Digital

  • Scottish Digital Academy – Building capability to deliver transformation.

    22nd November 2018 by

    Guest post by Agile coach, Dean Rhodes from the Scottish Digital Academy, Scottish Government. Our aim at the Scottish Digital Academy is “building capability to deliver digital transformation” but what does that actually mean? Well, on our courses, we focus on two main things, why we are building that service and how we build the...

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  • Developing content standards for better public services

    16th August 2018 by

    Screenshot of content standards which lists the following cateogries: content strategy, content delivery, content roles and digital first service standard.

    We’ve produced a set of content standards to help colleagues in the Scottish Government, and our public sector partners, deliver effective content. Our ultimate aim is to help improve public services. Why content standards are helpful Everything that public sector organisations publish should meet their users’ needs. Our standards will: provide tools, techniques and processes you...

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  • What content designers do when they’re not writing

    13th August 2018 by

    Poster from 2018 cross government content design conference that says "we communicate complex information simply, concisely and with a focus on user needs.

    This post was inspired by Leisa Reichelt’s excellent summary of what user researchers do when they’re not researching. Content designers: work as part of cross-functional service teams in the Scottish Government support public sector colleagues who are designing new services, or improving existing ones create and maintain content on mygov.scot People who haven’t worked with content designers...

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  • The 6 stages of the content lifecycle

    2nd August 2018 by

    Green hexagonal sign that says 'publish/ready'.

    This post is by Angela Morrison. Your content isn’t finished once you hit publish. It has a lifecycle which represents the stages each item should pass through, from planning and design right through to publishing and archiving. Sometimes this is called a content delivery workflow, or publishing workflow. Why it’s important Following a consistent content lifecycle helps your organisation create content that: is...

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  • Why collaboration is so important in content design

    1st August 2018 by

    This post is by Anne Walker, Senior Content Designer at Disclosure Scotland. I work in Disclosure Scotland (DS), a Scottish Government agency that protects children and adults who can’t safeguard themselves. DS is transforming how it delivers its services. Undertaking digital transformation means understanding how things work across a business. Content designers can only do this...

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  • Sex and/or gender — working together to get the question right

    5th July 2018 by

    This is a blog post by Jane Reid, Lead User Researcher at Disclosure Scotland. When someone applies for a government service, government organisations must only ask questions that are essential. Government organisations also have to make sure the citizen: understands the question can answer it appropriately feels respected When Disclosure Scotland, an agency of the Scottish Government, was testing their services...

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  • What the UK Government Interchange is and 3 reasons why you should take part

    15th May 2018 by

    If you’re like most people I’ve spoken to about the UK Government Interchange, your first question probably is, what is it? It’s part of the UK Government’s Devolution and You Campaign, a Civil Service learning campaign that’s been running since 2015, and I took part in it earlier this year. It aims to help the UK...

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  • The start of my content career

    24th April 2018 by

    This is a blog by Euan McGeechan, former Modern Apprentice and now Associate Content Designer in the Scottish Government’s Digital Directorate. After school I went straight to university, but left when I realised the course wasn’t for me. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do but I definitely had to find a job. When...

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  • Online Identity Assurance – welcoming expert and stakeholder input

    6th April 2018 by

    Some of Scotland and the UK’s leading minds on the issue of identity assurance have been brought together to support the delivery of the Online Identity Assurance (OIA) project. The inaugural meeting of the OIA Expert Group on Thursday 29 March was one of two key gatherings that took place last week, as the end...

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  • Empathy in user focused design

    5th April 2018 by

    The word user spelled out in black capital letters on a multicoloured background.

    Last month, a member of my family was rushed to hospital and needed heart surgery. (Thankfully, they’re doing well now.) I had to make sure that, once they were home, they had the care and support they needed. So I found myself on the receiving end of the kind of content I produce. In the...

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