From the Digital desk: all about that beta

Different coloured post-it notes stuck on a teal board using pins
Photo by Patrick Perkins on Unsplash

November summary

One guidance that I’ve leaned into more last month was saying “no”. It’s been difficult at first as it’s not in my nature, however with a vital deadline approaching, drive and appetite building internally, it’s been a key factor in steering the project with various stakeholders.

On the other hand, I’ve started to say “yes” to more opportunities that pushes me outside my comfort zone. Communication has always been a soft skill that I’ve had to improve on, but it was great to have my submission for LocalGov Drupal Week 2025 accepted.

Overall, I talked about our approach to content design and strategy as part of the LocalGov Drupal migration. How we applied a prioritisation matrix and harnessed analytics to shape information architecture. I discuss building user-centred design across services, securing subject matter expert (SME) buy-in, and setting up effective governance for sustainable content management.

It was great to attend the Local Government Partnership Network (LGPN) South as it opened my networking path further in public sector and local government. I thoroughly enjoyed Nickki Johns‘s talk about moving from private to public sector, plus Sarah Chamberlain‘s talk on Digital Champions. It sparked idea between myself and my colleague Ben McCartney on how we can take learnings from BCP Council into our Change Team.

Sarah Chamberlain presenting at LGPN South
Networking at LGPN South
Ben and I exchanging ideas

🔄 What’s happened

  • Key content migration sprints completed: Council Tax and Benefits content was signed off, with structural improvements based on analytics and user feedback. Work has also started on other high-traffic areas like Parking, streets & transport
  • Core design templates signed off: Page templates for public beta has been approved following accessibility checks and usability review
  • Technical readiness: Redirects tested, consent management platform implemented for public beta and pre-live UAT scheduled for early December
  • Stakeholder engagement: An All-Councillor members walkthrough on the new website project scheduled
  • Communications plan: Messaging for internal and external audiences sent and scheduled regarding public beta launch. Residents will be encouraged to explore the new pages and share their thoughts via a feedback form

⚠️ Why public beta matters

This public beta moment is not just a design refresh, it’s a testbed for user-centred improvements. We’ll use analytics, heatmaps, and direct feedback to refine the experience ahead of the full site launch in March 2026. This iterative approach ensures our new platform truly works for residents, businesses, and visitors.

📣 What’s next…

  • Public beta launches 10 December – great collaboration with Annertech
  • Further content migration sprints: Waste, Housing and other sections will follow in January
  • Continuous optimisation with insights from public beta shaping go-live

💯 Digital legends of the month:

Robert Noyce

  • who: Co‑inventor of the integrated circuit and Intel co‑founder
  • fun fact: Nicknamed the ‘Mayor of Silicon Valley’.

Steve Wozniak

  • who: Apple co‑founder and designer of the Apple I and II.
  • fun fact: Engineered the Apple II’s affordable colour graphics with minimal chips.

John Backus

  • who: Led IBM team that created FORTRAN, the first widely used high‑level programming language.
  • fun fact: Co‑developed Backus–Naur Form (BNF) to describe programming language syntax.