Bridging Strategy and Daily Experience

While working in Army Headquarters with the Digital Discovery team, I noticed a pattern: many personnel had a good understanding of the challenges in their environment, but often did not have a clear route to voice them or get support to solve problems.

A Need for a Clearer Pathway

People across the organisation were encountering practical challenges, but:

• there was no simple route to raise complex issues

• details could be lost as information travelled up the chain of command

• discovery projects took a long time to initiate

There was an opportunity to make it easier for those closest to the problems to contribute their insight and get involved in building solutions.

Introducing Discovery as a Service

I initiated Discovery as a Service, a new operating model designed to make discovery more open and accessible. At its centre was a digital gateway that allowed anyone, regardless of rank or role, to submit a challenge in a single step.

Each submission received structured support from our multidisciplinary team in Army HQ, making discovery more consistent, transparent and repeatable.

Designing for Clarity and Ease of Use

I worked with stakeholders across units to define what the gateway needed to enable: straightforward access, clear triage, and a sustainable operating rhythm. Through prototyping and testing, we refined the process so that it was both approachable and robust enough to support meaningful discovery.

As the service matured, I led the team to evolve ways of prioritising work and supported multiple projects at once.

First Look: Making Early Understanding Faster

As submission volume increased, I developed First Look, a short, structured pre-discovery approach. Through three facilitated workshops, teams could understand the shape of a problem early, before committing to a full discovery.

This reduced initial assessment time by half, helping the organisation respond more quickly and confidently.

Building Confidence and Capability

A key design principle was ensuring solutions could be developed and maintained by end users without . Working with developers, I introduced low-code tools that enabled personnel to participate directly in building and adapting solutions. Training was embedded into delivery so teams gained confidence as part of the process.

This supported a gradual shift toward shared ownership of improvement.

Growing a Community of Practice

To maintain momentum, I helped create an open community where personnel could explore digital tools, exchange approaches and learn from one another. It grew to more than 500 members, supporting a culture where problem-solving felt more collaborative and approachable.

Outcomes

• Discovery projects could begin 75% faster

• First Look reduced early analysis times by 50%

• 64 enquiries formed a clear, ongoing improvement pipeline

• Recurring challenges became more visible across units

• Teams became active collaborators in shaping solutions

• User research gained trust and recognition as a helpful enabler

• Digital capability and confidence grew in day-to-day work

Lasting Change

Discovery as a Service helped make it easier for people to share insight, understand challenges and work together on meaningful improvements. I supported the transition of the service into long-term ownership, documenting processes and mentoring new leads.

The impact extended beyond individual projects. It encouraged a shared sense that improvement is something everyone can take part in.