Digital

Stage 2 Digital Transformation: SRO reflections on the value of independent assurance

October 21, 2026 by deborahamzil No Comments | Category Digital Assurance Office, Digital Scotland

Blog by Niamh Duncan, Independent Assurance Stakeholder Communications Manager in the Scottish Government’s Digital Assurance Office.

The Digital Assurance Office (DAO) are working with major digital projects who have received independent assurance through the Technology Assurance Framework (TAF) to share their experiences.

In our recent blogs we shared insights from the Care Inspectorate’s Stage 2 Digital Transformation project. This blog post shares reflections from the project Senior Responsible Officer (SRO) Gordon Mackie, exploring his approach to assurance and how he thinks it benefited the project.

Taking a proactive approach

From the outset, Gordon decided to embed independent assurance throughout delivery, using health checks to support the project between mandatory assurance gates. These were used as “anchor points” to step back and review progress. This allowed Gordon and his team to sense check whether the project was moving in the right direction, particularly after significant changes or periods of delivery.

This approach meant assurance was tailored to meet the needs of the project, rather than relying solely on the standard review points.

Moving from compliance to value

Initially, there was some scepticism within the team about additional assurance activity. It was seen as extra effort during an already demanding delivery schedule. Over time, this view changed. As the team started to act on feedback and see measurable improvements, assurance became recognised as adding real value rather than creating an overhead.

The shift happened when assurance was used to address real challenges faced by the project, rather than being treated as a tick-box exercise.

Using assurance to unblock delivery

Gordon’s approach was to request independent assurance whenever he or the team felt that something “wasn’t quite right”. For example, when there was uncertainty about a decision, progress felt slower than expected or the team needed an external perspective to move forward. This helped the project validate whether it was on the right track, identify issues early and avoid continuing in the wrong direction for too long

Acting on what assurance tells you

Gordon felt that a critical success factor for the project’s progress was how the team responded to assurance findings. He noted that the recommendations made were strong and that action was taken against all of them to strengthen delivery. Recommendations were reviewed through established project oversight structures, including the project board, Digital Assurance and Advisory Group, Audit and Risk Committee, and quarterly risk review sessions.

Actions taken against recommendations included strengthening governance and risk management, enhancing the business case and developing go-live criteria to track readiness for launch. This meant assurance had a lasting impact on how the project operated and evolved.

Supporting the SRO role

Independent assurance also played an important role for Gordon personally. It provided confidence that the project was progressing appropriately, validation of how they were making key decisions and invaluable early warning of emerging risks. For a high-profile transformation project, this external perspective was essential in helping the SRO maintain oversight and assurance.

Keeping the core mission at the centre

Throughout the project, Gordon consistently linked decisions back to the Care Inspectorate’s core purpose; improving outcomes for people who experience care. This provided a clear grounding for the project, particularly given its complexity and scale and helped to motivate the project through difficult periods. Rather than focusing only on technology or delivery milestones, Gordon maintained a strong emphasis on how the transformation would make a difference in practice for the staff and service users.

This helped guide priorities, shape decision-making and keep the team aligned on what success looked like. It also reinforced why independent assurance mattered, ensuring that improvements in delivery translated into meaningful benefits for the people the organisation serves.

As Gordon put it, “if the work was not ultimately helping people who experience care, it would call into question the value of the project itself”.

The value of assurance

Gordon was clear that the assurance recommendations benefited the project with extra eyes and ears and contributed to a positive overall journey with the recommendations strengthening their approach to each phase. Gordon placed strong emphasis on the value of independent, external challenge from the outset of the project. Particularly valuing an early recommendation from the Business Justification Gate review that noted the value of retaining skilled members of the project team who had supported the business case development which led to them appointing a trusted critical friend. Gordon reflected that this critical friend brought a wealth of knowledge and experience and became a valuable sounding board for the leadership team.

What Gordon recommends to other SROs

Use assurance when you need it, use it to test you are doing the right thing and going in the right direction.

Be open to challenge; treat assurance as an opportunity to improve and use it to your advantage.

Maintain absolute clarity and focus on the outcomes that the project will support the delivery of. Remembering the end user you are aiming to support will help carry the team through difficulties!

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.

For more from other SROs catch up on blogs from Eddie Turnbull, Deputy Director, Agriculture and Rural Economy Directorate,  and Anne Godfrey, Registers of Scotland.  Read our other case studies with the Social Security Programme, Historic Environment Scotland and National Records of Scotland on how they got the most from assurance.

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

The Scottish Digital Academy provides high quality professional learning to public and third sector staff to build digital skills and talent.

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: Care Inspectorate, digital transformation, Technology Assurance Framework (TAF)

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