good fun too.
Something that I have found helps an awful lot is having a simple way to match identified user needs with the technology capabilities needed to meet them.
It helps in two main ways:
by encouraging people to consider the user needs they are trying to meet before thinking about technology solutions (always tempting, but dangerous!)
by reinforcing the message about capability-based technology delivery, as opposed to always thinking in terms of single monolithic systems
By considering user needs first, then identifying individual capabilities to meet them, it’s possible to come up with solutions that are more likely to succeed and can often be cheaper and quicker to implement.
A good example of when I used this was when I was advising on a new intranet project. The initial requirements list had all sorts of stuff in it – HR policies, telephone directory, social networking, better collaboration (whatever that means!), and loads of others.
I was able to break it down into the needs we were trying to meet, and then come up with the technology capavilities to meet those needs. I found that adding an extra translation layer betwene the teo – tasks – helped with doing this. Here’s an example below:
User need: I need to know if my pay will increase this April
Task: quickly and easily access details of pay grades and scales, via search or navigation
Technology capability: publish pages of content
Pretty obvious perhaps. But let’s look at another need:
User need: I would like to understand the organisation’s policy on remote working
Task: find and read a policy document
Technology capability: share and manage versions of documents
Now, traditionally both of these things are requirements for an intranet. But broken down in this way, we can understand that we need an intranet to publish pages of content, but perhaps for the sharing of formal documents, a more specific capability is needed?
I then add a fourth column, which outlines the potential technology to deliver the capability. In the latter case, this could be a system such as Sharepoint or Google Drive, which may already exist in the organisation.
By following this process through with all the identified user needs, you’ll end up with a list of what technology you’ll need, along with a map of what you already have that can do those things, and where you have gaps.
To make it super easy, here’s a Google Doc template, with a worked example for the intranet, that you can copy and make use of.
I find interesting things to read, bookmark them, save a chunk of text as a quote, and then occasionally copy and paste it all into a blog post, so you don’t have to.
Digital Inclusion Toolkit: now live
Leeds and Croydon Councils recently won central government funding to create a comprehensive and collaborative how-to guide for digital inclusion.
Delivering and accelerating in a pandemic – DWP Digital
Within DWP Digital our Technology Services team designs, builds and operates that platform, and in the last 10 months has ‘moved mountains’ to keep those services going.
Learning informally and socially means connecting our individual work with our teams, communities, and networks. It requires honing our curiosity and seeking out different perspectives and ideas. It takes more than individual sensemaking to understand complex situations, so we have to find others to challenge our assumptions and learn at the edge of our professional abilities.
Announcing our new digital skills training offer – MHCLG Digital
We’re inviting local authority staff to apply for one of 10 certified courses with FutureLearn, covering a range of topics such as accessibility, design, decision-making and leadership. We’re testing the water with a small number of licenses and courses, but if we get enough positive feedback we’ll look to purchase more and make it an ongoing thing.
The objective of the survey was to understand current activity across government in what might be termed new or emerging technologies that are related to digital or information technologies. Loosely defined, these are new technologies that do not currently have a critical mass, but which may have the potential to disrupt industries or generate significant savings.
