GDS does need to advance, upon the work they have done. And I agree that your strategy is focused in a direction that makes GDS work more efficient, and a little more relevant.

I am planning to write up an article on GDS; its present and future, but that is for a few weeks time.

Just on your article, from the perspective of effectiveness, yes User needs are key, but there is more to it than that in the public sector. We do mroe than 'provide services' in many cases. We often help people, and those people are often in need or struggling. Not all of them, but many who are on the margins of your work.

Your strategy would do well to start with true purpose from a real citizen perspective. And that is far mroe about personas. Then realise that you have to absorb the whole of our citizens; not like selling books to those who want them, but to cover all citizens. So the strategy, moving to user needs, should cover all the users, including those not online.

The user needs nad design has to also include the complexity of some services that are not purely transactional. But that is getting onto my next issue, which is far too much for this comment section!