Project and product management

Projects that undergo project and product management all contribute to the digital journey of the City and improve service. They vary in nature and focus on aspects like increased self-service and automation, process improvement, new technology implementation, modified operations, and the phase-out of older systems.

What is digital project management?

Reykjavík City's Department of Services & Innovation continues the City's digital journey, focusing on user-centered approach, innovation, and enhancing autonomous administration.

The main purpose of the City's digital journey is to make residents' lives easier, improve access to services, and simplify City operations.

Why is this important?

Experience shows that professional project management makes better use of our time and resources, and improves project quality. 

Product management offers us greater oversight – we can view ongoing projects and avoid duplication of effort. We can now identify at the outset of a project if needs it is tailored to are already being met elsewhere.

The benefits are clear: the introduction of project and product management has made the roll-out of new services quicker and more beneficial.

    Public product management

    Product management is a well-known concept in the software industry, and most of the software we use daily is backed by product managers or product teams. 

     

    Within the administration, the term product management is relatively new and obviously doesn't apply to everything we do.

     

    However, in digital transformation, this is one of the key elements to ensure the transformation is successful and sustainable. 

    The process - how it works

    Step 1

    Digital leaders in the City's departments identify opportunities within their departments and investigate the needs of staff and their department's service users.

    Step 2

    Opportunities are carefully examined and project proposals are developed based on them. 

    Step 3

    The proposals are submitted to the Project Council of the Department of Services & Innovation.

    Step 4

    The Project Council reviews the project proposals, decides which projects to undertake and prioritizes them. This is referred to as strategic portfolio management.

    Step 5

    This is where project management comes in. They undertake the diagnosis, implementation, and introduction of the project.

    Step 6

    The product managers take over and monitor the solutions, ensuring their successful operation and continuous development.

    Definition: Digital leader

    Digital leaders manage and prioritize digital projects in City's departments. They form a single team within the Department of Services & Innovation but are usually based within the departments, one in each.

     

    The digital leaders have ongoing conversations with their department's executive board and other key personnel, allowing them to identify opportunities, map the needs of staff and residents, prevent waste or duplication, and ensure the right projects are given priority.  

    We provide quality services

    We are passionate about providing quality services, as our projects primarily revolve around offering services in one form or another.

    These projects are not exclusively for Reykjavík residents, but also for the City's staff, who often provide services to one another.

    As Reykjavík City is one of the largest workplaces in the country, it's vital to ensure that all employees can perform their jobs effectively.

    For residents

    Examples of services directly benefiting Reykjavík residents include My Pages and the Counselor. Both services were developed in-house in collaboration with private sector contractors. They aim to enhance and simplify services for city residents. Hence, it's crucial to prioritize the resident.

     

    These products also significantly integrate with other services, products, and solutions in operation, implementation, or outsourcing. They connect with services from Digital Iceland (island.is), play a role in school enrollment, replace old processes, retrieve data from older systems, and much more. A product-driven mindset ensures the swift handling and management of these solutions. 

    For employees

    The projects Hlaðan and e-signing are both mainly meant as services for Reykjavík City staff. Hlaðan fulfills legal obligations for document storage, while digital signatures streamline and expedite approvals, appointments, and document signatures.

     

    Both products were purchased, but the role of product management has been vital in ensuring efficiency, contract compliance, and making informed decisions about what to adapt and what to use directly from the supplier.

    The digital design system, Hanna

    Hanna is another example of a product primarily used by City staff.

     

    Hanna's purpose is to ensure a consistent look across digital products of Reykjavík City. The appearance of all digital solutions should thus be consistent and based on the standards and guidelines set forth in the design system.

     

    Design systems are continuously evolving and must respond quickly and securely to changing demands. There's also a need to encourage using the system to simplify design and development work. The system is useful across all Reykjavík City departments, especially making purchased design services more cost-effective and sometimes unnecessary.  

    View the digital design system Hanna

    Designing design (and now Hanna!)

    Is a design system more of a constitution, a communication standard, or a mutual defense agreement between programming and design teams? 

    User Interface Specialist Már Örlygsson discusses how systematic design speeds up implementation, reduces cost, and enhances quality and accessibility of digital services in Reykjavík City.

    Recording from the symposium 'How do we improve a city?' at DesignMarch 2022.