The entire team is ecstatic to be able to release the project outputs for Phase One of Low Code Digital Waste Services. The phase one report, adoption playbook, UR UX report and evaluation template are now available.   As the Low Code Waste Services are adopted, this site will continue to be updated and the evaluation template used for continual analytics.   Our...

Final Show & Tell An overview of the whole project. We will begin by reviewing where we started, what the project aimed to achieve, the initial scope set out by the partner councils, and the delivery approach. We'll give you a sense of the overall shape of the work we did, over 10 sprints, and unpack some of the activities that PlaceCube's business analyst and user researcher performed...

Sprint 10 Update In our final sprint of this first phase the Placecube development and QA teams completed the build and testing of the last waste service form, as well as 3 of the 4 planned integration connectors. Following some further investigation, and discussions with Northumberland CC, it was agreed to put the connector for Mayrise waste management system on hold for now, and investigate...

Finding resources when you haven't any. A funding story. Below is the transcription from the talk delivered by Rugby Borough Council's Chief Officer for Digital and Communications, Mike Connell, during Digital Leaders Week 2022.     How do we solve a problem without the resources to do so? Not enough time or internal skills to investigate, design and produce a solution? Rugby Borough...

Sprint 9 Update Due to the extended bank holiday, we decided to run this sprint for 3 weeks (rather than the usual 2), which gave us a few extra days to get through more of the tasks on the backlog. Our Technical Architect, Dave, continued working with the Placecube team of developers and QAs on the build and test of the remaining front-end forms, as well as the ongoing implementation of the...

Sprint 8 Update   This sprint the team have been mainly focused on building the front-end forms, as well as continuing with the integration work - updating the connector for the Echo waste management system and confirming which methods to use, for all of the various service calls that are needed for each of the back-office systems. Once this work has progressed further, we'll be able...

Sprint 7 Update Due to the bank holiday this was a shorter sprint again for us. Bal completed her review of the existing user research, focused on the 'New Household' and 'New Bin / Waste Container' request processes, which have very similar flows and therefore could be combined. As always she considered existing service patterns, and other available best practice, to help inform the...

Sprint 6 Update    This was a shorter sprint than usual for us, due to the Easter break, with several team members having limited availability again due to annual leave and sickness.   However, our Business Analyst, Martin, made good progress mapping the 'New Household Request' and 'Request a New Bin' processes (which have several similarities in the information...

Sprint 5 Update Our ability to progress the work in this sprint was somewhat impacted by the limited availability of several team members. This was due to both planned annual leave and, unfortunately, some unexpected sickness absence. However, despite there being a few challenges, the rest of the delivery team continued to press on with their various tasks. Martin (our Business Analyst)...

Over the last 2 weeks, the team have continued to make good progress with their different areas of work on the various waste services and features, that have been prioritised so far for development in this first Beta phase.   Martin, our Business Analyst, completed mapping and comparing the existing 'Report a Missed Bin Collection' and 'Report Fly Tipping' processes. As with the...

In this sprint the team have been busy completing the collation and review of information (e.g. service process maps, system integrations and user research) about the first three services that have been prioritised (which are 'Find my Bin Collection Day', 'Request an Assisted Collection / Pullout' and 'Subscribe to Garden Waste Collection').  Our Business Analyst, Martin, provided the LA...

What have we done so far?  In Sprint 2 we have worked across four streams of activity - business analysis, user research, technical architecture and development. I’ll briefly summarise each one before digging into what we’ve learned in a bit more detail.  Business Analysis  In Sprint 1 we went broad and gathered as much material as possible across all of the Waste Services...

Gavin Beckett, Chief Product Officer (Placecube) Placecube’s mission is to give the public sector easier access to open digital platforms that make life simpler with reusable open source modules which we call Cubes, that are built to open standards and communicate through open APIs. We work with our public sector customers to co-create open and connected platforms and to accelerate...

In this sprint Martin, our Business Analyst (BA), has been working with each Local Authority partner to identify all of the existing work, from user research insights to process maps, technical designs or interface specifications (produced during their previous Discovery and Alpha phases) - anything that helps us understand how the various Waste Services have been implemented in each...

The Digital Waste Services project has been funded by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities as part of the 5th round of the Local Digital Fund.   The Local Digital Fund aims to help councils transform their digital services in line with the Local Digital Declaration.   When assessing applications to the Local Digital Fund, one of the key criteria is that the...

Since the funding to undertake a Beta phase project was awarded by DLUHC in November 2021, the team have been busy working hard to ensure that a strong foundation is put in place - to enable effective delivery of the project in a fairly challenging timescale (and when isn't it?!). Like any initiation phase, over the last couple of months we have been undertaking...

It’s often said that necessity is the mother of invention, and although it might appear to be a lazy way to start a blog post with a proverb, in this case it’s completely accurate. I arrived at Rugby Borough Council some four and a half years ago as a senior IT officer, intent on making some transformational changes and bringing some innovation into local government. Full of energy and...

Everyone has rubbish.  Whether you live in a flat, a house or a country estate, in an urban centre or rural isolation, the chances are that you have a collection of bins or containers that need putting out for collection.  It is just as likely that your bins are collected in an increasingly complicated pattern on various days of the week, leaving you to ask "what bin, when"? While...