Homes for Ukraine: rapid design in crisis

Theme: Building public services under pressure

How do you build digital services that meet user needs, when under extreme time pressure, with a fixed budget and where every detail matters to ensure the safety of vulnerable people? How do you effectively collaborate across multiple tiers of government to deliver a joined-up service to end users? How do you keep your team healthy when working on projects of international importance with intense scrutiny?

This session will explore these themes, using experiences from working on the Homes for Ukraine programme at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

Participant takeaways:

• how to ensure design is prioritised when working at pace
• how to create the dual benefits of cost savings and great user experience
• techniques for rapid deployment and collaboration between central government and local authorities, with an emphasis on user-centred design
• examples of building upon existing work (GOV.UK Design System) to move at pace and provide value for money, using research to make evidence-based modifications
• designing for scale and future reuse opportunities