New front page misses the point for me
I find the new front page to be a retrograde step. I dare say some are interested in the fine detail of department's business plans or who ministers have met, and I have absolutely no issues with the data being available. However to me that is a far less important strand than providing data that can be linked together with other sources to add value. But we have five pictorial links on government and only one relating to applications, and that appears to send you to one specific application which gives you local crime statistics (though it actually gives you local recorded crime statistics, which is not the same thing!). This seems the wrong way round to me, and a little too much tilted towards one agenda.
Maybe I am alone in thinking this but I'd prefer the prominence given to datasets or applications to be based on something more neutral than what government ministers happen to want at the time. That may be unfair to those running this site - but do (and should) ministers actually have editorial input into this?
I think the issue is that "data.gov.uk" does not know what it is. It needs to get its business model clear. What is its value proposition, who are its customers and what does it need to put in place to serve these customers. It now appears to be getting itself confused with directgov,or should I say alpha.gov.uk. Time to stop the incremental dev. and think through the big picture.
See "Osterwalder" Business Model Canvas Template.
Thought - it's about data publishers and data users, bringing them together to create value. It's not about hosting information and end user applications. These go elsewhere, the where being dependent on their target customer group/s.
That's a good way of putting it. The "business model" presented by the front page is quite different to that envisaged initially, I think. Of course, there was intense initial pressure on Departments to outdo each other in terms of numbers of datasets available, with the inevitable result that some terminally useless datasets (lists of ministers, anyone?) got put there. But that's what happens when instant responses are demanded.
I think it will (and should) inevitably host information, but really this should be in order to facilitate the kind of value creation that you describe
Thank you for your feedback. I would disagree that we do not know what we are trying to achieve with the data.gov.uk site, but clearly we haven't done a good job of communicating this vision. I'll look to see if an outline roadmap can be published which may make clear that we are thinking through the bigger picture, and that the incremental development work we've been doing is in support of that.
I would completely agree that a part of the work of data.gov.uk is serving data publishers and data re-users - but also (at least for the time being) needs to explain to people why they should care about open data and making it "real" for them, tieing some of the most high-profile data to people's local areas. Of course we don't want to go over-board with this provision of information - if nothing else, much of the point of releasing government data is so that people other than the government can create and release interesting visualisations and apps based on the data, which is why we linked to existing tools wherever we could.
Also, yes, clearly in the longer term the Single Domain workstream you mention (of which alphagov is a part) will have an impact on data.gov.uk (along with all other government web sites), and we're talking with them to see how data might play a part in that work, and as soon as we have anything on this we will of course update the community as to the longer-term plans.
I thought I knew what the aim was when the site started and it may well be the same now. But the front page gives a quite different impression, as five of the six pictorial links relate to data about the workings of central government. As Ministers have great interest in that, it gives the impression that they are setting the agenda for the site. What's wrong with that, people might say. But I would draw a parallel of sorts with National Statistics (my user name tells you something about my background!), where legislation ensures independence in terms of what is published and how. It is not complete independence, as Ministers can still determine what is to be collected - though even then changes are supposed to be subject to consultation with users. Obviously open data is not building on a long established infrastructure in the same way, but I rather like the idea of Ministers being at arms' length from decisions on what to release (which should be "everything" anyway) and more particularly how to "advertise" them, what should have front page profile and so on.
I appreciate that there is a job now to convince people that the open data concept matters to them, but the ones you are giving pride of place to are not the ones that I would choose, I think.
Visibility of a 'data.gov.uk' roadmap (in a 'target operating model' sense of the word) would certainly be very helpful.
Returning to the subject of the new front page, in terms of good design practice, the landing page of web sites should provide a common starting point for all the target customer groups, with well signposted routes leading off the page. The new page fails to do this. This design principle applies to all services, not purely those based on the web.
If talk about good design practice, then Front Page is the best option always. I am also using it usualy.!!
That may be unfair to those running this site - but do (and should) ministers actually have editorial input into this?
If it doesn't say that ministers have no input, I think you can take it for granted that they do (for statistics they have an input into what is collected but although they can comment they do not influence the analysis or take the key decisions on what is presented - and how it is presented).
I would also say that the change in emphasis since the change of government is so stark that it seems inconceivable that it has not been heavily influenced by ministers. Can't prove it, of course!
The "should" is the interesting aspect, I think. Some would argue that it is an elected government and has the right to determine everything of this nature. But we don't do this for statistics and my view is that it would make for healthier analysis if the release of datasets for analysis was handled in a similar independent fashion. To be fair, the site and all associated with it is still young, and it took years for statistical codes of practice and so on to be formalised. But I think it is an issue worth discussing, preferably early rather than later.
To make it absolutely clear, ministers have every right to put out statements about spending (or misspending) by government. Nor do I have any problem with making datasets about spending available through this site. I do have a problem with the way the front page concentrates so much on these issues when there is so much more to be gained from the open data process.
I agree with much of what has been said in these posts. The first question a web site designer should address ought to be that of deciding what audience it is intended for. As it stands, it seems to me, as a casual obsever, that it is primariliy aimed at a specialist audience - data publishers and data app designers. If I am right then that's a problem.
The first page doesn't in any way succeed in drawing in the kinds of people who ought to be attracted to it. Where is the insiring vision that, in a few words and images paints an inspiring vision for the concept? Tim Berners-Lee and Nigel Shadbolt wrote eloquently and inspiringly about the concept in the Times of 31 dec 2011 - admittedly a date guarantted to ensure that it wouldn't be read. But it was a great "big-picture" article. Why is that not on the site?
As a previous poster said, the next thing needed is a business model that can show how the project and this site can produce results. It should be treated like a business venture. The site is only a delivery vehicle, but the project is bigger than that.
In my opinion, some of the key audience groups that the site should seek to draw in are people like trustees of charities, local schools (for project work), hospitals - peple who understand that data could be very useful to them, but lack the know-how or skills at the moment to exploit it.
The truth is we are all at the start of a massive learning curve on this.
Am happy to help/collaborate on this.
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