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GOV.UK page performance: are we fulfilling our content goals?
In the content team we’ve developed new theme dashboards that give us a page-level indication of GOV.UK mainstream content performance. These dashboards are useful to everyone in GDS, as GOV.UK user...
View ArticleGDS visits UKGovcamp
On Saturday 25th January 2014 we visited UKGovcamp; the annual ‘unconference’ for people interested in how the public sector does digital stuff. The event was held at City Hall, Southbank, London. Find...
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Looking back at Sprint 14
We made two short videos for Sprint 14 that give you a little glimpse into the work being done by teams all over the country to transform services. Both show what it’s like to be working on the...
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Improving GOV.UK on mobile devices
Mobile use on GOV.UK has increased significantly since launch in October 2012, moving from around 15% to 23% of the overall audience. We are now starting to improve the experience for mobile and...
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Striking a balance between security and usability
Last year our boss Mike Bracken talked at the Code for America Summit in San Francisco, and spoke about the need to strike a balance between usability and security. There is a point beyond which...
View ArticleSharing Sprint 14
With Sprint 14 now behind us, we wanted to share Baroness Martha Lane Fox’s opening speech, and the presentations and workshops given on the day. Martha used her talk to remind everyone how far we’ve...
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How to find all the maps published on GOV.UK
Government does a lot of stuff with maps, and if you like maps you might like to know about this clever trick for finding every single one that gets published on GOV.UK. Start off at the Publications...
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Weekend links
We wanted to try something new – sharing the things we’ve liked over the past week in a blog post. Let us know what you think: @GDSTeam 2014 is the Year of Code – encouraging people across the country...
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Guest Post: Clarity is king – the evidence that reveals the desperate need to...
Mark Morris is Head of Clear English at the Department of Health and a former speechwriter for the Health Secretary. Speech is the mirror of the soul; as a man speaks, so he is. So said Publilius...
View ArticleGDS this week: Innovating with SMEs and fast track apprentices
Speaking on the day HRH The Duke of York visited GDS, Dr. Brian Gannon of Kainos Software talks about the innovative work SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises) are doing with government departments like...
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This week at GDS
Lots of bits of GDS are going to be working with lots of bits of government during 2013. We’re getting bigger, getting more scattered and it’s important that we let each other know what’s going on....
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The Future is Here
The future of UK Government Digital Services is here. On January 21st 2013 at Sprint 13 we will show the best of digital from across government, all packed into one morning. Who is this for? All those...
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Standing on the shoulders of giants
We are shocked and saddened by the death of Aaron Swartz. Some of us at GDS were fortunate to have met him; others were involved in the many projects he worked on; all of us are in some way indebted to...
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To Identity and Beyond
There’s been a fair amount of speculation as to who else would join the supplier framework for Identity Assurance. We are happy to confirm that the eighth successful supplier is PayPal. As a founder...
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How much? Publishing the cost of government transactions
Francis Maude, Minister for Cabinet Office: “Governments talk a lot about delivering value for taxpayers. Yet most of the time they aren’t very clear about what they mean. Now taxpayers can judge value...
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Government transaction costs – the story behind the data
Last July, GDS published a full list of all the transactional services that the Government offers to citizens and business, along with their annual volume of activity. It was the first time the...
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This week at GDS
Another busy week at GDS, including the release of the Transactions Explorer and the announcement of Paypal as the eighth supplier for the Identity Assurance programme. We’ve also seen visits from the...
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Sprint 13 – the story in pictures
Just got back from taking photos at today’s Sprint 13 conference, so what was it like? Think of the famous Hokusai wave and you’ll get a sense of the energy that was unleashed at Queen Elizabeth...
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High-resolution images
Before Christmas, Ben Terrett asked the design team to think of one thing we’d like to change on GOV.UK. My choice was easy; add high resolution graphics to the site so it looks better on high pixel...
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Cold comfort farm
It’s been cold and snowy. The weather has impacted on people’s lives across the UK, but has it affected people’s interaction with GOV.UK? Tara Stockford and I did some quick analysis of traffic and...
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