#UserNeedsFirst
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martinjordan.com
The first talk from last week’s Amsterdam #UserNeedsFirst #GovDesign conference is up on YouTube:

Stephanie Kaiser, Chief Product Officer of @digitalservice.bund.de, on ‘Change through delivery’ and a transformation approach for the complex German government system.

Enjoy!

📺
Change through delivery: A strategy for transformation in the complex German system
YouTube video by UK Gov Design
youtu.be
April 14, 2025 at 6:03 AM
martinjordan.com
“More flexibility means more responsibility”

—Morten Meyerhoff Nielsen on international #ServiceStandard versions and their different levels of detail at the #UserNeedsFirst #GovDesign conference
April 10, 2025 at 10:08 AM
martinjordan.com
This morning, the
#UserNeedsFirst #UserNeeds conference in Amsterdam kicked off!

@zuydweg.nl and team have done a fantastic job creating a 3-day event full of learning, sharing and connection-building.

@karakane-kk.bsky.social and I had the opportunity to give an opening talk on our challenges.
Selfie taken by a man of him and 2 other people, a man and a woman, standing on a stage with the words user needs in the background as lit letters and a projected slide saying good morning in Dutch
April 9, 2025 at 12:40 PM
martinjordan.com
We are running an international #govDesign webinar with @jjstraetemans.bsky.social, @zuydweg.nl and their terrific #UserNeedsFirst community.

We have 63 people from various time zones and parts of the world to hear design stories from Thailand 🇹🇭, Germany 🇩🇪, the Netherlands 🇳🇱 & the United Kingdom 🇬🇧
Welcome, great to have you here! User Needs First International post-conference webinar — User Needs First International Conference 2025
May 23, 2025 at 8:53 AM
martinjordan.com
En route and writing—

And so is @karakane-kk.bsky.social from her side of Europe.

Tomorrow morning, we’ll have the honour to give a talk at the #UserNeedsFirst #GovDesign conference in Amsterdam.

We’ll discuss “Protecting our practice: how to not let things get undone”—cause that’s necessary.
A laptop computer on a train showing a Green slide saying “Protecting our practice: how to not let things get undone”
April 8, 2025 at 10:06 AM
martinjordan.com
Fab overview of what different #ServiceStandard version around the world include and what not

—research done and presented by Morten Meyerhoff Nielsen of UN University at #UserNeedsFirst #GovDesign
A speaker presents on stage at the “User Needs First” International Conference 2025 in Amsterdam. The backdrop features large, illuminated “USER NEEDS FIRST” letters and two tall green banners with colorful illustrations and conference branding. The projected slide shows a detailed comparison chart titled “Examples of National Service Design Standards and Their Focus,” with rows and columns filled with colored cells (green, yellow, and red) indicating varying levels of focus across different countries. The speaker gestures toward the screen while the audience watches from a dimly lit auditorium. The stage is decorated with plants and branded cube props.
April 10, 2025 at 10:05 AM
josepvives.bsky.social
#entraaexamen

Administració pública centrada en l'usuari.

#userneedsfirst

open.spotify.com/episode/4ide...
Learning from others – User Needs First Across Borders
Gebruiker Centraal · Episode
open.spotify.com
July 13, 2025 at 7:38 AM
martinjordan.com
Discussing 4 Ps of #service delivery —

Preventive
Predictable
Personalised
Proactive

—Morten Meyerhoff Nielsen of the UN University at the #UserNeedsFirst #GovDesign conference
A speaker presents on stage at the “User Needs First” International Conference 2025 in Amsterdam. The stage features large, illuminated letters spelling “USER NEEDS FIRST,” with green banners on each side displaying the event branding and cartoon illustrations. A presentation slide titled “Challenges Remain…” is projected behind the speaker, showing three diagrams labeled “Too often…,” “Getting there…,” and “The future…,” which illustrate different user experience flows. The speaker stands mid-stage, addressing an audience seated in a dimly lit auditorium. The stage is decorated with plants and conference-themed cube props.
April 10, 2025 at 9:52 AM
paulpistorius.bsky.social
Joining the #UserNeedsFirst #GovDesign conference in Amsterdam for the next 3 days and I hope to meet lots of international colleagues! On Thursday afternoon I'll talk about the "Triangle of success" – why it's important to involve the right parties in the form design process.
April 8, 2025 at 7:20 PM
martinjordan.com
It’s out! 🗞️

Our latest edition of The #ServiceGazette arrived just in time for this week’s #UserNeedsFirst #GovDesign conference in Amsterdam.

