The A Level Algorithm — A perfect case for human centred design
Today’s U-turn by the Government demonstrates the power that people can have over policy. It shows that decisions can be reversed and systems can be changed. Often, we forget that. We look at ‘the system’, whether that’s our political or societal systems or the ones that we exist within at work and we think ‘that’s just the way it is’. What we often miss is the humanity that sits behind every system. No algorithm can exist, no piece of software programmed without people calling the shots.
I never got my A Level results, they were lost in the post. I was absolutely devastated. I remember gathering with my friends outside of college, chatting nervously and stepping through the doors with trepidation to find what table I should queue at. As I approached the front of the queue, I was asked to step to one side and gather in the corner of the room. As I glanced over, there was a small group of worried faces forming. ‘Erm…why?’ I asked.
As I made my way over to those cast into the corner, my stomach started to churn and thoughts raced through my head, what on earth could have happened? How come none of my mates are over here? This cannot be good. After what felt like a long wait, a staff member came over and explained to us that our results had been lost and there was no way of recovering them. Mouths dropped open. I remember saying; ‘what am I meant to tell my parents?, ‘what about uni?!’ I was told to call my first choice university and take it from there. I headed home, slowly dragging my feet. I called the uni and explained the situation, within five minutes I was told that I was in. They had received my predicted grades and my place was secure. I hung up the phone, told my folks and went to the pub with my mates.
Although my situation arguably turned out fine in the end and the impact on me was limited, that memory of how I felt in that moment has stayed with me and has crossed my mind during every single A Level results day since. I have experienced a similar sinking feeling to the one that’s hit thousands of our young people this week. That feeling in your gut when somebody delivers bad news, when something happens that’s beyond your control or seems like it is being ‘done to you’ is one of the worst feelings in the world, and sometimes that can and should be avoided. When it comes to designing systems, making decisions on what’s in, what’s out and why, we need to not only think about the human at the end of that system, we should design it with them.
The Government saw this coming, they had the time and connections to do their research and fully understand the human impact of what would be seen as a faceless algorithm robbing people’s futures. It seems to me though that people were not really considered. Sure they knew the stats and that the stats related to people, but did anybody in these decision making forums actually get alongside some young people? Did anybody attempt to empathise with an A Level student? In particular, did anybody talk to a student from a school labeled as ‘low performing’ or perhaps a student whose family are struggling to keep their heads above water. The people in these rooms are so far removed from what a student in that situation would feel like that they can’t possibly design a system that will deliver against their needs. Covid-19 has of course created mayhem and there was never going to be a perfect solution to this problem, but there could have been a human centred one. We’re not asking for perfect, we’re asking for people to be put over process and for stories to be put over stats.
Roger Taylor, Chair of OfQual said in his apology; ‘We have recognised the difficulty that young people have faced’, this leaves me screaming at the TV. Recognising the damage once it’s done isn’t hard, it’s staring you right in the face. Putting the work in earlier to fully understand the human experience we’re about to inflict on people is harder and it is more time consuming but it means that we can save time, money and in this case heartache.
