UCD Ops - Home Office User-Centred Design ManualCommunity

UCD Operations

About UCD Operations

UCD Operations (UCD Ops) is a small team that supports the user-centred design (UCD) community in the Home Office. The team helps the community to do their jobs better and quicker, so that they can deliver priorities on behalf of the organisation.


The team provides guidance, tools, specialised services, training and facilitation. This includes:

  • standards and guidance so that the UCD community know what good looks like and can comply with wider organisational requirements
  • specialised tools like Sketch, Heroku, Optimal and Screenflow as well as managing any necessary assurance and governance on behalf of the community
  • specialised services including usability labs, research incentives, ethics board and a design system
  • onboarding, training and facilitating a collaborative and supportive community

Meet the UCD Ops team

Michael Brazier - Head of UCD. Accountable for standards, recruitment and community across Digital, Data and Technology (DDaT) for UCD.


Community, contracts, management and support

  • Stephen Mokogwu - UCD Ops Manager. Responsible for usability labs, research incentives, contracts, commercial, tooling assurance, tooling management and finances.

  • Teri Gate - UCD Community Lead. Organises meet ups and UCD training. Manages UCD onboarding and induction, UCD community engagement, and practice leads.


Content design

  • Lauren Shiel - Content Designer. Responsible for developing content for the UCD community, including this design system and our SharePoint UCD community intranet hub for staff. Manages content design on UCD wide projects.

User research ethics

  • Mansoor Mir - Senior User Researcher. Research ethics lead, knowledge management lead, data handling and research insights.
  • Lucy Branford-White - Digital Librarian. Manages research depository and digital development. Responsible for programme recruitment and records.

User research recruitment

  • Venyah Kowalik - Senior User Researcher. Responsible for establishing recruitment contracts with third parties for user research, managing internal and external recruitment panels and supporting with guidance for community research projects.

  • Rachael Oladunjoye - Business Support Officer. Responsible for research participant recruitment and digital admin support.


Contact us

Do you want to get in touch? Email us at ucdops@homeoffice.gov.uk