I sabotaged the plan, and it was one of the best things I’ve done
We had all the experts in the workshop — lead policy officer, police expert, survivors’ charity, community reps.
Our job: design a £200k/year clinic in the middle of the borough, helping the most serious of subjects — domestic abuse.
The big breakthrough was when we realised, with all those experts in the room, we didn’t know.
There were clinics in the north and south — the new money was because some communities were underserved. We knew that — or had a reasonable assumption.
But we didn’t know who would use the new service, or what their needs would be.
We realised a ‘concierge solution’ was needed — test and learn in the real world.
We would print A4 fliers and post them in community centres.
We’d open for an hour a week, with the lead policy officer on duty — massively overqualified and overpaid for frontline work. She could literally take individuals by the hand, to every service they needed. A luxurious solution able to fit to every specific need.
Once we’d seen 100 people, we would have an idea of the *real* needs — and design for them.
What’s an example of something you’ve built based on real world learning and feedback?
