4th discussion: How does open data work with and for people? What is the experience of open data? and how do people understand and use open data? Peter Wells @peterkwells : The problem with open data is.... http://www.meetup.com/People-before-pixels/events/223985254/ #pb4pixels

1. The problem with open
data is….
@peterkwellsCC-BY-4.0

2. open data people?
@peterkwells

3. [An admission: in some of the following slides I’ll be over-
simplifying the business model / ecosystem for open data as
I don’t have simple slide descriptions. Yet.
Now on with the show….]
@peterkwells

4. What makes data open?
@peterkwells
Open data is data that anyone can access, use and share.
Read more at: http://theodi.org/guides/what-open-data

5. It is a need for every service.
Image from GDS GaaP video (OGL): https://gds.blog.gov.uk/2015/03/29/government-as-a-platform-the-next-phase-of-digital-transformation/ @peterkwells
Open data
Not only online transactional services.
The UK is open-by-default.

6. Data-driven services
Anyone can use it to build
services.
@peterkwells
Data
Service users
Public Sector
Public services
Createdby
opendata

7. Data-driven services
People don’t just use public
sector data
@peterkwells
Data
Service users
Public SectorPrivate
Sector
Third
Sector
Createdby
opendata

8. People don’t just use open
data to build services.
@peterkwells

9. We all know it’s hard work to
build services. There’s a lot of
gravel to shift.
@peterkwellsImage by: https://www.flickr.com/photos/wwarby/

10. But starting with open data
anyone can design and build
services to meet people’s
needs.
Open data makes it simpler.
@peterkwells

11. People build open government
services.
@peterkwells

12. People build consumer
services.
@peterkwells

13. People build business
services.
@peterkwells

14. And I didn’t even list the
services that the public sector
builds with open data.
@peterkwells

15. Open data is a force multiplier.
@peterkwells

16. It can allow the public sector
to meet more user needs.
@peterkwells
Data
Service users
Public Sector
Data-driven services
Public services
Createdby
opendata

17. Unfortunately the public
sector often fails to meet
‘open data user’ needs.
@peterkwells

18. Publishing.
@peterkwells
Don’t ask “why publish?”
Ask “why not?
Publishing the data, even
incomplete, is the basic
starting point.

19. Clear licensing.
@peterkwells
OK, not just spelling...
Many public sector
datasets, even recent
ones, have unclear
licensing or even no
licence at all. People
need to know what they
can use the data for.

20. Bulk downloads.
@peterkwells
Bulk downloads make it
simple for people to build
new services.
The feature is missing
from many new public
services.

21. Mechanisms to release data.
@peterkwells
There are currently
closed datasets that offer
immense potential to
build new services with
economic, social and
environmental value.

22. Discovery.
@peterkwells
If people can’t find the data
then they can’t use it.

23. Clear data ownership.
@peterkwells

24. And many, many more open
data user needs.
@peterkwells
Governance.
Data standards.
Persistent identifiers.
Feedback mechanisms.
Sustainable data releases.
And so on….

25. Open data users spend a lot of
their time asking & waiting &
complaining on twitter &
asking & waiting & asking &
waiting for these needs to be
met.
@peterkwells

26. Sometimes they can’t just “do
it themselves”.
The hard work of releasing
open data has to be done by
someone else.
@peterkwells

27. To put it simply if open data
users have to shift more
gravel...
@peterkwellsImage by: https://www.flickr.com/photos/wwarby/

28. … then less effort goes into
building services for users.
@peterkwells
Data
Service users
Public Sector
Data-driven services
Public services
Createdby
opendata

29. Which makes open data
people feel sad...
@peterkwells

30. ...as not enough time is spent
building open data stars...
@peterkwellsImage by: https://www.flickr.com/photos/davedehetre/

31. ...that are designed to meet
more user needs.
@peterkwells
Data
Service users
Data-driven services
Createdby
opendata
Public SectorPrivate
Sector
Third
Sector
Data publishers

32. The problem with open
data?
@peterkwells

33. The problem with open
data is gravel.
@peterkwellsCC-BY-4.0

34. End.
@peterkwellsCC-BY-4.0

35. Context
Presented at People before Pixels in London on 28 July. Audience were public sector
people mostly user researchers and service designers.
The problem with open data is open data people (
http://www.comms2point0.co.uk/comms2point0/2015/6/8/the-problem-with-open-data-is-
open-data-people.html) which made me question why the open data community use so
much “technical” language.
Discussion post presentation included:
1: Can open data be driven by user needs
2: The difference between National Information Infrastructure and data infrastructure
3: The organisations and sectors outside of government that are joining Generation Open
4: The ecosystem and business model for open data and government-as-a-platform
5: Are there cases where open data has killed ecosystems? Built ecosystems?
6: Is there enough focus on user needs within the open data community?