PDS

Research with the Parliamentary Digital Service

Standard

User researchers in PDS are currently planning research on several topics in the coming months to better understand the needs of Members and their staff. This research will ultimately inform new digital services and improvements to existing services, including how amendments to bills are tabled and supported, how Hansard is used, and how interests are submitted by Members and staff.

As well as Members and others, we are particularly keen to conduct research with Members’ staff, crucial users of our digital services. We hope that this will be an interesting opportunity for Members’ staff to shape the design of digital services in Parliament and potentially test prototypes of new or improved products and services.

The exact requirements for each research project will differ but we expect that most would require around 30-45 minutes of your time and involve an open, informal interview about your experiences and preferences or testing out new prototypes. All participation would be on a confidential basis and sessions would be scheduled at a time that suits you, either in-person or online.

You can express your interest in participating in user research in the coming months by completing this form. If you express an interest, we may contact you in the coming weeks to try and schedule a research session. By completing the form, you are not committing to take part in any specific research initiative and we would try to ensure that no-one takes part in more than one research session every quarter.

We would like to hear from a wide range of Members’ staff. If you have any colleagues who may be interested in taking part in the research, please do share this message with them.

Dissolution Guidance – South West briefing for Members’ offices

Standard

Members’ offices are offered an opportunity to join an in-person briefing in Bristol with representatives of relevant services from across the House Administration and IPSA to find out more about the Dissolution Guidance and ask any questions they may have. 

To register to attend, please email [email protected]

Copyright Infringement

Standard

If your office receives a ‘copyright infringement notice’, please inform Tara Cullen in the Members’ and Members’ Staff Services Team immediately, and do not respond to the notice until you have discussed it with her.

MMSST is aware that there are also some scams going around at the moment, and it’s important to get them checked out. No genuine organisation will ask for payment in cryptocurrency. All scams and phishing attempts should be reported to PDS.

It’s very easy to find pictures on the Internet and copy them to use on your own website. However, in doing so, you could easily be infringing copyright, and the owner might seek compensation.

Paul Clarke has written a useful guide especially for w4mp on publishing pictures and avoiding rights issues, which you can find here: https://w4mp.org/w4mp/w4mp-guides/support-in-your-job/publishing-pictures-and-avoiding-rights-issues/

Teams Discussion Forums

Standard

Did you know that the Members’ Services Team runs discussion forums on Teams for Caseworkers and those who have a management role in an MP’s office?

The Members’ Office Management Forum has a weekly meeting at 11:00 every Wednesday which is full of useful information and gives the opportunity to raise queries with representatives from the Parliamentary Digital Service, the Parliamentary Security Department, the Human Resources team, the House of Commons Library, the Vote Office and more. There are weekly guest speakers, including regular visits from IPSA. It also has a text chat facility for when you have quick questions to ask.

The Caseworker Discussion Forum hosts a monthly All-Staff Q&A which you can sign up for on ACT, and the text chat is always active.

If you would like to be added to either (or both) of these forums, please email [email protected] from your parliamentary network account, stating which MP you work for and your role in the office.

PDS Summer Training Sessions

Standard
DateTopicHow to sign up
Thursday 28 July 2pm
Cyber Security Briefing essential to understanding the risks and mitigations around cyber security for us all, both in and out of workRegistration form for webinar here
Friday 29 July 10amIntroduction to Microsoft Teamstips on using Teams as a tool to organise and communicate. Learn about chats, channels, calendar, calls and filesRegistration form for webinar here
Tuesday 2 August 11amAccessibility features demonstration from Microsoft Microsoft are running a session on how to use the inbuilt accessibility features on your Windows device and Microsoft365 applicationsEmail the Digital Service Accessibility Champions
Thursday 4 August 2pmIntroduction to SharePointtips on how to use SharePoint as a tool for creating, saving and collaborating on shared documentsRegistration form for webinar here

