Case StudiesDelivering a Digital Skills Portal to support Scotland’s Digital Strategy
- Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI)
- Delivery
- Service Design
As part of the Scottish Government’s Digital Planning Programme, (an initiative designed to help planners access information and guidance digitally) the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) and the Scottish Government recognised the need to improve the confidence of digital skills amongst planners in their everyday roles.
We supported them to take a user centred approach to designing a “one-stop shop,” that would equip planners with the necessary digital skills that seamlessly integrate these skills into their daily work and processes and maintain the high service standards their clients and stakeholders expected.
We wanted to find a way to blend the expertise in both Scottish Gov and RTPI with the technical and design skills of our in-house team. Together with access to a great community of professional planners with a keen interest in the future of digital planning, we employed agile methodologies throughout the development process.
Regular stand-up meetings ensured project clarity and progress, while bi-weekly sprints kept everyone aligned on goals and deliverables. Additionally, User-Centred Design (UCD) principles were paramount. By prioritising UCD principles, we guaranteed the portal caters specifically to the needs and preferences of planners, the portal’s intended user base.
- Delivered a Digital Skills Portal to Support Scotland’s Digital Strategy
- Developed a User-Friendly Platform: We prioritised creating a user-friendly and visually appealing platform that reflects the forward-thinking nature of digital planning.
- Incorporated User Feedback: A user group, representing a broad spectrum of planning professionals, provided invaluable feedback throughout development. Their insights shaped everything from initial concepts to final design and user flow.
- Ensured Content Accessibility: We collaborated closely with planning experts to curate and structure content effectively. This collaboration ensured the content was easily accessible and offered a natural flow of information across the vast planning landscape.
- Built a Diverse Resource Library: Through collaboration with multiple suppliers, the portal boasts a rich and informative resource library, drawing on the combined expertise of various contributors.
I’m really pleased that we have launched the portal – it’s an important resource for planners on digital planning tools and techniques. I’d like to thank the team at Perago for their support with this project – it was quite a complex brief with multiple work strands. The application of a user-centred approach mean that the needs of town planners and future users were the guiding principles for the delivery of the portal – and I’m really pleased at the way things have come together.
Dr. Caroline Brown
— Director of Scotland, Ireland, and English Regions
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