Purpose, people and process: the University of Chester's recipe for co-designed digital transformation

It all started, like so many good things do, with coffee and biscuits. When the University of Chester decided to use Jisc’s digital maturity model to fast forward its plans for digital transformation, particularly around the use of technology for learners and learning development, the project team bravely went for the full immersion approach.

Jackie Potter, professor of higher education, learning and development, and the university’s dean of academic innovation, says:

"We locked ourselves in a room with lots of coffee and biscuits and said, ‘We're going to work through the digital maturity model’. We systematically went through it and, I'll be honest, we were flagging a bit towards the end. It's a big, big, big document."

However, while it may have been initially daunting, Jackie and her colleagues soon realised the model covered all the digital infrastructure for a whole organisation and that prioritisation was the order of the day.

Importantly, the process itself set the tone for the collaboration that has been at the heart of everything Chester has done to drive forward its digital transformation. Jackie says:

"That shared moment – and it was a long moment, I think it was about two and a half hours of moment – we spent together was the first time we'd really collaborated on something outside of more structured meetings. There was no set next step, and we needed to self-determine that. We then replicated that sense of collegial endeavour across all the infrastructure we went on to set up."

Dreaming wild dreams

The outcome was an 18-month project focused on the redesign and redevelopment of the University of Chester’s virtual learning environment (VLE), aiming to improve how this core technology is used to support learning and teaching. The Chester project team was supported by the members of Chester’s newly created Educational Technology Forum, who represent a range of central and academic areas of the university.

Co-design was at the heart of the process from that first meeting, with focus groups, surveys, co-design sessions and design sprints bringing in “unheard voices”, as Jackie puts it, from a range of different roles and places in the organisation.

Laura Milne, head of digital education within the Centre for Academic Innovation and Development, says:

"We had people in the room dreaming wild dreams about what was possible in the VLE. Out of those sessions we developed a template that went for feedback across the university. We received 12 pages of feedback and incorporated it all into round two. And that's been when people have said thank you for listening to us.

"People have felt like their voices mattered in those conversations, which has been really valuable. Having people see themselves and so much diversity in the room really helps them understand that we are all welcome and there are no right answers, there's no cajoling us into a direction we don't want to go in.

"It’s all about co-designing together what the future will look like, and doing that at a pace that’s comfortable for everyone to be able to contribute.”

"Digital transformation always has to happen with a strong focus on people. Otherwise you're going to be digital but maybe not transformed. At Chester we’re having those broader conversations around how the transformation work we're doing is going to impact people where they are.

"While our project as part of the pilot was very focused on teaching and learning, I can see how what we've learned is going to have ripple effects throughout the rest of the university."

Seeing the bigger picture

Alongside hearing from a wide range of colleagues, another fundamental element was support and leadership from the very top of the university. With reassurance that the executive team and deputy vice chancellor were behind the project, there was less risk of uncertainty about whether the project was the right thing for staff to be spending time on, and enabled budgets to be ringfenced. It also ensured that somebody always had sight of the bigger picture, as Professor Helen O' Sullivan, Chester’s deputy vice-chancellor and provost, explains:

"Clear leadership and perspective from the executive team gives you an ability to integrate the project into the strategic direction of the institution and bring what we've learned from this project into other aspects of the strategic direction of the university.

"We can also weave back into the project things that are going on in other parts of the university. So, we might be taking a decision to do some estates work and we can make sure everything digital is considered in that, too."

But why, but why, but why?

But while ‘culture, people and processes’ – those vital strands in Jisc’s digital transformation framework – were in place at Chester, there was also another critical piece of the puzzle. Helen explains:

"You have to define the problem that you're trying to solve before you start looking at what technology is out there. You need to keep coming back to, ‘but why, but why, but why?’

"In other contexts I’ve heard people say, ‘Oh, look, here's a fantastic piece of technology. We could use this to do this, that and the other.’ But why do you want to do that? What is the problem you're trying to solve?"

Only once the purpose is clear, is it time to play into the strengths of the culture and people, and develop processes that are fit for the purpose. Communication then is paramount. Helen says:

"If you think you've communicated enough, go back and do it all again and then do it again."

She also emphasises again the need to hear from all different perspectives.

"You need people to tell you things you don't really want to hear. You don't want everybody just sitting there and going, ‘Yeah, this is a great idea, Helen. I'd love to do this – when can I start?’ You want people who are going to say, ‘Well actually, there's going to be a problem because of this or that.’ So that you can make sure that when you do move forward you are taking people with you and have anticipated problems and issues before they become a complete stumbling block."

Staying human centred

For Jackie, the transformation journey Chester has embarked on, with Jisc’s maturity model and toolkit, is only just beginning. She envisages a future in which students are more involved in the co-design work and, more generally, there is much more human-centred work around digital transformation. Jackie says:

"I think co-design will automatically become the norm. I think human-centred methodologies around design thinking which allow us to be curious and innovative and experimental in our approaches to considering change around technology will be absolutely at the forefront."

Digital transformation advice for sector leaders from Professor Helen O’Sullivan

To help people engage with the transformation journey:

• Keep learning. Be curious about where technology is going, its power and benefits, but also the challenges and what people tell you about what has worked in other places
• Be vulnerable. Don’t set yourself up as the expert who’s got all the answers. Don’t be a leadership populist. There aren't any easy solutions in digital transformation. It’s hard yards of listening to people, thinking through, planning and careful consideration of culture and workloads
• Be trustworthy. Have personal integrity and authenticity and don’t over promise
• Be open and keep listening. People are worried across the whole sector – ‘AI is coming to take my job, am I going to have a job in five years’ time. If I engage with this transformation process, am I going to make myself redundant?’ – listen to those concerns.
• Read the University of Chester’s case study Jisc’s digital transformation toolkit supports move to a new VLE from our digital transformation research pilot report and case studies