Category: Blog

After speaking to a friend about their experience with healthcare services, I was somewhat surprised to hear the following: “Doctors are bollocks unless you have the money to pay for it. Black Male, 40s I put on a suit to go to the doctor’s, so that they take me more seriously. Black Male, 40s He… Continue reading Observations: ‘Dressing up’ to go to the doctors in the hopes of being taken seriously…

I’ve recently started looking at flights and holidays again.  A fantastic new feature I’ve noticed is the addition of the carbon rating for flights.  I can see that a long-haul flight I was interested in booking has +19% CO2. I assume this relates to travelling back and forth across the globe to make connecting flights. … Continue reading Introducing planet-centred design to flight booking experiences

As a lead service designer, one of my responsibilities is to help project teams see the big picture. This means understanding the broader context of the problem, the users’ needs, and the various stakeholders involved. By providing this perspective, I ensure that the team is designing an effective solution that fits into the larger ecosystem… Continue reading Enabling teams to see the big picture using service design

A friend had their wallet stolen whilst we were travelling. We noticed it 5 mins after the incident.  My friend was angry and annoyed, but it was interesting to observe how easy and convenient it can be to deal with stolen cards nowadays.  Firstly, all her bank accounts allowed her to report cards stolen online… Continue reading Observations: The user experience journey of having your cards stolen – when a bank is helpful and when it is not

Someone called claiming to be from my bank. They started the call by asking to speak to me by name. They then asked for my birth date – which I gave, and then they asked for my security date. Only then did I realise that I had started to give out personal information without thinking… Continue reading Improving security when receiving calls from financial institutions

I have had the pleasure of working on various exciting projects with teams of talented people. My career has allowed me to work at all ends of the design spectrum, from pre-discovery to live services and everything in between. As a result, I’ve learned much over the years and enjoy sharing best practices. This post… Continue reading Reflections from my time at HMRC’s Policy Lab

I had an appointment at the breast clinic. It was the smoothest, least stressful experience I’ve ever had seeking healthcare. They called it a one-stop shop. You went in and saw a doctor, had any scans needed and were told the next steps the same day. This all happened within a 1-3 hour visit. What… Continue reading How good service design led to an excellent interactions with the NHS

There was a big furore when WhatsApp changed its privacy policy. Lots of people thought that: their messages and interactions would no longer be private WhatsApp would be able to spy on their conversations WhatsApp would start sharing information with its parent company Facebook People started looking for alternative messaging apps, and the download rate… Continue reading Words matter – how WhatsApp spooked many of its users by being vague in its messaging

Call me old-fashioned, but I’ve only used standard NHS GP services, not the fancy digital services like Babylon. My local GP services have always required face-to-face appointments. My GP surgery also always had a 2-week wait for appointments which is very frustrating. During the pandemic, I needed to see a doctor to discuss a pain… Continue reading Observations: The changing interactions with doctors as a result of the pandemic

Businesses, particularly small businesses, have suffered during the recent lockdowns. The most recent tier-4 restrictions have meant that non-essential shops were required to close their doors at very short notice. However, small businesses have some advantages over big retailers when it’s impossible to know what COVID-19 will impose restrictions next week or even tomorrow. Big… Continue reading Example of a small businesses pragmatic approach to adapting to new lockdown restrictions