
Building a user centred back office system for the future

- Company: Unboxed Consulting Ltd
- Client: MHCLG / Buckinghamshire Council
- Year: 2019
- Region: England
- Plan-making, planning application and data management systems
- Organisational digital transformation
Introduction
This collaborative effort, part of the Open Digital Planning programme, modernises the system for greater efficiency and transparency, with the beta already benefiting councils like Southwark and Buckinghamshire. From discovery to beta testing, our approach emphasises codesign and innovation to meet the evolving needs of planning in the UK.
Challenges
Another challenge has been to engage with multiple stakeholders, including planning officers, councils and legal bodies, to design a system that meets various needs while adhering to government standards. Balancing the political, legal, and commercial pressures of the planning ecosystem also adds complexity to the project.
Additionally, the system has to handle the vast diversity of planning applications, ensuring it remains userfriendly while accommodating differences. Ensuring smooth collaboration across council teams and delivery partners is essential for success.
Lastly, demonstrating the value of the new system through measurable improvements, such as a 30% time reduction in application assessment was crucial for encouraging adoption and scalability.
Solutions
We adopted an iterative approach. We started with discovery to understand user needs, prototyping in alpha, and are currently refining solutions in beta, focusing on specific application types initially before scaling. This approach helps to minimise risks and ensures a robust, adaptable system.
To navigate political, legal, and commercial challenges, we maintain transparent communication and work closely with product owners and subject matter experts. Regular user testing validates improvements, demonstrating enhanced efficiency and a more streamlined workflow for councils.
By demonstrating the system’s efficiency and scalability, we foster wider adoption while exploring additional use cases, like enforcement and building control, to expand the uses of BOPS.
Results
Ongoing efforts focus on adapting BOPS to accommodate diverse planning application types and scaling its use to additional councils. Leveraging open data, we’ve built tools such as a map API to display nearby planning applications, highlighting BOPS’s potential for broader services like enforcement and building control. By continuing to collaborate with stakeholders and refine the system based on feedback, we aim to modernise England’s planning ecosystem, ensuring it is efficient, transparent, and scalable.
Unboxed have done really impressive work fostering an environment on this project where councils work together effectively to make an innovative product framed around their exact needs.