On 15 May, the ongoing ‘Öffentliches Gestalten’ series discussed ‘Accessible for everyone’ on Global Accessibility Awareness Day. Speakers included Danny Koppenhagen from DB Systel and Marion Couesnon and Susanne Henatschel from Digital Service. They demonstrated the German public sector’s efforts to design and develop the most inclusive products and services.
Week #159 at the Digital Service: Notes for 12–16 May 2025
Week 159 at DigitalService included Global Accessibility Awareness Day, for which Martin and colleagues set up the first version of an accessibility awareness and testing lab. Martin also co-ran 2 related events, internationally and locally.
Meetup: Checks & balances
On 2 April, the ongoing ‘Öffentliches Gestalten’ series discussed ‘Checks & balances’ – how we apply healthy scrutiny to strengthen trust in democracy and our current form of government. Speakers included Dr Niklas Kossow from CityLAB Berlin and Ann Cathrin Riedel from NExT.
Week #158 at the Digital Service: Notes for 5–9 May 2025
In week 158, the new government took over, and the first-ever Ministry for Digitalisation and State Reform was created. The minister was appointed and got a significant remit. Martin participated in roll-out and kick-off workshops for design systems and a cross-government brand. He also prepared events for the upcoming Global Accessibility Awareness Day.
Week #156 at the Digital Service: Notes for 21–25 April 2025
Martin recorded a podcast conversation on service design and the Service Standard in his week 156 at Digital Service. He also helped make a prototype for the new Service Standard home and planned the next peer reviews as well as forthcoming community events.
Week #155 at the Digital Service: Notes for 14–18 April 2025
Martin had a shorter week 155 at Digital Service. He participated in various content workshops, led a cross-government community event on automation and AI, and opened up new design roles.
Week #154 at the Digital Service: Notes for 7–11 April 2025
In week 154 at Digital Service, Martin travelled to Amsterdam for the 3-day User Needs First International Design in Government conference. He spoke, contributed to a podcast, recorded his colleagues’ sessions, had many conversations, and distributed the latest edition of The Service Gazette.
Week #153 at the Digital Service: Notes for 31 March–4 April 2025
In week #153 at Digital Service, Martin visited the DigitalAgentur Brandenburg, participated in a Service Standard content workshop, and wrapped up the latest Service Gazette.
Week #152 at the Digital Service: Notes for 24–28 March 2025
Martin went westwards in his week 152 to attend the annual congress of the IT Planning Council in Hanover. He also witnessed another justice service going live and put in a 3-day vacation and weekend shift to get the latest Service Gazette to the finishing line.
Week #151 at the Digital Service: Notes for 17–21 March 2025
In week 151, Martin met with senior executives of GovTech Singapore. He did some hands-on work related to Service Standard content structure and greeted the new user research operations working student. Martin also recorded bits for a podcast.