<aside> 👩🏽💻 This is a list of some of the key people in your organisation who you’ll need to identify in order to set up and run successful planning services on Plan✕.
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The product officer is the main point of contact for all things related to getting the Plan✕ up and running initially, then dealing with any operational issues later.
This will be particularly involved during onboarding, including working through the checklist, helping to get integrations with other systems set up, liaising with finance teams, making sure agreements are signed, the product is procured. They may also be involved in writing the business case, and monitoring and reporting.
They will be the main point of contact for the team, and for others in the council, especially around anything technical or commercial, but not related to planning content.
They may also be involved in giving feedback and guiding product development as part of the PlanX product working group.
They need to be capable, have a working knowledge of the councils systems (including a enough technical understanding to liaise with others), and also the sort of person who sees what needs doing and does it, instead of saying ‘that’s my job’.
(10 days up front, then 0.5-3 days per week, depending on your level of involvement in development)
The service owner will have day to day responsibility for the content of digital planning service/s and that it is meeting users needs, this means checking flows, responding to feedback from users and stakeholders, monitoring how people use the service, testing the service with users and stakeholders.
They may also get involved in the development and improvement of services, especially services shared by other councils, by researching, writing services (or commissioning others to write them, including for example content designers) and helping test them. They may do this alongside their counterparts in other Local Planning Authorities, by working with the ‘Content’ working group..
Along with the product owner, they are the spoke of the wheel: the main point of contact for others across the council on all matters related to the service.
The service owner doesn't need to be technical, but it helps to have a good sense of how computers and the web work, and a love of well-structured services, transparency and user-friendly web content (they may wish to do a course in content design and read our guides). Neither do they need to be a planning expert, but a working knowledge of planning law and the planning system is extremely useful. Failing that, a willingness to learn and research.
Most of all they need to be a clear thinker, a good communicator, and someone who can be relied upon, with a genuine enthusiasm for building fantastic 21st century planning services, and continuously looking for ways to improve the service. The sort of person who sees what needs doing, and does it, instead of saying ‘that’s not my job’.
(1-5 days per week)
The champion needs to be an internal leader – someone sufficiently senior to help the service owner and product owner overcome internal obstacles, and to protect the service & product owner/s and give them space, so they have the time and bandwidth to do a good job. In some cases, this may include recruiting the product owner and service owner. Most importantly they must represent the service to senior executives and elected members, and ensure that the service and product owners have access to the people and resources they need, and are not facing internal blockers. This may include helping write the business case, reporting on impact. They need to be a good listener, but also a good persuader, with a vision for improving planning services.
(2-3 days per month)