service design Archives - Amanda Bernardo

How to rethink operational effectiveness and areas for improvement

admin — Mon, 03 Feb 2025 19:14:15 +0000

With potential operational reviews on the horizon, there’s an opportunity to rethink how government departments assess effectiveness and identify areas for improvement. Traditional approaches to these reviews often focus on efficiency—cutting costs, streamlining processes, and finding quick fixes. But what if we took a different approach? One that puts people at the center of how services are designed and delivered?

This is where service design can play an important role. By mapping out the full picture—how employees, clients, and stakeholders experience government services—we can move beyond surface-level optimizations and uncover deeper systemic challenges. Service design allows us to visualize workflows, highlight pain points, and co-create solutions that aren’t just efficient but also effective and user-centric.

Instead of making changes in isolation, service design engages the people who use and deliver services to understand what’s working, what’s not, and where real opportunities for improvement exist. In this way, we can test and refine solutions before they’re implemented, reducing risk and ensuring that changes actually meet the needs of those they impact.

At a time when government departments are being asked to do more with less, this approach ensures that operational changes aren’t just about cutting but about creating better, more sustainable ways of working. It’s about embedding change management principles, fostering collaboration, and ensuring that innovation leads to real, measurable improvements.

If we focus solely on cuts and quick fixes, we risk creating short-term efficiencies at the expense of long-term effectiveness. Reducing resources without fully understanding service impacts can lead to bottlenecks, lower service quality, and frustrated employees and clients. Quick fixes often address symptoms rather than root causes, leading to recurring issues that drain time and resources later. Worse, rushed changes can erode trust, making it harder to implement meaningful improvements in the future.

Real transformation requires a deeper look—not just at what can be cut, but at what needs to be redesigned to work better.

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Government services are being challenged

admin — Thu, 28 Sep 2023 23:39:00 +0000

This year has emphasized the importance of citizens’ services with a newly named Minister and newly created sub-committee on service delivery. Government services are being challenged to be delivered in a more efficient, timely, and accessible manner for Canadians.

But how do we achieve that?

Change management and service design can help

As the current Director of teams in change management and service design, I see first hand how both disciplines are able to improve the way in which government services are delivered. More importantly, I see how integrating these disciplines from the onset can improve the overall planning, implementation and sustainability of these services by aligning them to a more human-centric approach to delivery.

Service design focuses on deeply understanding and addressing the unique needs of users, ensuring services are efficient, effective, and centered around the user experience. In our team, this includes a strong degree of research that simplifies even the most complex scenarios to develop user personas and client journey maps, while identifying problem gaps and possible solutions. In parallel, change management orchestrates a smooth transition from existing processes or solutions to freshly designed ones. This can include the development of feedback loops to inform readiness and response tactics such as communications, stakeholder engagements, training, resilience management and pilot programs.

When these methodologies intertwine seamlessly, they possess the potential to revolutionize how we advance service delivery for Canadians. This integration ultimately offers a promising avenue for a more citizen-centric, efficient, and adaptive public service.

How do we apply these disciplines in action?

Integrating service design means placing citizens at the core of service development. Take the time do this. Understand user needs, preferences, and pain points to tailor services and provide a seamless, personalized experience. This not only boosts citizen satisfaction but also fosters trust and engagement. To transition towards citizen-centric services in a smooth and efficient manner, apply change management. By managing resistance, providing adequate training, and building awareness, we can minimize disruptions during the transition and optimize the adoption of new solutions. What both disciplines do really well, however, is force us to be iterative. Continuous feedback loops and adaptability to evolving needs enable us to fine-tune services and respond effectively to changing circumstances, ensuring long-term success and relevance. We can’t develop services as a one-and-done, especially when the world around us is changing daily. Service design and change management remind us of that truth and encourage us to take an iterative approach to service delivery.

It’s a very exciting time for service delivery in government, but let’s make sure we take the time to apply these methods in order for us to make these services as client-centric as possible.

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Leading transformation with change management and service design

admin — Wed, 31 May 2023 21:10:00 +0000

Over the past year, I’ve had the opportunity to work as the Director of Change Management and Service Design with Shared Services Canada ‘s Enterprise Transformation Directorate. A role I currently find myself in today. In this role, I’ve had the privilege of witnessing the transformative power these disciplines hold in leading human-centric approaches for change.

From leading initiatives that support the enterprise delivery of services, to launching the implementation of tools to improve internal processes, to supporting organizational restructures and more, each transformation has helped offer some valuable lessons that can help the broader public service:

1️⃣ Embrace a user-centric mindset: By placing citizens and their needs at the forefront, we can create public services that truly make a positive impact. Let’s design services that are intuitive, accessible, and tailored to meet the diverse needs of our communities.

2️⃣ Foster collaboration and co-creation: Change and innovation thrive in environments that encourage cross-functional collaboration. Let’s break down silos and work together across departments, agencies, and stakeholders to drive meaningful change in the public sector.

3️⃣ Continuously iterate and improve: Change management and service design teach us the value of constant iteration. Let’s be open to feedback, learn from failures, and iterate our services to ensure they are continuously evolving, improving, and staying relevant to citizens’ ever-changing needs.

4️⃣ Embrace a data-driven approach: Leveraging data and analytics can help us make informed decisions, identify pain points, and measure the impact of our interventions. Let’s use data to drive evidence-based decision-making and deliver more effective public services.

5️⃣ Cultivate a culture of innovation: Encourage a mindset that values experimentation, creativity, and risk-taking. Let’s foster an environment where public servants feel empowered to bring forward innovative ideas, knowing that their contributions are valued and supported.

Together, change management and service design can help revolutionize the way public services are delivered. By embracing these principles, we can create a brighter future where citizens receive exceptional, user-centric services that truly make a difference.

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