Digital Service Strategy

More than ever before, residents now expect services to be available online. The development of new digital services is an opportunity to rethink how we deliver services to ensure every resident and visitor has the access they need.

San Francisco’s Digital Service Strategy promotes the development of new digital services to help improve the customer experience. Through comprehensive service redesign, the City seeks to streamline the service experience and make all services accessible and easy to use for everyone.

Executive Summary

Core ValuesThe following values support our effort to redesign the customer service experience:

Put Residents First Resident needs should define the design of City services.

Digital by Default Services should be delivered digitally whenever possible.

Integrated Service Digital services should be managed by the core business, and not siloed in IT.

Build Expertise The City should establish a team with modern skills and support an agile development culture.

Collaborative Process Development of City service standards should be collaborative and contribute to a shared strategy.

San Francisco’s Digital Service RoadmapFive recommendations support the implementation of the City’s strategic plan:

Recommendation: The City should identify and empower a trusted leader to guide service redesign efforts. A dedicated, experienced thought leader will be a change-agent who drives a culture shift towards user-centered thinking and brings a modern approach to the development of digital products.The senior leader should have a service design vision and deep experience as both a manager and a technologist building consumer-oriented web products at scale.

Strong, Experienced Central Leadership1Recommendation: The City should pursue a shared services model to support service redesign efforts across the City. The Team will be responsible for redesigning services, building new products, and working alongside the departments.

The team will be composed of the Digital Services Officer, designers, developers, product managers, analysts, and content strategists. The team will also help create citywide standards and guidelines and will continue to refine the Digital Services Strategy.

A Modern, Expert Product Development Team2

Recommendation: The City should adopt modern, user-centered design methods for the development of all services. From production to the ongoing maintenance, the City should implement standard approaches to the design and delivery of services, specifically in the following areas:

Standardized Product Quality Oversight3• User Testing • Data Services• Accessibility, Content, and Language • Procurement & Vendor Management

Recommendation: The City should develop a common template and design guidelines to support a unified City brand. The City should also continue to build cross-departmental “one-stop” sites that help residents and visitors find the content and services they need.

A Consistent City Brand & Experience4Recommendation: A central governing body is needed to manage the ongoing strategy and approve standards. A working group of digital service experts should be formed to promote the collaboration and movement towards common standards.

New Strategy & Governance Body5The Next StepsRealizing our vision to create more intuitive and accessible services will require systematic redesign and a culture change in our day-to-day practices. Following the recommendations above, the Digital Services Team should make significant progress in improving how the City delivers services in the next year.