BOPS Design History and Pattern Library
We’ve spent more than 5 years working with councils across England to develop the Back-Office Planning system. We took a collaborative approach, coaching planning teams to participate in the design process.
We had a unique opportunity to use a design-led, agile approach to transforming public services at scale. We've learnt a lot along the way and have curated this design history to support other teams working on back office systems in government.
Who is this for?
These resources may be of interest to:
product, service or UX designers working in planning or related services in local or central government
anyone adapting the GOV.UK Design System for back office systems
anyone involved in developing new products and services in UK planning
teams or companies that would like to use the BOPS open source code to develop their own services
The BOPS Pattern Library
This library is a public collection of reusable service patterns and components. We created these by documenting the design and build of the Back Office Planning System (BOPS).
The aim of this library is to help teams design and build their own back-office products, both inside and outside of government. By providing evidence-backed patterns and components, we can help other teams create a consistent and accessible user experience. We hope this will also increase the efficiency of developing and iterating on BOPS and other digital services. We welcome contributions from the wider design community and add these patterns to existing design libraries.
What is a service pattern?
Reusable, end-to-end user journeys or major interactions that guide users through completing a significant task or goal. They define the structure, flow, and key touchpoints required to achieve a specific service outcome, often integrating multiple design patterns and components.
We’ve worked with planners to create patterns that fit their workflows, reduce mistakes and offer a consistent, familiar experience.
Reviewing applications
The review process is a common task across many back-office teams. It's often the final step in a case management journey before a case is finalised or closed. Because it's a shared process, we believe this pattern could be widely useful for other services.
Sidebar navigation
In back-office systems, users often navigate between many tasks in a non-linear workflow. We developed the sidebar navigation pattern to make it easier for officers to move between tasks in the way that made sense to them.
Design tools and artefacts
Sketching
Regular, collaborative sketching sessions to brainstorm and refine features with planning teams. We used methods like Crazy 8s to help planners think beyond the limits of their current systems and processes.
Over time, many planning officers become more confident in these methods and helped us explore solutions in other services, like Planning Performance Agreements and Building Control.
Design and research drop in session
Biweekly, remote sessions with officers across planning, validation, digital and business support teams across several local authorities. This was a collaborative space where we’d share designs or feature concepts, get feedback and invite challenge. We’d include developers in these conversations too, so that our services got a better understanding of the technical challenges and opportunities around each feature.
Prototyping tools
Building on our sketches, we used a shared space in Figma to build up prototypes of features and user journeys. These were particularly useful for working with developers to explore ideas from both design and technical perspectives.
Later in the project, we used tools like Google AI Studio for experimentation.
User research and insights
We carried out multiple rounds of user research and useability testing throughout BOPS product development'. We shared insights through regular Show and Tells and playback sessions. We’ve shared some of these insights here. If there’s anything you’d like to know more about, get in touch or you can view more research here.
Note: some of these files may have lost some of their original formatting.
2023
Consultation is an essential part of the planning process. It includes consultation with the public, statutory consultees and other experts who can give critical insight into a proposed development. It also includes publicity, such as displaying a public site notice and sharing details of planning application in local press.
2024
We wanted to create a better service for enforcing planning decisions. Through collaborative research, sketching and story mapping, we developed a basic enforcement service as a prototype. This report shares some of the research that led to the prototype.
2023
BOPS includes a public interface where neighbours can view details of a planning application and submit comments online. Their comments are immediately available to the case officer. This report shares insights from testing this service with residents in Barnet.
Learning from an 8 weeks Alpha phase where we developed, tested and iterated our prototype back office planning system with multiple local authorities. We also carried out wider technical investigation into the planning ecosystem and started to develop the business case for a better service. Funded through the MHCLG Local Digital Fund.
Insights and recommendations based on testing the first iteration of the BOPS MVP (minimum viable product). This include a service for managing Permitted Development (PD). Funded through the MHCLG Local Digital Fund.
2019
The full presentation of research and insights that led to the development of BOPS, led by Southwark Council and partner councils. Funded through the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) Local Digital Fund.