Every piece of feedback has a lifecycle
Touchpoints exists to help public servants listen, learn, and respond. Gathering responses is just the start—insights only matter when teams synthesize what they hear, share context, and take action that improves services for the people we serve.
What responsive teams do
Responsive teams process feedback through its lifecycle: instrumenting specific interactions and experiences for feedback, collecting the feedback, processing the feedback, routing it accordingly. Responsive teams look at individual feedback and can synthesize summaries to communicate a coherent story about how user journeys are being continually improved.
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From Feedback to Action
flowchart TD
A[Citizens interact with government services] --> B[Feedback collected at multiple touchpoints]
B --> C[Centralized data analysis & insights]
C --> D[Evidence-based service improvements]
D --> E[Better citizen experience]
E --> F[Higher trust in government]
F --> A
B --> G[Real-time alerts to service owners]
G --> H[Rapid issue resolution]
H --> E
C --> I[Quarterly CX reporting]
I --> J[Leadership decision making]
J --> D
style A fill:#e1f5fe
style E fill:#e8f5e8
style F fill:#fff3e0
Systematic Collection
Touchpoints enables consistent feedback capture across all citizen-government interactions, creating comprehensive data that reflects the true service experience.
Actionable Analysis
Real-time dashboards and automated reporting transform raw feedback into clear insights that service teams can act on immediately.
Continuous Improvement
By closing the feedback loop, agencies demonstrate responsiveness to citizen needs, building trust and improving service delivery over time.
Understanding the organizational context
In the public sector, organizational dynamics flow from foundational structures that shape how decisions get made, resources get allocated, and changes actually happen. Touchpoints assumes we want to "see the whole picture" and gives
Designers all staff
tools to question and potentially change how things are done. An ultimate goal is to get as many people as possible in an organization co-designing. Seeing processes as maps helps people understand where they fit and ultimately how to take action—individual agency and situational awareness are important.
Growing and maintaining understanding and situational awareness of both external and internal users is necessary for effective service delivery. Touchpoints helps not only capture feedback, but synthesize technical data into team, culture, and social understanding—addressing the sociotechnical (social and technical) aspects of feedback, which was key to Cybernetic systems research and practice.
In the public sector, everything flows downstream from the budget cycle
Government organizations are always working on two budgets at once: spending this year's money while planning next year's budget. This affects what you can do and when you can do it.
Current fiscal year execution
Teams operate within approved budgets, executing planned initiatives while responding to emerging needs and feedback.
Next cycle planning
Parallel planning processes incorporate lessons learned, stakeholder feedback, and evolving priorities into future budget requests.
Why this matters for service design
- Feedback timing affects implementation feasibility
- Budget cycles create natural intervention points for systemic change
- Resource constraints shape what improvements are possible
- Organizational planning calendars determine stakeholder availability
CX Metrics & Performance Reporting
Feedback comes from many places: website forms, call centers, in-person queues, and kiosks. Each feeds into its own system, then flows into a reporting layer that connects to reporting standards and public performance metrics.
flowchart TD
W1[Website Form 1] --> S1[System A]
W2[Website Form 2] --> S1
W3[Website Form 3] --> S2[System B]
C1[Call Center 1] --> S3[System C]
C2[Call Center 2] --> S3
IP[In-person Queue] --> S4[System D]
K1[Kiosk 1] --> S4
K2[Kiosk 2] --> S4
S1 --> RL[Reporting Layer]
S2 --> RL
S3 --> RL
S4 --> RL
RL --> RS[Reporting Standards]
RS --> QR[Quarterly CX Reporting]
QR --> PM[Public Performance Metrics]
PM --> LD[Leadership Decision Making]
LD --> SI[Service Improvements]
RL --> RD[Real-time Dashboards]
RD --> ST[Service Team Actions]
ST --> SI
OM[Organizational Models] --> RS
OM --> AF[Accountability Frameworks]
AF --> LD
style W1 fill:#e1f5fe
style W2 fill:#e1f5fe
style W3 fill:#e1f5fe
style C1 fill:#e1f5fe
style C2 fill:#e1f5fe
style IP fill:#e1f5fe
style K1 fill:#e1f5fe
style K2 fill:#e1f5fe
style RL fill:#f3e5f5
style PM fill:#e8f5e8
style OM fill:#fff3e0
CX to Public Performance
Customer experience metrics directly feed into public performance dashboards, creating transparency and accountability.
- Satisfaction Scores → Public service ratings
- Completion Rates → Digital service adoption metrics
- Issue Resolution → Response time benchmarks
- Channel Performance → Service delivery efficiency
Models Enable Reporting
Just like accounting models ensure financial reporting, organizational and software models ensure consistent CX reporting.
- Organizational Models
- Define roles, processes, and standards for consistent data collection across agencies. Process Models directly correspond to Organization charts, mapping service delivery workflows to responsible teams and decision-makers.
- Reporting Layer
- Multiple feedback sources (websites, call centers, kiosks, in-person queues) feed into different systems, which all connect to a central reporting layer. This layer ensures data integrity and connects to reporting standards for consistent metrics.
- Accountability Models
- Create clear pathways from feedback to action, just like financial controls
How workflows map to organizational structure
Every service delivery process exists within an organizational context. Process Models and Organization charts are two views of the same reality—one showing how work flows, the other showing who has authority to make decisions and allocate resources.
