An Iterative, Experience and Practice-led Approach to Measuring Impact Measuring the impact of service design in a world of public sector management metrics has always been tricky. Social outcomes take a long time to be realised. Proxy ‘output’ measures often tell us what is happening rather than why it is happening, and can drive perverse behaviours. Problems that service design addresses sit Cat Drew is Delivery Director at UK-based Uscreates. Previously, Cat has been Head of Projects at the UK Government's Policy Lab, and worked in other policy roles in No.10, Cabinet Office, GDS and the Home Office. Cat has written and spoken widely on the role of data and design, including at TedX Westminster.
within complex systems, and it is often difficult to isolate a specific intervention from changing elements or innovations surrounding it. There is a growing recognition that services are never fully (re)designed and need constant evaluation to evolve and improve. Impact measurement needs to reflect this. Rather than something measured at the end of the project, it needs to be iterative and become part of continuous service development. And rather than relying on purely quantitative data, it needs to become more experience and practice-led, with frontline staff and service users empowered and supported to use it to make continuous improvements in the service they deliver, or their own behaviours.
In 2017, at the Measured Summit in New York, experts and students came together to discuss how to measure the impact of design. At the follow-up event in London, six months later, we were still discussing the basics: why are we measuring impact, and for whom? Traditionally, in the nondesign world (of our clients), impact has been measured through evaluation, to prove something has worked (or to argue 22 Touchpoint 9-2
it will). As designers, we also measure impact formatively, to reflect on and improve the service we are designing, as well as the process for designing it. Table 1 shows that by expanding the groups of people that use these two approaches can lead us to different forms and functions of impact measurement.
