Our mission, values and principles

Our mission #

dxw’s mission is to:  

1. build services that fit seamlessly into user’s lives, and that make public services usable and accessible to all – especially those most in need  
2. help government to spend less money on technology, so that it can spend more money on the services that society most needs in order to protect its most vulnerable members  
3. use the combination of its experience, technical expertise, public service ethos and metta not only to produce better services, but to radically and permanently improve people’s interactions with government; to make it a better instrument of good
4. carry out all its work according to sound commercial principles, ensuring that it is profitable, sustainable and able to properly reward its staff and invest in its own growth and improvement

Our values #

We think that it’s very important to have a talented team if we’re going to succeed. But just as important as raw talent is our ability to work well together. These are the values that we aspire to, and help each other to achieve.

Helpful #

We are helpful, useful and expert. We give practical and pragmatic advice to each other, and to our clients.

Positive #

We are positive, cheerful and supportive. Even in crisis, we stay optimistic. We assume good faith and offer constructive challenge.

Reliable #

We are reliable, consistent and committed. We make every effort to live up to each others’ expectations, and to exceed the expectations of our clients.

Honest #

We are honest, trustworthy and straightforward. We give plain-spoken, frank, accurate feedback and advice, and we never mislead or obscure the issue at hand.

Curious #

We are curious, diverse and creative. We help each other to learn and improve and we’re sensitive to each others’ needs. We love technology and finding new ways to solve problems.

Determined #

We are determined, discerning and motivated. We believe in high standards, we enjoy doing things properly, and we’re loath to settle for less.

Our principles #

These principles help us live up to our values, and guide our behaviour and decision making in all the things we do at dxw.

Start with people and their needs #

At dxw we want to create public services that work well for everyone who depends on them.

We start by understanding the different people who will use and be affected by a service. Wherever possible we work with them to design and test the things they will use.

We actively consider the intended and unintended consequences of our work on people, communities and the planet.

Keep an agile mindset #

At dxw, we think that agile is a mindset that’s accepting of change, curious about trying new approaches to make things better, and values careful planning in short chunks.

We think that the Agile Manifesto contains a lot of wisdom, but we don’t follow the industry of methodologies, training and certifications that has grown up around it. We think agile is something you learn to be, not something that you learn to do.

We recognise the importance of compliance and governance, so we build those activities into each step.

Work at a sustainable pace #

At dxw, we work at a sustainable pace. We estimate work and schedule it conservatively, and set realistic expectations with clients about the pace of delivery.

This doesn’t mean that we don’t work hard. Being productive is a vital part of maintaining the trust that our clients give us, and it’s important not to let them down.

Balance openness and confidentiality #

dxw believes it’s best to be open about what we’re doing. We encourage our clients to do the same, as does the GOV.UK Service Manual. We talk, blog and write about what we’re doing, and we are open about as much as we can.

At dxw, we release code, publish our contracts and things like this Playbook and talk with people about what we’re up to because we believe that we’ll ultimately have more opportunities to work, grow and improve than if we kept everything to ourselves.

However, there are some things that we must keep private.

• Our clients trust us to host content that is not public, like upcoming announcements and discussions made as part of formulating new policy. This is not our information to be open about, and it’s very important to keep it confidential.
• We also hold some personal data about and/or on behalf of our clients. We never share any of this data, including contact details. See also: data protection.
• We are sometimes sent documents that are protectively marked, and we have a scheme of our own. Information in these documents is confidential.
• Information about work that is currently being procured (whether we are bidding or not) and any other information that could damage the commercial interests of a client or supplier

Make everything we do accessible #

At dxw we want to make sure that everyone can access the services we create, including our own websites, communications and colleague resources.

We follow the guidance in the GOV.UK Service Manual to help us to meet government accessibility requirements.

And to create a consistent and effective approach, we have an Accessibility Manual that provides additional guidance for our different professions.

Reduce our impact on the environment #

It is our responsibility that future communities can thrive. So we will lead by example, and demonstrate how to make choices that are both people and planet centred.

We are carbon neutral and working towards net zero emissions.

We have an internal group who meet regularly to talk about how dxw can respond to the climate and ecological crisis.

Last updated: 11 January 2024 (history)