Both a challenge and an opportunity to stabilise and strengthen the UCD community of practice
Context
Within a large central government department scaling its digital and design capability, Communities of Practice were identified as a critical mechanism for sustaining quality, consistency, and professional confidence across disciplines. While a UCD community was already in place, communities in other areas such as engineering, product, delivery, and business analysis were emerging, informal, or not yet operating in practice.
This uneven maturity, combined with leadership transitions, introduced uncertainty around ownership, purpose, and sustainability. Without clear direction or supportive structures, there was a risk that Communities of Practice would remain fragmented, rely on individual goodwill, or fail to provide meaningful value as the organisation continued to grow.
This created both a challenge and an opportunity to stabilise and strengthen the UCD community of practice while helping to establish clearer expectations and operating models for Communities of Practice more broadly. The focus was on introducing clarity, structure, and support so the community could organise effectively, enable others to lead, and operate as a high-performing capability at scale.
My role
I was part of a small team of external consultants embedded within a large central government department to enhance its Communities of Practice. The team was brought in to provide focus, structure, and momentum, with a clear intention to strengthen capability and then step back once sustainable ways of working were in place.
Within this work, I led the User-Centred Design workstream. I worked closely with existing community members and leaders to support the UCD Community of Practice, while also playing an enabling role across other disciplines by sharing approaches, connecting people, and helping emerging communities take shape.
My role was not to own or lead communities long term, but to improve the conditions in which they could thrive. This included establishing clarity of purpose, using evidence to prioritise activity, building trusted relationships, and supporting leadership continuity so communities could operate effectively without ongoing external involvement.
The approach
01
Observe and interview
Building trust by listening first
Over several weeks, we met with a wide range of community members across disciplines and seniority levels. Each conversation led naturally to the next, helping us build a rounded picture of how the Communities of Practice were operating day to day and where the real opportunities for improvement lay. The focus was on listening carefully, building rapport, and respecting existing expertise, ensuring that any recommendations built on what people already knew and valued rather than replacing it.
02
Synthesise
Turning lived experience into shared insight
We gathered a large volume of qualitative insight from across the organisation, from junior practitioners through to senior leaders. Working as a consulting team, we synthesised this input on a shared Miro board, identifying common themes, tensions, and patterns across disciplines. This allowed us to move beyond individual perspectives and articulate systemic issues affecting how communities formed, operated, and matured.
03
Playback
Making insight visible and actionable
Insights were shaped into clear narratives that could be shared with both senior stakeholders and the communities themselves. We produced concise reports outlining findings and recommendations, and ran playback sessions with the communities to close the feedback loop. These sessions were recorded so that anyone who had contributed could see how their input had informed decisions, reinforcing trust and demonstrating that participation led to tangible outcomes.
04
Attend and lead
Strengthening capability before stepping back
We attended community sessions regularly and, where needed, temporarily supported facilitation to help establish confidence, structure, and rhythm. Alongside this, we coached community facilitators so they could take ownership and drive progress independently. While I worked most closely with the UCD community, I also supported sessions in other communities where additional capacity or experience was helpful.
05
Support and hand over
Embedding ownership and exiting cleanly
Our recommendations included appointing permanent leadership and sponsorship, notably the hire of a Head of UCD and the assignment of a senior community sponsor. Once these roles were in place, my focus shifted to supporting onboarding, sharing context, and ensuring continuity. With clear ownership established and communities operating confidently, I stepped away, leaving behind sustainable structures rather than ongoing dependency.
What we did
Over the course of a few months, the small team (5 – 7) of consultants working with communities within the department conducted numerous interviews and workshops, to help support, build and deliver robust communities of practice.
Community Engagements
400+
Cross community presentations
4
Strategy development sessions
16
Stakeholder interviews
200+
Design leadership in practice
Key outcomes from this case study
Strategic capability building
Reinvigorated the UCD Community of Practice, evolving it into a structured, high-performing community with clear purpose, operating rhythms, and leadership ownership. Rather than treating the CoP as an informal network, I positioned it as a strategic capability mechanism within the organisation.
