Weeknotes of Adrián Ortega, content designer at the Centre for Digital Public Services in Wales.
As we wrap up our latest content testing round for the service manual, a few quick unrelated thoughts that have been brewing:
It's more common to dive into building a solution than pausing first to try and fully understand the problem at hand: we give opinions instead of listening, diagnose at face value, and start building without a plan. I’m also guilty of this. Probably because we come to things with prior worldviews, mental models, and the assumption that we understand how things work, and what the actual problems are. Attentive listening, deep thinking, and inquisitive questioning require humility, thoughtfulness, and a conscious effort to admit that we might not have the full picture.
Some advice against phishing tells you to pay attention to spelling errors and mistakes. But attempts to impersonate are easier to spot when the way your organisation communicates meet the communication and writing best practices and standards. When everyone in your organisation cares about how they communicate, poor communication becomes evident.
There’s often a misunderstanding in organisations about the role and purpose of their websites, seeing them just as simple communication tools: pushing out content, like a bulletin or notice board (hello GPs websites!). But there are other ways you can look at a website: a shop window, a library, an event calendars, a ticketing systems, a news reels. Failing to understand and recognise the purpose of your website often creates a poor user experience that does not meet your user needs nor your business goals.
I’m starting to realise that I’m in the minority in thinking that content design is often essentially service design (is content not sometimes the service in digital service design?). Currently I’m interested in organisation and culture design, and how content (as a cross-organisational activity and output) can support and influence it. Peter Drucker said ‘culture eats strategy for breakfast’, but does organisation design (or a lack of it) not determine culture?
A lack of alignment and a shared understanding lead to power struggles, confusion, reactivity, and bad surprises. Everyone feels pulled from and in many directions simultaneously, and progress is slow - if there’s any progress whatsoever. A clear understanding of the work is fundamental to move forward smoothly and efficiently.
I’ve been thinking about this scene from The 12 tasks of Asterix: one of the tasks is for Asterix and Obelix to request a permit that allow them to go onto the next task in ‘the place that sends you mad’. I used to love their films and comics as a child!
https://youtu.be/JtEkUmYecnk?si=8YD5dSg8Jq6j4ee9&t=34