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I had the opportunity to work with GDS on a project. These folks have a startup mentality and are the polar opposite of what one imagines a governmental office
by gnrlst 5y ago
I had the opportunity to work with GDS on a project. These folks have a startup mentality and are the polar opposite of what one imagines a governmental office to be.
One thing that will always stick with me is one of the team leads telling me "we don't have customers, we have users" -- i.e. in the UK everyone has use Gov.uk for government-related digital information/tools/services. There's no competitor, therefore no customer choice. And they are well aware of this, hence their obsessions for the UX.
I really wish other governmental digital agencies had this same mindset.
- tjpnz 5y ago>I had the opportunity to work with GDS on a project. These folks have a startup mentality and are the polar opposite of what one imagines a governmental office to be. They gave a presentation at Webstock in Wellington (almost a decade ago IIRC). That was certainly my impression of them at the time. Great to see how little has changed.
- lobsang 5y agoUnfortunately, lots has changed GDS itself is now 2 or 3 times the size and each department employs their own teams of DDAT experts. GDS is just another government bureaucracy at this point. Mores the shame.
- userbinator 5y agoIt's odd to see "startup mentality" associated with a site that works well without JS and is otherwise very accessible (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25915313 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25915313)