The opening keynote talk from CanUX 2019, exploring how UX can work on the deeper layers of major institutions to make change over the long term

1. UX for Institutions
(This is how we winthe time war)
Cyd Harrell,CanUX 2019-

2. I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the
Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and
domestic;
[ Innovation Specialist ]

3. that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same;
that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation
or purpose of evasion;
and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office
on which I am about to enter.

4. Public servants make more
design decisions than
the entire design industry.

5. What are the best practices for
government digital
transformation?

6. Digital transformation
A government agency is able - on its own -
to use technology as a tool to serve its
constituents’ needs over time.

7. Government websites are usually about
the government.
They need to be the government,
doing the people’s business online.

8. Best practices
Ways & means to move agencies toward
- understanding constituent needs
- empowering staff to meet them
- making technology normal

9. Better research question:
What makes modern digital practicesstick
within a government agency, beyond a single
innovation project?
(Or: how do you change an institution?)

10. Interview questions:
- What does digital transformation mean in government?
- What is the goal or end-state? How do you know when you’re done?
- What are the biggest obstacles to this work? How can we help people get
past those obstacles?
- Is there one digital transformation process or many?
- How do you make the changes last?
- What resources would be valuable for other agencies doing this work?

11. Research methods & skills:
- Moderated interviews
- Literature review
- Policy & regulation review
- Cluster recruiting
- Tight consent & confidentiality

12. Cluster recruiting:
Who else in the organization had an important role in this
moving forward (or not)?
[ sponsor ]
[ project lead ]
[ hands-on staff ]

13. Top barriers:
-Extreme technical debt
-Difficulty showing qualitative
change via metrics
-Leadership over-involved in
decision-making
-Failure to connect directly to
users
Top helps:
-Continual user feedback loops
-Cross-functional teams of long
duration
-Community organizing
techniques
-Appeals to authoritative
guidance
Full report: bit.ly/CydBPDT

14. Digital transformation
A government agency is able - on its own -
to use technology as a tool to serve its
constituents’ needs over time.

15. Institutional
layers
“Design”

17. [ support & defend the Constitution ]
[ provide a helpful, user-centered website ]
API

18. “by default, it treats emails as groups of disposable garbage”
—Ron Amadeo, Ars Technica
RIP

19. UX Right Now
- How can we design form and
structure at scale?
- How can we govern that?
purpose
strategy
governance
structure
form

20. scale

21. fad institution
Things that exist at scale

22. fad institution
Things that exist at scale
[products]
[companies]
[governments]

23. Institutions act on us at scale
and over time.

24. 1990

25. 言語学

26. Yale University Sterling Library-

27. months centuries
individuals
societies
fashion
Local anchor businessesPersonal circumstances
storms
publications

28. centuries
societies
government
medicine
The market
cuisine
education
marriage
journalism

29. 1896
American Cotton Oil
American Sugar
American Tobacco
Chicago Gas
Distilling & Cattle Feeding
General Electric
Laclede Gas
National Lead
North American,
Tennessee Coal and Iron
U.S. Leather
U.S. Rubber
3M
American Express
Apple
Boeing
Caterpillar
Chevron
Cisco Systems
Coca-Cola
DowDuPont
ExxonMobil
Goldman Sachs
Home Depot
IBM
Intel
Johnson & Johnson
JPMorgan Chase
McDonald's
Merck
Microsoft
Nike
Pfizer
Procter & Gamble
Travelers Cos.
UnitedHealth Group
United Technologies
Verizon
Visa
Walgreens Boots Alliance
Walmart
Walt Disney
2018The market

30. 1896
Government
- Women could not vote in most US states
- Black people’s right to vote was notguaranteed
- Social Security did not exist
- Senators were elected by state legislatures
- No limit on presidential terms

31. 50 states
3,144 counties
19,354 cities & towns
I don’t even know how many water districts,
air quality boards, regional transit bodies, etc.

32. In the 21st century, we interact
with long-timescale institutions
via short-timescale technologies.

33. Justice, Access, & Websites

34. 1 Supreme Court
6 Appellate Courts
58 Superior Courts
254 Courthouses

35. Non-criminal case types:
- Family law -divorce, parentage, custody
- Small claims -lawsuits under $10,000
- Many restraining orders
- Probate law -estates, guardianship, conservatorship
- Civil law -lawsuits, housing & eviction, name/gender changes, more

36. neutrality

37. neutrality
The court can’thave a preference about
whether you file or advance your case.
The court must offer equal service to all
sides in a case.

38. accuracy

39. accuracy
If we try to be comprehensive and precise,
we risk being unreadable by a large part
of the audience.
Whose accurate understanding are we
aiming for?

40. [ fair & equal justice ]
[ a user-centered website ]

41. [ representation by expert advocates ]
[ service design for the general public ]

42. Simplified instructions for serving papers

43. UX questions
- How can we make the deeper
layers visible?
- How can we shift what’s
possible in the upper layers?
purpose
strategy
governance
structure
form

44. What if

45. Respect for people’s time, dignity,
& abilities.

46. cuisine
medicine
education

47. months centuries
individuals
societies
fashion
Local anchor businessesPersonal circumstances
storms
publications
software

48. designers are good at expressing
abstract ideas in concrete things.
It’s how we win.

49. Thank you!
@cydharrell any time you want to
talk about this