Martin Jordan

As German government plans to unwind the Freedom of Information Act, there is significant interest from civic society & a call for resistance. @hauberlin.bsky.social is launching a new discourse series #Gegenmacht, on opposition power, with @fragdenstaat.de’s @arnesemsrott.bsky.social #IFG #FOI

Belated, from last week, when I was still on annual leave: here is weeknote 233 – because, as a public servant, I write weekly notes to let people see what I do. I did not work. But while in Singapore, I met with my colleague Hefen to discuss setup, challenges, and retaining skills in the age of AI

As a public servant, I write weekly notes to let people see what I do. I returned after almost 3 weeks of vacation. I co-delivered an all-hands input on open #roadmaps. I also worked on the related blog post and wrote an upcoming conference talk. Plus, I got grumpy with badly named services.

Just watched the movie #Digger. It’s well worth a watch. With a clever twist, it addresses the #climateGrief that future generations will face. It’s a satire, as the trailer suggests, but also not. It reaches you. It felt weird to step out of the cinema, as if I’d stepped out of a time machine.

Next week, we’ll talk about ‘upstream impact’. At the Service Design Global Conference, my @digitalservice.bund.de colleague Nina and I will share how service designers shape better policies. Here’s a 41-sec pitch More on the conference page: www.servicedesignglobalconference.com/stage-speake...

“Some 32 government services are offline while work is carried out to address potential cybersecurity issues, a minister has said” – @theguardian.com reports. Equally, The Telegraph reports that services have switched back to pen and paper.

Yet another government form that needs fixing: Applying for a Malaysia digital arrival card makes the user navigate another calendar to enter the date of birth. Also, the form doesn’t allow copy-pasting, making it difficult for users with dyslexia or dyscalculia.

Those who want to can use a calendar to select their date of birth, but by default you type it into a separate 3-segment form field, which makes sense. Also, it allows you to choose male, female, and other as options for sex. Malaysia’s form only contains 2 options.

Yet another government form that needs fixing: Applying for a Malaysia digital arrival card makes the user navigate another calendar to enter the date of birth. Also, the form doesn’t allow copy-pasting, making it difficult for users with dyslexia or dyscalculia.

We finally have definite guidance on how to name a service well in German. I wrote it over the summer, and it went live in the #ServiceStandard handbook this week. We still see a ridiculous amount of acronyms and animal names, so I had to write it. ⬇️ servicestandard.gov.de/handbuch/anl...

It builds on the many good and bad practices I have seen over the past 10 years. I also got to list some good and bad examples. The guidance also incorporates tips from guides, workshops and talks from @rebekahbarry.bsky.social, @tomhewitson.bsky.social, and @harrytrimble.bsky.social.

As a public servant, I write weekly notes to let people see what I do. This week, my week 230 at @digitalservice.bund.de, I co-delivered 2 talks at the ‘ #ServiceDesign in Government’ @sdingov.bsky.social conference in Edinburgh. I also got the naming services guidance ready for publication.

Doing it 1 by 1. The handbook section of the German #ServiceStandard includes 4 new pieces of guidance related to interviewing. They were co-created with cross-gov colleagues: • Preparing for interviews • Conducting interviews • Analysing individual interviews • Extracting insights from interviews

And off I am from Berlin to Edinburgh for @sdingov.bsky.social on a single-day train journey! 🇪🇺 🚄 Next stop: Cologne #CrossBorderRail Random fact: Pret in Berlin doesn’t offer porridge anymore, and the staff thought I asked for ‘pork’ and meant ham. I did not.

Swiftly over to King’s Cross station for the last regular train up to Edinburgh. I missed my original LNER connection and had to purchase a new LUMO train ticket for another £35. The last leg of the #CrossBorderRail journey tonight takes a bit over 4 hours to Waverley station.

And off I am from Berlin to Edinburgh for @sdingov.bsky.social on a single-day train journey! 🇪🇺 🚄 Next stop: Cologne #CrossBorderRail Random fact: Pret in Berlin doesn’t offer porridge anymore, and the staff thought I asked for ‘pork’ and meant ham. I did not.

Made it to Brussels after a delay of almost 2.5 hours—time to relax at the #Eurostar lounge now. Trusting Eurostar and its timings, I usually book myself a Lumo train up to Edinburgh, the last regular train out of London. I really hope I can catch that. #CrossBorderRail

And off I am from Berlin to Edinburgh for @sdingov.bsky.social on a single-day train journey! 🇪🇺 🚄 Next stop: Cologne #CrossBorderRail Random fact: Pret in Berlin doesn’t offer porridge anymore, and the staff thought I asked for ‘pork’ and meant ham. I did not.