Weeknotes – series 07 episode 15

Finishing off the prototype

I had to simplify a complex page I was prototyping. There were two bits of JavaScript on the page and even though they both worked separately, when I enabled them both, they stopped working.

One bit was powering an autocomplete, and the other was powering a conditional reveal. I was going a bit off-piste from the GOV.UK design system, so I was out of my comfort zone.

I made the decision that the conditional reveal was more important to test during the user research session. So I removed the autocomplete (for now, we already know they help our users in these sorts of cases).

I felt grumpy for 24 hours, but on reflection I think it was the right approach. I probably could have fixed it if I reached out to someone for help, but it was a quick, tactical, low risk decision to keep us on track.

Overall I still feel like my prototyping skills are improving. And I definitely feel more comfortable with Nunjucks.

First 2 user research sessions

We had our first 2 user research sessions. With more due next week too. I feel like the usability of the prototype worked well, and it allowed us to uncover some unmet needs and also prove some of our working assumptions about how users currently work weren't quite right.

So far it's felt like the best round of research I've been involved with for a while. And I think the prep work that the team have done is really paying off.

Home Office design system

A while ago I suggested a small improvement to a component in the Home Office design system. This week, the change was finally merged in. I enjoyed being part of the process, and am keen to get more involved with the design system if possible.

Discovery, alpha, beta, live

I liked this post by Harry Scott-Trimble about delivery phases.

  • Discovery - What to do first?
  • Alpha - What is useful?
  • Beta - Is it usable?
  • Live - Is it scalable?

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