SMART Execution in the Public Sector
Citizen Experience Transformation for Public Services
Public services designed around the people who use them
Citizens judge a public body by how easy its services are to find, use and finish. Our six-step Citizen Strategy Generator works with service owners, frontline staff and citizens to fix the journey, with accessibility and an audit trail in place from step one. Built on SMART Execution: Alignment, Evidence, Execution.
How it works
Discovery & Strategy
Map the citizen journey online, by phone and in person. Agree objectives and scope with the service owner.
Strategy & Concept (MVP)
Choose the citizen strategies to pursue, shape concepts and build first prototypes.
Impact & Decision
Model the effect on service outcomes, agree KPIs with the sponsor, and decide Go, Pivot or Stop.
Go-Live & Iterate
Support the launch, review quick wins at 30 days, and keep improving.
The Challenge
Citizens measure your service against the best app on their phone.
- Services follow the department structure, so citizens have to work out which office owns their problem
- Online, phone and counter channels run apart, so citizens repeat their story at each step
- Accessibility and data protection get checked at sign-off instead of designed in
From Separate Channels to
One Citizen Journey, Tested and Governed
One citizen strategy replaces separate channels and late compliance checks. Citizens and frontline staff test it. Governance runs from step one. The launch plan includes quick wins, reviewed within 30 days.
6
Steps in the method
5
Citizen network strategies
4
Phases from audit to launch
Weeks
Not a multi-year study
Five Citizen Network Strategies
Five Ways to Improve a Public Service
Access
Let citizens finish the task online at any hour, with phone and in-person help for those who need it.
Engage
Plain-language guidance answers the common questions before a citizen has to phone or queue.
Customise
Shape each journey around real circumstances, using data your organisation already holds and is entitled to use.
Connect
Listen to what citizens say about the service in public and in feedback, before it turns into a formal complaint.
Collaborate
Design the next version with citizens and frontline staff. Regular users become co-designers.
Framework adapted from D.L. Rogers, The Digital Transformation Playbook (Columbia Business School Publishing, 2016). BnK applies it to Irish public services under the SMART Execution methodology.
The Four Phases
From First Audit to Live Service
Phase 1
Discovery & Strategy
- Journey audit across online, phone and in-person channels
- Objectives tied to the service's own targets
- Citizen groups checked, including people who rely on assisted or offline routes
- Scope and success measures agreed with the service owner
Phase 2
Strategy & Concept (MVP)
- Choice of focus from the five citizen network strategies
- Concepts based on evidence from citizens and frontline staff
- Fast prototypes of the strongest ideas
- Tests run with citizens and staff in place of internal opinion
Phase 3
Impact & Decision
- Effect modelled against service outcomes and public spend
- KPIs agreed with the sponsoring department and governance board
- Results checked against the first objective
- Go / Pivot / Stop decision, recorded for audit
Phase 4
Go-Live & Iterate
- Support through the first live cycle
- Quick wins reviewed within 30 days
- Improvement rhythm agreed with service and frontline teams
- Lessons recorded and fed into the next cycle
What Your Service Gains
Six Outcomes for Citizens and Staff
Sharper citizen focus
Effort goes to the journeys with the most effect on citizens, ranked on evidence instead of the org chart.
Validated concepts (MVP)
A working MVP tested and refined with citizens before public money goes into a full build or a large procurement.
Governance ready
Each decision recorded as it happens, ready for internal audit and Comptroller & Auditor General review.
Results in weeks
Hands-on workshops in place of long studies. Quick wins within 30 days.
Inclusion by design
Accessibility and digital inclusion planned from step one, with assisted and offline routes kept open, so no citizen gets left out.
Senior delivery
One senior lead answers for the work from the first audit to the live service. No hand-over partway through.
AI Proof of Value (POV) Tool
Find where citizens get stuck
Describe your service journey or paste citizen feedback. The AI returns a first assessment of where the journey fails citizens. It is free and needs no account.
- No account or sign-up
- Built on the SMART Execution™ methodology
- Shows where citizens drop out or need help
- Book a call to work through the results
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