Varanasi, U., Šerpytytė, R., & Sawhney, N. 2023. Re-evaluating Evaluation: Looking for Value-based Metrics in Public Service Design. Workshop on Designing the City: Challenges and Opportunities in Public Service Design, Communities and Technologies (C&T) Conference, May 29–June 02, 2023, Lahti, Finland.
Abstract
Design has to become an increasingly important asset for cities, as a crucial practice and problem-solving tool from usability of services to strategy and branding. This has spurred the need to evaluate and measure the effectiveness of design-related activities by the city. However, in this paper we argue that the complexity of the public sector means that design and its evaluation need to go beyond quantitative, check-list based measures and towards more value-based metrics. As design researchers and practitioners working in the public sector, we draw on our experiences and perspectives on different approaches to design and their limitations. We contest the idea of universal design while proposing equity and inclusiveness in design frameworks as crucial metrics for the public sector.
More information
Design is important for cities as it helps make things work better, from services to overall strategies. In this paper, Uttishta Varanasi, together with Ruta Serpytyte and Nitin Shawney from Trust M, argues that design and its evaluation need to go beyond quantitative measures and towards more value-based metrics, that using numbers and checklists isn enough, as the public sector is more complicated than.
As design practitioners and practitioners working in the public sector, the authors do not agree that is a perfect design for everything. They rather suggest that fairness and including everyone should be the most important things when talking about design in the public sector.