Almost 1,000 copies were picked up by the 700 conference attendees.

It assembles 13 authors from 7 countries and 3 continents who share their views.
A woman with long hair, a stripy longsleeve shirt and a lanyard holding a newspaper reading it; its masthead says ‘The Service Gazette’; the headline next to several arrows says “Digital service resilience”
April 13, 2025 at 1:01 PM
martinjordan.com
‘From standards to service: Designing digital government for real user needs’

—in a keynote from Morten Meyerhoff Nielsen from the UN University, making the foundational user and org case for good usability for government services at the #UserNeedsFirst #GovDesign conference
A speaker stands on stage at the “User Needs First” International Conference 2025, held in Amsterdam from April 9–11. The stage features large illuminated letters spelling “USER NEEDS FIRST,” with two green banners on either side displaying cartoon illustrations and the conference branding. A presentation slide titled “Key Principles of Usability” is projected behind the speaker, listing points about user-centered design, accessibility, and continuous improvement. The audience is seated in a dark auditorium, watching the talk.
April 10, 2025 at 9:45 AM
martinjordan.com
Happy to see my favourite double triangle on the stage:

Connecting services to processes to policy.

—Morten Meyerhoff Nielsen quoting Nesta and IDEO’s model at #UserNeedsFirst #GovDesign conference
A speaker stands on stage at the “User Needs First” International Conference 2025 in Amsterdam, delivering a presentation. The stage is set with large, illuminated letters spelling “USER NEEDS FIRST,” flanked by two tall green banners showing conference branding and illustrations. The projected slide is titled “Services is Defined by Legislation” and displays a funnel-shaped diagram moving from “What users experience” to “What government says,” passing through categories like products, processes, and regulations. The audience sits in a dark auditorium while the speaker presents under warm stage lighting and in front of a few decorative plants and cube props.
April 10, 2025 at 9:59 AM
martinjordan.com
Final round! 🥊

The last proofreading session of the upcoming #ServiceGazette is on.

Together with 12 contributors, we’ve put together a pretty great new issue, I believe.

It’s going to the printer tomorrow and will arrive in Amsterdam next week for the #UserNeedsFirst #GovDesign conference.
12 large black and white newspaper pages spread across a textured wooden floor with someone in the foreground holding a pink sharpie
March 31, 2025 at 6:38 PM
martinjordan.com
“The poorest people have the richest bureaucracy”

—Marianne van den Anker, Ombudswoman of the Region of Rotterdam at #UserNeedsFirst #GovDesign conference
April 10, 2025 at 8:34 AM
martinjordan.com
One more terrific talk from the #UserNeedsFirst #GovDesign conference went up on YouTube:

@richardpope.org’s closing keynote, “Beyond user needs: Why we need an expanded design philosophy for the digital public sector” with plenty of food for thought—

youtu.be/0z3trE1RAlk
Beyond user needs: Why we need an expanded design philosophy for the digital public sector
YouTube video by UK Gov Design
youtu.be
April 28, 2025 at 8:56 AM
martinjordan.com
How can we protect our practice in these unsettling times?

In our opening talk at the #UserNeedsFirst Amsterdam conference, @karakane-kk.bsky.social and I will be talking about how not to let things get undone.

Join us and hundreds of #GovDesign​ers on 9 April!

userneedsfirst.yellenge.nl/program/
Promotion for the 'User Needs First' International Conference 2025, happening on April 9-11 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Features keynote speakers Kara Kane (Head of Design, Public Sector Reform, UK Government) and Martin Jordan (Head of Design & User Research, German Digital Service). Organized by the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations.
March 19, 2025 at 7:58 AM
martinjordan.com
As a public servant, I write weekly notes to let people see what I do.

In week 154, I travelled to Amsterdam for the 3-day #UserNeedsFirst #GovDesign conference.

I spoke, contributed to a podcast, recorded my colleagues’ sessions, had many chats, and distributed the latest #ServiceGazette issue.
Week #154 at the Digital Service: Notes for 7–11 April 2025
In week 154 at Digital Service, Martin travelled to Amsterdam for the 3-day User Needs First International Design in Government conference. He spoke, contributed to a podcast, recorded his colleagues’...
verwaltungsgestaltung.de
April 13, 2025 at 1:38 PM