Paul Downey

Registers

Government Digital Service

@psd
History
Long time coming …
Create [GDS]
Fix publishing
Fix transactions
Go wholesale
So how can we help make
better services, across
government, for less?
Government?
gov.uk/government/organisations
15
Publishing
GDS
1. Start with needs
2. Do less
3. Design with data
4. Do the hard work to make it simple
5. Iterate. Then iterate again.
6. This is for everyone
7. Understand context
8. Build things people can build on
9. Be consistent, not uniform
10. Make things open: it makes things better
Design Principles
Start with needs*
* user needs, not government needs
Design with Data
gov.uk/performance
https://gds.blog.gov.uk/2013/10/21/
how-many-people-are-missing-out-on-
javascript-enhancement/
https://gdstechnology.blog.gov.uk/
2016/09/19/why-we-use-progressive-
enhancement-to-build-gov-uk/
https://gds.blog.gov.uk/2013/03/11/
interesting-browser-stats/
https://
www.gov.uk/
after-a-death
https://
www.gov.uk/
info/
after-a-death
Do the hard work
to make it simple
Do
less
It must be gov, yeah, yeah!
No link left behind!
Use the HTTP:
Transactions
https://www.gov.uk/
service-manual
https://www.gov.uk/
service-manual/
making-software/
apis.html
Working on an
exemplar
GDS@psd
Theodore
Burton
Fox Ruoff
The mirror
principle
— the register of title should reflect, accurately and
completely, and beyond all argument, the facts that
are material to the title
The curtain
principle
— the public register should be the sole and definitive
source of information for proposing purchasers, but
not reveal sensitive information
The insurance
principle
— if, as a result of human error, the title is proved to
be defective in any way, then the person or persons
suffering loss as a result must be able to claim
compensation
Autonomy Mastery Purpose
Define a
steel-thread
Iterate, then iterate again!
Biomorphs – Richard Dawkins
We had an epic team!
and we learnt, loads
User research is
such sweet sorrow!
A digital signature is …
I am me I agree!&
Take fraud seriously!
Architecture is hard to
change
Minimise the architecture!
Mutability
Digital
ecosystem
Simon Wardley 

http://blog.gardeviance.org/
http://blog.gardeviance.org/2013/03/basics-repeated-again.html
http://blog.gardeviance.org/2013/03/basics-repeated-again.html
Services
Service mapping
Good services are verbs,
bad services are nouns
They need to change
quickly in response to
learning about their users
Design patterns
Service patterns
Platforms
GOV.UK Pay
GOV.UK Notify
Technology
GDS@psd
You must be able to
change your mind
github.com/alphagov
github.com/openregister
Data
“SCOLAND UK”
“SCOTALND UK”
“SCOTKLAND UK”
“SCOTLAD UK”
“SCOTLAND”
“SCOTLAND UK”
“SCOTLAND UK”
“SCOTLAND UNITED KINGDO”
“SCOTLAND UNITED KINGDOM”
“SCOTLAND UNITED KINGODM”
“SCOTLAND, UK”
Registers
companies, charities, trade unions, courts,
schools, universities, hospitals, zoos, circuses,
inspections, licences, certificates, births,
marriages, deaths, electoral roll, insolvencies,
bankruptcies, passports, animal passports,
drivers, vehicles, land parcels, land ownership,
land use, legal boundaries, awards, tax rates,
benefits, livestock movements, flood risk, river
levels, companies, fish caught, patents,
trademarks, designs, non-native invasive plants,
bank holidays, clock changes …
Our product is the
process for establishing
Registers
… lots of them, each
backed by a custodian
ODI Data Spectrum
Psychic
paper
Data
matures like
wine
Technology
Matures like fish
My precious!
ISE Shrine

– Clay Shirky, Here comes everybody
Writing law
demands a certain
level of
commitment
from goats, calves
and sheep
Merkle-tree magic
github.com/
openregister/
local-authority-
data
Decision
log
Towards a
digital
ecosystem
Knocking down the
Towers of SIAM
https://
data.blog.gov.uk/
2016/09/12/registers-
in-a-digital-ecosystem/
Paul Downey

Technical Architect

Government Digital

Building systems with integrity