Process Models show workflow
- Sequential steps in service delivery
- Decision points where choices get made
- Handoffs between departments or systems
- Feedback loops where customer input influences the process
- Quality gates and approval checkpoints
Organization charts show authority
- Reporting relationships and hierarchy
- Budget authority and resource allocation
- Decision-making power at each level
- Accountability structures for outcomes
- Communication channels for coordination
Why this correspondence matters for service design
- Accountability alignment: Each process step maps to an organizational owner responsible for outcomes
- Resource planning: Process complexity directly affects staffing and budget requirements
- Change management: Process improvements require organizational buy-in from the right decision-makers
- Feedback routing: Customer insights flow to the right teams based on organizational structure
- Performance measurement: Metrics track both process efficiency and organizational effectiveness
- Continuous improvement: Process optimization requires organizational capacity for change
How organizational entities relate
Organizations own Digital Assets (websites, applications) that provide Services to the public (permits, licenses, benefits, information). Each Service is delivered through Process Models that define workflows. Organizations employ People in Roles, defined by Job Descriptions containing Tasks that fuzzily relate to Process Models—an area we're actively learning about.
erDiagram
ORGANIZATION ||--o{ DIGITAL_ASSET : "owns"
ORGANIZATION ||--o{ PERSON : "employs/contracts"
DIGITAL_ASSET ||--o{ SERVICE : "provides"
SERVICE ||--o{ PROCESS_MODEL : "has"
PERSON }o--|| ROLE : "hired/contracted into"
ROLE ||--|| JOB_DESCRIPTION : "defined by"
JOB_DESCRIPTION ||--o{ TASK : "contains"
TASK }o..o{ PROCESS_MODEL : "fuzzily relates to"
Core relationships
- Organizations own Digital Assets (websites, applications) that the public uses to access services
- Digital Assets provide Services to the public—permits, licenses, benefits, and information
- Services are delivered through Process Models that define the workflows
- People work in Roles that execute these processes
The fuzzy connection we're exploring
Job Descriptions contain specific Tasks that employees are responsible for. These tasks often relate to steps in Process Models, but the relationship isn't always one-to-one.
Learning area We're actively studying how job tasks map to process steps. Sometimes one task spans multiple processes, or one process step requires multiple roles collaborating. This complexity is where organizational effectiveness lives.
The lifecycle of actionable feedback
Touchpoints guides teams through an intentional cycle. Each stage builds momentum so agencies can be responsive, transparent, and fiscally responsible stewards of taxpayer dollars.
Collect
Design inclusive prompts, automate distribution, and collect responses that represent the full customer journey.
- Accessible form templates
- Easy to deploy
- Field-level metadata
Filter and tag
Separate signal from noise with tagging, scoring, and routing rules so domain experts focus on high-value feedback.
- Automated routing
- Severity + impact scoring
- Noise reduction cohorts
Analyze
Synthesize qualitative and quantitative evidence, connect it to journey maps, and craft narratives stakeholders trust.
- Journey overlays
- Insight briefs
- Shared dashboards
Act
Assign owners, track decisions, and show the public how feedback changed the experience.
- Action plans
- Lifecycle SLAs
- Outcome storytelling
Analytics built for service design
We pair qualitative narratives with quantitative indicators. Dashboards spotlight systemic issues, while granular traces help teams pinpoint the people, processes, and policies affected.
Sensemaking rituals
Structured review cadences align frontline staff, analysts, and leadership around what customers are experiencing right now.
Scenario filters
Slice data by persona, life event, or channel to surface disparities quickly and allocate resources equitably.
Decision logging
Capture the actions teams take, the assumptions they validate, and the policy updates they recommend.
Value tracking
Monitor time saved, satisfaction changes, and cost efficiencies so you can demonstrate value to taxpayers.
Close the loop with accountability
Responsiveness builds trust. Touchpoints keeps teams honest with lifecycle timers, status updates, and shared scorecards so no insight stalls in a backlog.
Build momentum from intake through delivery
Each checkpoint aligns owners, accelerates decisions, and provides auditable proof that feedback shaped the service experience.
-
Intake triage
Assign ownership, urgency, and context as soon as a signal enters the queue.
-
Synthesize patterns
Analysts connect dots across journeys, severity, and equity indicators to surface the why behind requests.
-
Implement & log
Program owners deliver changes, capture decisions, and note dependencies for future iterations.
-
Close the loop
Customers hear back with clear status updates—trust grows as outcomes stay transparent.
Inventory & Assessment Checklist
Transform your existing systems into a responsive feedback lifecycle. Start with what you have, then systematically build toward better customer experience.
Digital Inventory
Map your current digital landscape and service delivery touchpoints.
Process Models
Create formal, versioned, collaborative BPMN process models that correspond to your organization charts.
Feedback Integration
Systematically add feedback collection to each website and synthesize insights.
Making the transformation manageable
Start small, scale systematically
Pick one high-impact service as your pilot. Complete the full inventory → process model → feedback cycle before expanding to other services.
- Choose a service with frequent customer interactions
- Select a service team willing to experiment
- Focus on a service with clear improvement opportunities
Better, not perfect: Kaizen in practice
Continuous improvement comes from making thinking explicit and work visible. Start where you are, iterate in short cycles, and work in the open.
- Make thinking explicit in shared process models and documentation
- Make work visible through product backlogs and artifacts
- Establish iterative cadences with regular reviews and retrospectives
- Work in the open—share documentation so everyone can contribute
Deliver good services at good value
Your constituents invest in you. Touchpoints helps you invest back in them by translating every signal into better journeys, equitable access, and smarter operations across government.
Process-aware organizations make work visible. When teams can see how feedback flows through systems, they gain the situational awareness needed to improve services continuously. Open organizations thrive on this transparency—sharing process models creates shared understanding and enables everyone to contribute to better outcomes.
Become a process-aware organization
Start mapping your workflows, capturing feedback, and building the shared understanding that drives continuous improvement.