Most people in government have to deliver policy, products or services as part of their job. And whatever they're delivering, people face similar problems.
Over the last 6 months, my job was to understand what help people in the Department for Education (DfE) needed in order to deliver things.
Their answer was quite simple: they wanted practical help. Advice on how to do things.
They needed to make sure that they are tackling the right problem, that they better understand the scope at the start, and that they have the right research early on. They need to get answers fast. People were really clear that they wanted help to invest in the skills of their team. They said, “Advise and support me, but don’t do it for me.”
I spent weeks writing that guidance, and at the end found myself facing a new problem: how to share it with the thousands of people and dozens of teams working around DfE, in London and Manchester and elsewhere.
So I made it into a book, so I could literally hand copies of it to people.
Practical and dip-in-and-outable
It's not a publishing masterpiece. I used an online print-on-demand service to turn the documents I'd already written into a simple spiral-bound book. (The binding makes it easier to leave the book open to refer to, while you're doing something else.)
The Delivery Book is divided into 3 sections:
- Define the problem
- Establish your project
- Understand users
Each section is split into short chapters on specific topics (for example: 'Identify your assumptions' or 'Set out the benefit').
Each chapter follows the same format: What the topic or work is, when to do it, and how to do it. The how-to section is usually the longest and most detailed. Every chapter includes a suggested practical activity, with instructions for participants.
At the end of each chapter there are some tips and next steps.
Writing to this format makes the whole thing more dip-in-and-outable, which is the whole point. I do not expect most people to read the whole thing cover-to-cover, but rather to keep it handy and refer to it when they get stuck on specific issues.
Cheap, easy, iterative
As books go, it's basic.
But it does the job, and the reaction so far from teams I've given it to has been very positive. One person who’d tried some of the practical activities said their whole team benefited: “It's informed our conversations and helped us make a list of things to do next.”
Throughout the book, at the end of every chapter, there's a call for feedback to help make the next iteration better. So far we've been through 2 versions. As more feedback comes in, I'll make more changes. Just because it's printed on paper, that does not stop us iterating.
That's one of the good things about using an online print-on-demand service. We can do small print runs of each version at very low cost. They're printed and delivered in days.
I'm still at the sharing and feedback-gathering stage at the moment, but I expect to print a new iteration of the book in the summer. After that, if there's any interest, we shall look at making it available for everyone. And we may publish the book online in the future too.
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43 comments
Comment by Lloyd Dickens posted on
I would be interested in a copy of the delivery book but the email link does not work:
UserCenteredDesignLab@educationgovuk.onmicrosoft.com
Comment by Audrey posted on
Hello, I'd be interested. Nice work-- Can you send a copy to the below email?
Comment by Nettie Williams posted on
Hello - we'll let people know on this blog when the next version is ready.
Comment by julie posted on
The 'send us an email' link doesn't seem to work - I got a bounce back. Would love a copy of an actual book!
Comment by Nettie Williams posted on
Hello Julie - we've emailed you
Comment by Bhavini Desai posted on
Hi, I'd be interested in getting a copy of the Delivery Book. Thanks!
Comment by Nettie Williams posted on
Hello Bhavini - we've sent you an email.
Comment by Sean posted on
Looks great - would be very interested in etting hold of a copy! Thank you
Comment by Nettie Williams posted on
Hello Sean - thanks for your interest. We'll be publishing more at some point once we've iterated the current version. We'll update people here on our blog and via Twitter @DfEDigital
Comment by Victoria posted on
Hi - is there a way I could get a copy of the book? Thanks
Comment by Nettie Williams posted on
Hello Victoria - thanks for your interest. We'll be publishing more at some point once we've iterated the current version. We'll update people here on our blog and via Twitter @DfEDigital
Comment by Nick posted on
Would also love to see a copy of this please!
Comment by Nettie Williams posted on
Hey Nick - we'll be publishing more books at some point once we've iterated the current version. We'll update people here on our blog and via Twitter @DfEDigital
Comment by Chris Burne posted on
Is the content available electronically? If not could I have a copy of the book please. I am regularly in London and Coventry. Thanks
Comment by Nettie Williams posted on
Hello Chris - we're iterating the book and will publish more at some point soon, and there's likely to be an online version. We'll update people here on our blog and via Twitter @DfEDigital
Comment by Jim Haywood posted on
Hi Andrew
Please let me know how I can go about obtaining a copy of the book.
