Tony Parham's Blog

To meet the needs of constituents (“customers”), government entities would do well to ensure that they embody what I call the “10 A’s” in all audience-facing activities and projects:

1. Any time
   1. Don’t limit the customer to interacting only during certain “business hours.”
2. Any where
   1. Don’t limit the customer to interacting only at certain physical locations.
3. Any device
   1. The customer should be able to interact with your organization using any device (desktop, laptop, mobile, tablet, etc).
   2. The user experience should be optimized for mobile and tablet devices (and released for mobile/tablets FIRST, if sequencing is necessary).
4. Audience specific (…and FAST!)
   1. The customer does not care about (and is confused by) your internal organizational structures.  Don’t make them need to know your org chart.
   2. Present information and resources in language/formats which make sense to the customer, and which is structured around the customer’s needs.
   3. Ensure “no wrong door” (no matter how the customer begins their interaction with your organization, they will end up at the right place /resource).
   4. Turnaround times for transactions and inquiries should be FAST!
5. Audience engaged
   1. Dialogue: Have two way conversations with your audience, not just a one-way broadcast (monologue) of information. (Hint: Effectively leverage social media.)
   2. Share status, updates, wins, setbacks, reasons for decisions and setbacks.
6. All with “one voice”
   1. Minimize conflicting messages delivered to the customer from various internal organizations.
   2. Be aware (when appropriate) of the customer’s history of interactions, and leverage to shape current and future interactions with the customer.
   3. Strive for a 360-degree customer view; Leverage CRM (customer relationship management) systems when appropriate / legal.
7. Apparent
   1. Make transactions / interactions obvious and SIMPLE.
   2. (Simplicity is the art of maximizing the amount of work NOT done by the customer.)
8. Agile
   1. Deliver the minimum viable product (MVP) quickly; then enhance and improve (leveraging customer feedback).
   2. “Deliver working software frequently, from a couple of weeks to a couple of months, with a preference to the shorter timescale.”
   3. “At regular intervals, the team reflects on how to become more effective, then tunes and adjusts its behavior accordingly.”
9. Alerts
   1. Allow push of (customer-selected) data to the customer’s preferred device/platform.
   2. Allow the customer to (easily) opt out when desired.
10. Accessible and Open
    1. Be compatible with tools used by persons with disabilities.
    2. Provide multi-lingual resources.
    3. Data sets should be published and Open, to facilitate transparency, external use and innovation.

How is your entity working to become what I now call a “10A Organization?”  What government entities have you seen which are good examples of (or are movingly effectively to become) a “10A” Organization?

– Tony Parham

Although some would consider it an oxymoron, government innovation is beginning to blossom.  For example, Todd Park, a successful entrepreneur, recently became US CTO, reporting to President Obama.

Todd quickly launched the Presidential Innovation Fellowship Program to address several key initiatives.

It is important to note that Todd is not alone in this effort.  Forward-looking cities and states across the country and around the globe are appointing Innovation Officers to help make governments more effective in providing services to their constituents/customers.

Here is a video of the launch of the Presidential Innovation Fellows program.

– Tony Parham