📈 ITS TIME FOR CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT! 💯
every month at our team meeting each sub team in ICT has to run a segment related to one of our organisational values.
we were tasked with delivering this month’s one, and decided to recruit chatGPT to help prepare a minimum effort activity for the team.
activity > presentation as that means the group do most of the talking, not us 😎
one of the gang recently attended a hackathon so we pondered on something related to that. but we only have 15 - 20 mins to deliver, and may not have access to computers. 🤔
in the end we picked the value of CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT and opted to give everyone 10 minutes to completely solve a problem process or area that affects local councils. we agreed that the more absurd and unachievable the ask, the better, as it would remove the pressure to come up with something “proper”. really its just about getting people working together and having fun.
the task
i asked AI to draft some “problem sheets” for me
can you help me draft problem sheets for each process people can choose to fix? how do you think we should structure them? i was thinking a short description of the process or function. then bullet points that describe the main issues with it, and another section describing the key things it should be delivering
we went with
- planning application processing
- the local plan / housing targets
- waste collection
- economic development
they needed to be big areas with big impact, but also not too contentious internally - e.g. nothing relating to departments that are going through cuts or restructures
then we brainstormed on “constraint cards”. the intention was to have no restrictions on budget, tech, resources etc. but to enforce some random constraints to make the ideas more fun, and give people a starting point to work from.
we started off all over the place
- Communication only through song
- Every decision requires a helicopter
- Unicorns are real and part of the process
- Must work on a Nokia 3310 (no smartphones)
- Turn it into a game that people actually want to play
- Solution must be carbon negative
but ended up on the more normal style of “design it like X random tech company” type constraints.
i asked the AI to draft the content for those cards
Now can you help me design the constraint cards? First off I have come up with some ideas for " Design it like" cards. I am thinking each one should have a short description of the company (1-2 sentences), then 5 or 6 bullet points that describe the key things about the company or the way they operate. also, can you think of any other good ideas for "build it like" companies? they need to be well known in the UK and not all techy. and they all need to have a special something about them that makes them different and successful! they dont necessarily have to be new companies. here’s my list to start with:
Airbnb Amazon Uber Meta Google Facebook Waze Duolingo John Lewis Lidl Apple Spotify Monzo TikTok
AI added Tesco, Greggs, Rightmove, Argos, Costa and Nandos lol
i ended up taking some of the companies out as they were either repetitive or difficult to relate to local govt processes. e.g. rightmove is all about becoming dominant in one area and expanding business
the meeting
we split the tables up and instructed everyone NOT to sit with their normal teams - they had to muddle up
we gave them big sheets of paper and pens, two problems to choose from, and the full set of constraint cards to choose one from.
they then had 15 mins to redesign and fix their problem before reporting back to the team.
they were instructed that they had NO budget, resource, technology, legal or regulatory constraints 😂
people were so excited that they started work before we finished explaining the activity!
the results
all totally unhinged and unsuitable for consideration, including:
- planning application approval decided by social media likes and shares
- surge pricing for waste at busy times e.g. xmas and bank hols
- residents can only build from a limited set of pre-designed extension plans
- you are rated on the contents of your bin by waste collection teams. 5* residents receive a more frequent collection service.
- lots of drones and AI decision making
- developers must consult residents and gain approval before they are allowed to submit planning applications
- AI designs and seeks pre-approval for an extension on your house, then contacts you with a "1 click buy planning permission"
and a team that had a good laugh and enjoyed themselves 🙂
if you want to nick any of the content we used it’s all here
enjoy