Comment by Nettie Williams posted on
Hello Jim - we're iterating the book and will publish more at some point soon, we may do an online version too. We'll update people here on our blog and via Twitter @DfEDigital
Comment by bill campbell posted on
I'm working in a similar space and would be interested in seeing the Delivery Book content. Is it available now?
Thanks.
Comment by Nettie Williams posted on
Hello Bill - we're iterating the current version of the book and will publish more at some point. We may do an online version too. We'll update people here on our blog and via Twitter @DfEDigital
Comment by Jon posted on
It sounds exactly what I'm looking for, from another Government Department. I'd appreciate access too.
Thanks
Comment by Nettie Williams posted on
Hello Jon - we're iterating the current version of the book and will publish more at some point. We may do an online version too. We'll update people here on our blog and via Twitter @DfEDigital
Comment by Debbie Dempsey posted on
Hi, I would be interested in getting a copy of this book if possible? Thanks
Comment by Nettie Williams posted on
Hello Debbie - thanks for your interest. We're iterating the current version of the book and will publish more at some point. We may do an online version too. We'll update people here on our blog and via Twitter @DfEDigital
Comment by Sheraz Yaqub posted on
Interested in receiving this book, can you provide me with information on how?
Comment by Nettie Williams posted on
Hello Sheraz - we're iterating the current version of the book and will publish more at some point. We may do an online version too. We'll update people here on our blog and via Twitter @DfEDigital
Comment by Dawn posted on
Hello, I 100% would like a copy of the Delivery Book.
Can someone in the team email me please?
Thanks
Comment by Nettie Williams posted on
Hello there Dawn - we're iterating the current version of the book and will publish more at some point. We may do an online version too. We'll update people here on our blog and via Twitter @DfEDigital
Comment by Katie Driver posted on
Hi, this sounds great - well done for taking the initiative and producing something that sounds really useful. Any chance of getting a copy please?
Comment by Nettie Williams posted on
Hello Katie - thanks for your comment. We're iterating the current version of the book and will publish more at some point. We may do an online version too. We'll update people here on our blog and via Twitter @DfEDigital
Comment by Mark posted on
Hi, I’d like to get hold of a copy too pls! Thanks
Comment by Nettie Williams posted on
Hello Mark - thanks for your comment. We've had a lot of interest. We're iterating the current version of the book and will publish more at some point. We may do an online version too. We'll update people here on our blog and via Twitter @DfEDigital
Comment by Tracie Meisel posted on
Hi - I would like a copy of the book too but the link keeps bouncing back!
Comment by Nettie Williams posted on
Hello Tracie - Thanks for your interest. We're still gathering feedback on the first version of the book. There are no more copies of that version left but we expect to print a new iteration in the summer. Keep an eye on this blog for updates. Thanks.
Comment by Stav posted on
Fantastic job, could I please have a copy? Much appreciated!
Comment by Nettie Williams posted on
Hello - we're taking feedback on the current version so we can iterate the book. We expect to print a new version in the summer so keep an eye on this blog for updates. Thanks for your interest.
Comment by Taiss Quartapa posted on
Please place me on the list to be made aware of when the next version of the book becomes available, thanks!
Comment by Nettie Williams posted on
Hello Taiss - we'll post on this blog when the next version is published. If you sign up to email alerts you'll see our blog posts as they're published. That's will be the quickest way to find out https://dfedigital.blog.gov.uk/subscribe/
Comment by Jan-Willem van Veelen posted on
Hi, I’d like to get hold of a copy too pls! Thanks
Comment by Nettie Williams posted on
Hello - we don't have any spare copies right now. We'll post here when the next version is published.
Comment by Anthony Gallagher posted on
Hello,
A copy of the current version would be great to see.
Many thanks
Comment by Nettie Williams posted on
Hello Anthony - we don't have any spare copies at the moment I'm afraid. We'll post here when the next version is published.
Comment by CAROLINE FREEDMAN posted on
Hi there, I would love a copy of the book too when the next iteration is available. Can you please place me on the list. Thank you.
Comment by Nettie Williams posted on
Hello Caroline - we'll let people know when the next version's ready through this blog. So keep your eyes peeled 😉