Evidence-led direction
We conducted and shared a community maturity survey alongside qualitative research, creating a grounded understanding of strengths, gaps, and priorities. This evidence was used to validate assumptions, prioritise initiatives, and focus effort where it would deliver the greatest organisational value.
Translating insight into shared direction
To move from discussion to clarity, I introduced and populated a Community Canvas. This became a central reference point for the UCD community and its sub-groups, translating multiple conversations into a tangible articulation of purpose, value, and ways of working, a starting point for the community that could evolve over time.
Scaling leadership through sub-communities
Supported the establishment and maturation of UCD discipline groups, including content design and user research, with service design following. These groups were enabled to operate with autonomy while remaining aligned to a shared UCD strategy, reducing dependency on a single central forum.
Leadership transition and continuity
Supported a smooth transition for a newly appointed Head of UCD by handing over community insight, observational research, and maturity findings. Acting as a thought partner during onboarding helped create confidence and continuity, while ongoing support during subsequent handovers ensured stability without constraining new leadership.
Influence beyond UCD
Alongside leading UCD work, I actively supported Communities of Practice in engineering, product, delivery, and business analysis. I helped connect these groups through a community of community leaders, creating space for shared learning, alignment, and cross-disciplinary problem-solving.
Capability building and onboarding
Co-created and co-delivered a short onboarding course for new UCD starters, establishing shared expectations and confidence early on. Around 20 practitioners completed the course, helping reduce reliance on informal knowledge transfer and accelerating alignment with user-centred practice.
Participatory leadership and feedback at scale
To ensure communities evolved in response to real needs, we facilitated a large-scale feedback session with approximately 200 participants at an in-person organisational away day. Insights gathered directly informed improvements to the CoP model, reinforcing trust and relevance through visible listening and action.
Snapshot
Using a community canvas
To help Communities of Practice define clear, consistent ways of working, I created a simple ‘community canvas’ that practices could use to organise themselves and make decisions together. It was designed to be practical, lightweight, and easy to apply, giving communities just enough structure to build momentum without constraining how they operated.
The canvas focused on five core areas that communities need in order to thrive:
People
Who the community is for, how membership works, and how different roles contribute.
Purpose
Why the community exists and the value it provides.
Practice
The tools, processes, and methods in use, highlighting duplication, overlap, and opportunities to consolidate.
Programme
The activities, rhythm, and direction of travel.
Platform
The spaces (mainly online) where interaction, documentation and collaboration happen.
The canvas was built in Mural or Miro and used in facilitated workshops, with communities working through it collaboratively to surface gaps, agree priorities, and document their ways of working. A short written guide supported reuse, allowing practices to revisit the canvas as they evolved.
The result was a shared, repeatable framework that helped communities move from informal activity to clearer structure, stronger ownership, and more sustainable ways of working, without creating unnecessary overhead or dependency on external support.
The outcome
A thriving, structured UCD Community of Practice with clear purpose and ownership
Discipline-specific communities established and operating with confidence
Recognised community leaders with CoP activities outlined in their remit
Stronger alignment across professional communities, reducing duplication and silos
Community activity directly connected to strategy, learning, and organisational priorities
“A general reflection is that it’s been a pleasure to work with you the last few months. I have found your approach to be friendly, helpful and thoughtful. You’ve brought a lot of experience and integrity to the conversations we’ve had together which I have really valued.”
Senior leader
Leadership reflection
This work reinforced that scaling design practice is less about individual visibility and more about system design. The greatest impact came from enabling others to lead, through evidence, structure, and trusted challenge, as well as knowing when to step back.
By treating Communities of Practice as long-term capability investments rather than informal networks, I helped create sustainable, adaptive systems that could evolve beyond individual roles. This approach continues to shape how I lead design capability in complex, multi-disciplinary environments.