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Stages of the service design and delivery process

The playbook is structured using the service design and delivery process framework. The process teaches you how to start with user needs, not government needs and build services that are simpler, clearer, and faster.

What is the service design and delivery process?

The service design and delivery process is a new way of delivering government services that makes it easier and quicker to build the right thing for users. Traditionally, government has built services in response to policy needs, and user needs would be discovered after the thing was built and finished.

Traditional service design and delivery in government. Image from Getting started with the service design and delivery process (Opens in new window) by The Digital Transformation Agency.

The service design and delivery process changes this to start with user needs. The team continues to research with users through all stages to check they are building and improving the right thing.

Following the service design and delivery process can help you meet criteria 3 use agile and customer-centred processes (Opens in new window) from the digital service standard (Opens in new window) .

Definition: ‘Customers’ and ‘users’

The customer is the person who purchases a product or service, and the user is the person who uses it. Often the customer and the user are the same person, but not always.

Because of this, the playbook uses the term ‘user’ rather than ‘customer’.

Tip – Using other design approaches

This playbook uses the service design and delivery process, but you can use plays and game plans with other frameworks too – for example, human centred design (Opens in new window) (Opens in new window) .

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