Government is the best digital startup in London

Paul ShetlerChief Digital Officer, Ministry of Justice

What people’s expectations of digital services usually are

Hard to find and understand the claim forms he needed

Made simple mistakes on the court submission that cost him six weeks and £175 because the judge threw the case out

Long delays waiting for the post

Source: MOJ Digital User Research

Bill, 67Civil Claimant

Bill’s experience with MOJ was frustrating and wasteful

“Booking a visit is so upsetting. You ring and hold for ages then they just hang up. I’m worried sick.”

Her attitude to her situation:- Sherry is extremely upset and stressed – she is very concerned for her son’s immediate welfare and safety.- Worried about how he is coping with being in custody.- Anxious about the future impact of this on his life chances - he hasn’t had a criminal record up until now. Her biggest challenges:- It took over 10 hours for her to find out where her son was, and which prison he had been sent to- Needs reassurance that her son is safe and well- Needs to know that she will be able to book a visit to see him today. Her main information sources:- Her son’s solicitor – he told her which prison Dylan had been sent to.- Her daughter suggested going on the internet - they found a phone number to call.

Her son Dylan was remanded in custody yesterday for taking part in a theft. She is not used to technology and gets her daughter to help her.

- Emotional support (she is upset and worried).- Reassurance and confirmation she will get to see her son. - Clear signposting and information about what will happen - she’s never done this before.- Tools to help her remember details because she’s stressed and may make mistakes.

Key Needs:

Her main practical problems:- So far she hasn’t managed to get through on the phone line- She didn’t know where to begin to find information – the computer at home is her daughter’s and Sherry doesn’t know how to work it.- She has had to take the day off work at short notice to travel to the prison, but doesn’t want any of her colleagues to know why

Other information needs:- She needs to know what she can bring for him- She needs to work out how she is going to get to the prison- She wants to know how often she will be able to see him, especially at the weekend when she is not working.- She wants to know what being on remand involves and how long this will last

Sherry | 55 | Part time carer | Remand/New Visitor

We are changing the way that people access justice when they are at their most vulnerable

Founded October 17, 2012 to carry out HMG’s Digital by Default agenda within MOJ.

“Wherever possible our services, including information and transactions, will be delivered through digital channels, rather than face-to-face, phone or post.

Changing the way we work, and transforming our processes and practices.

Digital services will be designed around the needs of our users, whether public, practitioners, staff, partner organisations or stakeholders.

Digitising every aspect of the justice system possible by 2020.”

We’re 2 years old!

Collaborative, multidisciplinary teams filled with domain specialists

Products not projectsUsers not customersPeople not profitsShow don’t tellDeliver in 20 weeks or less

What’s different in government?

MOJ Digital Delivery Framework

We deliver quickly

Deliver in ‘20 weeks’ is not a rigid rule.

But it helps us pick a realistic piece of a complex service so

we can deliver value to citizens as soon as possible.

Minimum Viable Product - the right way

Origin: Spotify product development team

Civil Claims - a complex service

Transforming a service - piece by piece

3 of our 4 exemplars are LIVE right now

Lasting Power ofAttorney

LIVE

Civil ClaimsPrison Visits

Booking

Apply to an Employment

Tribunal

LIVE LIVE BETA

Our work doesn’t end with (fast) delivery

We listen to user feedbackWe change the service based on what we hearWe keep on iterating

A simpler, clearer, faster justice system

Ruthless focus on needs of the users

Simple, clean and humane access to justice

Digital by default (with support when needed)

End-to-end, radical service redesign

A seamless customer journey

Image credit: Lonpicman Creative Commons Licence

user journey

What we’re delivering

Serving the needs of users associated with:

16products

Courts

Prisons

Legal Aid

Office of the Public Guardian

Actual feedback quotes for our services:

"WELL DONE.THIS IS THE BEST WAY TO BOOKING A PRISON VISITS.A DONT NEED A VO TO DO THIS.NO TIME TO WAST.TANKYOU FOR THIS.HAVE A NICE NEW YEAR." - Prison visit booking, Rochester 2014

“Dear Sir: this is the best government website I’ve ever used!” - Lasting Power of Attorney, online feedback 2014

Feedback from users

We are hiring!bit.ly/MOJDigital