Successful government products and services depend on high quality digital delivery, but often public servants are thrown into digital projects without the support or skills they need.
There are some key differences when managing digital projects and we’d like to see public servants given the opportunity to learn the key skills needed to succeed.
That’s why at Code for Australia, we’ve created Managing Digital Projects In the Public Sector – a self-led and interactive course that does just that. Participants will engage with sector-relevant information to ensure that rather than just learning theory and frameworks, they’re practising applying it in a public sector context.
We firmly believe that the people working in the public sector are more than capable of delivering the digital tools and services the people of Australia deserve, they just need to be given the opportunity to learn how.
Learning a new methodology
The Waterfall methodology most commonly employed by public servants when delivering many government projects is at odds with the correct way to deliver digital products and services.
Waterfall is best for projects with well-defined deliverables, for example if you’re working on building a bridge for a community. The steps to do so are sequential and the handover stages between those involved are clear.
Building digital products and services the correct way requires a different methodology altogether. That’s where Agile comes in.
You’ve likely heard of Agile project management, but it’s often not employed correctly in public sector contexts. There’s a set of principles that are central to the methodology, but ultimately it’s about four key things: collaborating constantly; delivering early and often; reflecting regularly; and then improving based on your reflections.
Participants of the course will learn about Agile methodology and importantly, delivery throughout.
A way to address the digital skills shortage
Australia is experiencing a digital skills shortage which is affecting the public sector. Finding folks who have experience with digital is becoming more and more challenging, but we strongly believe that existing public servants can be taught how to do digital well – they just need to be given the time, space, and resources to be able to do so.
Providing support for public servants
Something we hear time and time again from the public servants we speak with is that they aren’t given enough support when they begin their foray into digital. The impacts of this are that folks are thrown into the deep end, and often aren’t equipped to navigate the tension between traditional project management and what’s needed for digital.
Managing Digital Projects provides access to mentorship from digital government experts so that folks going through the course can ask questions from leaders who have been there and done that. Public servants can engage in practice based learning by bringing a real project to work on throughout the course. It’s a safe space to learn and iterate before impacting project delivery.
Being empowered to advocate for Human-centred Design
In a lot of digital projects in the public sector, user research and design is either overlooked or the first thing to get cut when stakeholders get concerned with timelines and budgets. Not only does this not serve the people you’re building your product or service for, but relatedly, it can actually cost you a lot of time, money and resources along the way.
Utilising Human-Centred Design (HCD) ensures you’re building the right thing for the people you’re serving. There’s also a strong business case to be made for utilising HCD. Namely that you’ll be able to test ideas cheaply and quickly, reduce support costs, and importantly, rest easy that the money, time and resources you’ve invested won’t be for nothing because you’ve made the right thing.
You may have heard the term ‘measure twice, cut once.’ We like to say, ‘design right, launch easy.’
The course gives participants the knowledge and tools needed to be able to understand and advocate for HCD while delivering digital projects.
Managing Digital Projects in the Public Sector Course
The course teaches people working in the public sector everything they need to know to contribute to launching successful digital products and services. Alongside our other educational offerings, Managing Digital Projects is informed by our expertise and experience in digital delivery in the public sector.
How it’s structured
Participants will complete six topic modules and engage in practical self-led learning which will include videos, templates, and other learning materials. Each module has an assessment component which our digital government experts will provide feedback on.
The course covers:
- Scoping and Research – How to effectively define a problem.
- Human-centred Design – Implementing Human-centred Design practices and how to advocate for HCD.
- Engaging Stakeholders – How to bring people together on the product journey and the right techniques for talking about the work.
- Planning for Delivery – How to manage the time and resources required to complete the project, as well as what the different stages of delivery entail.
- Agile Delivery – The ins and outs of Agile Delivery, and how to effectively and practically implement this working style with teams.
- Putting it All Together – Combining everything learnt throughout the course, learn how to create a business case for future work.
Access to mentors
You can also select to access mentoring sessions with one of our digital government experts, who will provide feedback on your work, answer any burning questions, and give guidance throughout the process.
Bring along your own project
By bringing along your own current or future project to utilise throughout your assessments and in your mentoring session, you’ll engage in practice based learning to assure that your real-world project will be informed by best practices and the right approach.
This course is available for individuals and for teams. Fill in the form to register your interest.