Friday 5 August 10amIntroduction to OneDrivetips on how to use OneDrive as a tool for individual work, document storage and remote access to personal filesRegistration form for webinar here
Thursday 11 August 2pmUsing Microsoft Outlook effectivelytips for managing your mailbox and getting the best out of available featuresRegistration form for webinar here
Friday 12 August 10amMicrosoft Plannerhow to use Planner to work collaboratively and manage team tasks, projects and work streams
Registration form for webinar here
Thursday 18 August 2pmIntroduction to Microsoft Teams tips on using Teams as a tool to organise and communicate. Learn about chats, channels, calendar, calls and filesSign up for webinar here
Friday 19 August 10amCyber Security Briefingessential to understanding the risks and mitigations around cyber security for us all, both in and out of workRegistration form for webinar here
Thursday 25 August 2pmIntroduction to OneDrivetips on how to use OneDrive as a tool for individual work, document storage and remote access to personal filesRegistration form for webinar here
Friday 26 August 10amIntroduction to SharePointtips on how to use SharePoint as a tool for creating, saving and collaborating on shared documentsRegistration form for webinar here
Thursday 1 September 2pmMicrosoft Plannerhow to use Planner to work collaboratively and manage team tasks, projects and work streamsRegistration form for webinar here
Friday 2 September 10amUsing Microsoft Outlook effectivelytips for managing your mailbox and getting the best out of available featuresRegistration form for webinar here

Mailbox Full?

Standard

Your mailboxes have a maximum size limit of 80gb. If you go over this, then you will no longer be able to receive incoming messages and the senders will get bounce messages.

To prevent this from happening, PDS is asking MPs and their staff to either delete or archive old messages. If you choose to archive them, then they will still be accessible to you; the archive size is unlimited.

To see how much of your mailbox you have used, right-click on your inbox folder and select ‘properties.

When the properties box appears, click on ‘folder size’ and then wait a few moments to calculate it. Look at the total size including subfolders and divide it by 1,000,000 to get the size in gb.

Even if you are not nearing the 80gb limit, it is good practice to delete unwanted emails or archive older ones that you may wish to refer to in future – it makes searching your inbox quicker, and archived emails take up less space. If you get into the habit of regular housekeeping – deleting or archiving emails as you go along – it makes your inbox much easier to manage, so go on, give it a go!

Virtual IT Coaching Sessions for MPs’ Staff

Standard

Please note that links to the old Parliamentary intranet have been removed as of October 2023. Please use search on ParliNet to find relevant current details, if available.

https://parlinet.parliament.uk/house-of-commons-members-staff/

PDS are offering virtual IT coaching sessions to MPs’ staff

 

PDS local engagement officers would normally travel to visit constituencies to assist MPs and their staff with training and general IT concerns but during the Covid 19 crisis their focus has changed to offer this support remotely. 

 

You can now book a remote coaching session on a variety subjects including: Cyber Security, Teams, SharePoint, OneDrive and OneNote. Sessions are open to all, you can book for your team or take advantage of a 1-2-1 coaching session. Sessions last 45 minutes and are delivered at your own pace, no previous technical knowledge is required. 

 

To find out more and book a session click here:

Virtual Regional Roadshows

Standard

The extremely popular regional roadshows were suspended because of COVID-19.  However, worry not, for the Customer Team has taken them online instead.

Rather than full day events, they have been broken down into 90-minute sessions, giving you a chance to learn about the range of services available, to influence future service provision and to share experience and knowledge with other staff working in your Region.

For full details, please go to the intranet page here: https://intranet.parliament.uk/business-news/news-current-issues/events/regional-constituency-events/

The current schedule is:

  • North East – Tuesday 30 June 2020
  • West Midlands – Tuesday 14 July 2020
  • Wales – Tuesday 28 July 2020
  • South West – Tuesday 4 August 2020
  • East – Tuesday 18 August 2020
  • London – Tuesday 25 August 2020
  • East Midlands – Tuesday 1 September 2020

More dates will be added later.