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It has to work for everyone
Not a target segment. People with impairments, without smartphones, with low literacy or low trust all have to be able to complete the service.
ThinkDebug
Practical deep dives on software architecture, AI systems, and scaling digital products - drawn from the work we ship.
Citizen services and campaign platforms built to procurement and accessibility standards.
We build citizen-facing and public sector software: service applications and case management, identity and eligibility, publishing and consultation, and the integrations into the departmental systems that hold the record.
Public sector software has a duty ordinary products do not: it has to work for everyone. Not the average user, not the target segment - everyone, including people with impairments, no smartphone, poor literacy or no trust in the institution. Accessibility and plain language are legal obligations, not preferences.
The second reality is procurement and scrutiny. Decisions are auditable, spending is public, and systems are expected to outlast the administration that commissioned them. That favours boring technology, open standards and documentation over novelty.
The constraints that shape every build in this sector, and the ones teams usually meet too late.
Not a target segment. People with impairments, without smartphones, with low literacy or low trust all have to be able to complete the service.
An eligibility or case outcome may be challenged, so the reasoning and the evidence have to be reconstructable.
Legacy case and record systems cannot be replaced and often integrate only through batch or file transfer.
People are often required to use these services rather than choosing to, so a failure damages the institution.
Priorities change with each cycle while the service continues, which rewards boring and documented over clever.
Application windows and policy changes concentrate the entire population's usage into a few days.
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Each one is a system we have built before, not a capability we are willing to try.
Application journeys in plain language that work on any device and assistive tech.
Caseworker tooling with the evidence and reasoning attached to each decision.
Verification and eligibility checks proportionate to the service.
Connecting to the legacy systems that hold the authoritative record.
Accessible publishing, consultation and response handling.
Performance and outcome reporting suitable for public scrutiny.
Engagements across sectors - the same team, the same standards.
Partnering with Thinkdebug to develop the Forever 52 mobile app has been a game-changer for us. They were always open to feedback, and it was clear they were as invested in our success as we were. What really sets them apart, though, is the amazing support we've received since the app launched. They’ve made sure the app continues to run smoothly and are always ready to fix any issues that come up.DMDhruv MehtaBusiness Head, Forever 52
Chosen for fit and long-term maintainability, never for novelty.
Send us the scope and we come back with an itemised estimate - no discovery fee, no obligation.
What we design and document against, from the first commit rather than the week before an audit.
Certification itself belongs to your entity and its assessor. What we provide is software built and documented so the assessment is about evidence rather than remediation.
Most of our work comes from clients we already shipped for. These are the reasons they give.
WCAG 2.2 AA is designed in and tested with assistive technology, because here it is an obligation rather than a quality bar.
Plain language and simple journeys tested with people who find services difficult, not with confident users.
Reasoning and evidence are recorded with each outcome, so a challenge has an answer.
Choices favour longevity and handover, because these systems outlast the teams and the administrations that commission them.
Departmental systems stay. We build around their batch interfaces rather than assuming replacement.
Capacity is planned for application windows and policy changes, when the whole population arrives at once.
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