Creating the conditions

Why is this important? 

Adopting service design means working differently. Give your project the best chance of success by putting the right foundations in place. Taking the time to lay the groundwork will help avoid delays and minimise risk of delayed or unsuccessful projects. Having clear governance and project management is vital.     

In our programmes we learned that it is important to build readiness for change, identify the right people to be involved and to plan effectively. 

Hints and tips: 

• Working differently will take time -- you will need to plan for this.   
• Identifying and communicating outcomes at each stage will keep people engaged  -- this helps your stakeholders to see progress along the way.  
• Tools are only as useful as the insights you uncover – create new ones, tweak old ones and remember they’re not really that useful as a project output if they’re not used!  
• Trust the process – you’ll feel uncomfortable, you won’t know the answers – and you might find your first ones are wrong. Keep on keeping on. Part of the value of the process is that you don’t need to know the answers at the beginning.  
• Involve and listen to the users – remember your answer to someone else’s problem is not the solution. Users need to be fully engaged all the way through the process.  

 Useful resources for Creating the Conditions are available from NHS Education for Scotland on the TURAS platform. If you work in or with the public sector in Scotland, you can register for a free TURAS Learn account. Find out more on the TURAS site.