From dd8cee3ad138ad3802c4d53672515c8f4db5be70 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Danny Chadburn Date: Fri, 29 Aug 2025 10:09:32 +0100 Subject: [PATCH] Create design-history-template.md --- app/guide/design-history-template.md | 53 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 53 insertions(+) create mode 100644 app/guide/design-history-template.md diff --git a/app/guide/design-history-template.md b/app/guide/design-history-template.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..9146a270 --- /dev/null +++ b/app/guide/design-history-template.md @@ -0,0 +1,53 @@ +--- +layout: page +title: Design history template +description: A three-act structure to use as a starting point for new posts. +eleventyNavigation: + parent: Guide +--- + +Don’t forget to: + +- draft as you go rather than after you’ve finished +- add tags so your post can be categorised and found +- follow the style and structure advice on the [writing for GOV.UK](https://www.gov.uk/guidance/content-design/writing-for-gov-uk) guide +- ask a content designer for support with structuring your doc or for a second pair of eyes (2i) prior to publishing – get help at [#screening-content](https://nhsdigitalcorporate.enterprise.slack.com/archives/C085GLW8Z70) on Slack + +## Title describing the activity + +- Keep it succinct (8 words max.) +- Start with a present participle of a verb (designing, understanding, updating, improving, exploring, etc) + +## (Prologue) Subtitle intro + +- Add a single sentence summary; “We `did a thing` so we could `reason for doing the thing`.” +- Write this in a way that someone with no prior knowledge of the subject could understand + +## (Act I - setup) Why we did what we did + +- Outline the problem you’re trying to solve and the user story or needs it relates to +- Describe the nature of the problem (specific finding, recurring issue, etc) +- Explain how you identified it (data insight, during user research, etc) +- Use a few bullets to state the hypotheses you wanted to explore + +## (Act II - confrontation) What we did and how we did it + +- Tell the ‘before and after’ story of design developments (“Users couldn’t do something. We made a change so now they can do this...and that.”) +- Explain how this addresses problems or improves user experience +- Go into detail, ideally in context with visual aids (screengrabs or recordings) + - Avoid including prototype or live service links – these evolve so may not match what people are seeing in the design history + - For all media, include descriptive alt-text and captions +- Describe why key decisions were made and alternatives that were considered +- Describe any difficulties or complications and how you tacked them +- If you’re showing more than one design workflow, separate these with the appropriate markdown headings + +## (Act III - resolution) What we learnt + +- Provide details of any testing this design went through +- Include direct quotes where possible – these are powerful! +- Connect test outcomes to the hypotheses stated in the “Why we did what we did” section – were the assumptions validated? + +## (Epilogue) What we’re doing next + +- Say what will become of this work (more iterations, more testing, pushing live, etc) +* Connect this up to other work you’re doing and explain how it fits into bigger plans