Digital

Digital Support Service Procurement- SRO reflections on the value of independent assurance

April 30, 2025 by Stewart Hamilton No Comments | Category Digital Assurance Office, Digital Scotland

Guest blog by Laura Johnstone, Continuous Improvement team, Digital Assurance Office.

The Digital Assurance Office (DAO) are working with project and service teams who have received independent assurance through the Technology Assurance Framework (TAF) to share their experiences.

In our last blog we heard from Eddie Turnbull, Deputy Director, Agriculture and Rural Economy (ARE), Scottish Government, about the Digital Support Services Procurement and his approach to independent assurance.  This blog explores the benefits Eddie sees from assurance and his advice for other SROs and project teams.

What do you see as the benefits from the assurance you received?

Clearly, it is highly unlikely that any project team has the complete range of knowledge and experience that is needed to successfully implement a large project. For example, over more years than I care to count, I have led or been involved in many procurements, but none of this nature. The reviews provided valuable feedback and precise recommendations that covered both strategic and practical issues. Beneficial to me and to all members of our small team in their roles.

For example, the earliest recommendations were around planning and resourcing for the project – ensuring we had adequate time to undertake a quality procurement that would deliver value for money and a robust contract that had flexibility cemented in. Those recommendations helped me make a successful case for an extension of the current contracts and the allocation of some additional experienced project management resource.  It also enabled the Deputy Director for ARE Digital and Data Division and me to position the project as a critical piece of work for ARE as a whole, and highlight the potential impact if we didn’t get that right.

In each engagement the review team repeatedly emphasised the need for pre-defined success criteria i.e. making sure that before you move onto the next step of the project you know, and everyone agrees, what you need to have achieved to take that step. This was a valuable approach to get buy-in from the wider business on what needed to be in place at each stage and the inputs and decisions that were required from individuals. It provided me with significant leverage to promote what I needed from others for successful delivery.

The recommendations made through the reviews led to practical additions in what we provided in the initial engagement with all potential service providers, and then to the shortlisted service providers. In that regard, we never got any questions back from service providers that we could not respond to quickly. The quality of the tenders we received I believe demonstrated that service providers clearly understood our requirements.

What advice would you give to other SROs considering independent assurance?

The answer is perhaps obvious – make independent assurance an integral part of the project’s overall assurance plan. Use independent assurance as an opportunity to get the insight that can only come from different experiences. Yes, look for a TAF review in advance of the critical milestones in the project, but also reach out to others in the wider family of Scottish Government organisations in an informal way.

I am fortunate in that I have built up countless fruitful relationships with colleagues over many years that I continue to call upon. I also engaged with colleagues in HR and Finance from the outset.

All SROs and project managers should speak to the DAO about their project and maintain an ongoing dialogue. The DAO can put you in touch with others who may be able to find some time to provide an independent perspective, it is also worth considering the connections you can make through other forums e.g. the Once for Scotland community.

I would urge SROs and Project Managers to advocate embracing independent assurance with your project team. I appreciate teams can be apprehensive about what independence assurance might look like and can perhaps view it as an “assessment” rather than “assurance” of what they are planning or doing. It is a value-added opportunity that should be grasped.

Finally, work closely with the DAO and the Portfolio, Programme and Project Assurance hub and tailor assurance to meet your needs as the SRO or as a Project Manager.

Find out more

For more information about this case study contact DigitalAssurance@gov.scot.

The Technology Assurance Framework (TAF) is designed to help prevent digital projects from failing for common reasons, improve delivery and ensure that the lessons learned from previous experience are reflected and embedded in future practice. The DAO are working with organisations to share information which might help others deliver digital projects and we have been publishing our insights and case studies on our digital blog. If you want to get involved contact us at DigitalAssurance@gov.scot.

The Gateway Review process gives independent guidance to Senior Responsible Owners (SROs), programme and project teams on how best to ensure their programmes and projects are well managed, and identifies the key issues that need to be addressed to increase the likelihood of successful delivery.

Read our other case studies with the Social Security Programme, Registers of Scotland, Historic Environment Scotland and National Records of Scotland on how they got the most from assurance.  We have also written an insight based on an analysis of  recommendations made in major digital projects on effective procurement and contract management.

For expert guidance on delivering a digital project visit the Digital Scotland Service Manual.

You can get information, advice and guidance on developing digital, data and technology skills to support transformation from the Scottish Digital Academy.

For further information and signposting to advice and support on programme and project management contact the Programme and Project Management Centre for Expertise. The Scottish Government programme and project management principles are available and apply to any project of any size.

Tags: Continuous Improvement, Digital Assurance Office, Technology Assurance Framework

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