{"id":845,"date":"2016-05-12T09:01:59","date_gmt":"2016-05-12T09:01:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.gov.scot\/digital\/?p=845"},"modified":"2016-08-25T15:10:56","modified_gmt":"2016-08-25T15:10:56","slug":"putting-people-at-the-heart-of-digital-public-services","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.gov.scot\/digital\/2016\/05\/12\/putting-people-at-the-heart-of-digital-public-services\/","title":{"rendered":"Putting people at the heart of Digital Public Services"},"content":{"rendered":"

The <\/span>Digital First Service Standard<\/span><\/a>\u00a0sets the standard for all online services, which are to be provided via <\/span><\/span>mygov.scot<\/span><\/a>. It\u2019s based along the lines of Government Digital Service\u2019s <\/span>Digital by Default<\/span><\/a> but includes three extra principles around the use of open data principles, green ICT and data hosting.<\/span><\/p>\n

By applying the Digital First Service Standard, we\u2019re aiming to create services which are so good, people choose digital first. We want to create services which are fast, efficient and built around users. A Digital First assessment process will help us to track how that goal is being met.<\/span><\/p>\n

Over the last month or so, we\u2019ve been hard at work coming up with an outline of how we want to assess new services. Our starting point was to look at examples of assessment processes from elsewhere and see what we can learn from their experiences. What we\u2019ve found out has helped to shape our understanding of how our own assessment process could work.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Learning at home<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We recently visited GDS to watch a Digital by Default service assessment in practice. The assessment was of a service at alpha stage; GDS run assessments at three points in the service development cycle: end of alpha, pre-public beta and pre-live. Each assessment gives GDS a new opportunity to check services are meeting the standard and whether they can, and should, pass to the next stage.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As well as seeing an assessment from start to finish and gaining an insight into the types of evidence GDS assessors are looking for, we also got a chance to ask questions on the ins and outs of the process from the assurance team and the assessors. These included:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0What\u2019s the average time commitment for assessors?
\n\u2022\u00a0How did you arrive at the thresholds for what services GDS will assess?
\n\u2022\u00a0Have you assessed services being provided by organisations in the wider public sector?<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

These are all questions which pose unique challenges for us in the smaller Scottish setting, so it was useful to learn how GDS has dealt with these issues in the larger UKG context.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Learning from further afield<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But we\u2019re not just learning from GDS. It\u2019s been interesting to watch (from afar!) the approach of the Australian Government\u2019s Digital Transformation Office to service assessments.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Although initially using a GDS\u2013style model for assessments, DTO has moved to an approach which <\/span>focuses more on regular \u2018check-ins\u2019 than traditional assessments<\/span><\/a>. This helps to ensure there are no \u2018deal-breakers\u2019 when a service reaches assessment, as recommendations are made \u2018in-flight\u2019 when the team is able to respond and action change. The new approach focuses on collaboration between teams and assessors, working together to create a better service, which, after all, is what assessments are all about.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/span>What about us?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

We\u2019re still developing a model that will work best for the Scottish public sector. However, there are some things we do know:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 We don\u2019t want the Digital First assessment process to be a burden for organisations, who already have a long string of assurance processes to go through.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 We want the process to be helpful and we\u2019re planning to build our service around access to a resource offering collaboration, advice and support for teams throughout the process. Ideally we\u2018d like to hear from service delivery teams before they even begin discovery so we can link them up with any resources or assistance they need. It\u2019s crucial, if we want to have efficient, sustainable and user-focussed services, that we work together to ensure services are the best they can be.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 We want the process to still be an assessment process \u2013 services either meet the standard or they don\u2019t. We\u2019ll work together to help ensure services meet the standard in advance of assessment, and work together afterwards to address any concerns raised by assessors. However, the process must give teams a clear target to aim for, and a clear result at the end of the assessment.<\/span><\/p>\n

Where does that leave us? Probably somewhere in the middle of the approaches we\u2019ve looked at (with a slight nudge in the direction of the DTO\u2019s approach).<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Over the next few months, we\u2019ll be designing and testing our process to ensure it\u2019s as effective and as helpful as it can be. We\u2019ll be publishing more detail on the process, and examples of where standards have helped produce efficient services, over the next short while.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We\u2019ll be looking for candidates for assessment and volunteer assessors too so please feel to get in touch if you\u2019d like to know more via <\/span>deu@gov.scot<\/span><\/a>. If you do any of the following, and you\u2019re interesting in becoming an assessor, we really want to hear from you:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 Technical Architect<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 Developer<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 Designer<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 Content Designer<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 Assisted Digital<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 User Researcher, and<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 Analyst.<\/span><\/p>\n

Get in touch<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

We\u2019ll be sharing updates on this, and much more on social, so follow the team via @digitalscots<\/a> for more updates. Want to comment? Get in touch below!<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Digital First Service Standard\u00a0sets the standard for all online services, which are to be provided via mygov.scot. It\u2019s based along the lines of Government Digital Service\u2019s Digital by Default but includes three extra principles around the use of open data principles, green ICT and data hosting. By applying the Digital First Service Standard, we\u2019re…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17,10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-845","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-digital-first","category-mygov-scot"],"yoast_head":"\nPutting people at the heart of Digital Public Services - Digital<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.gov.scot\/digital\/2016\/05\/12\/putting-people-at-the-heart-of-digital-public-services\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Putting people at the heart of Digital Public Services - Digital\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Digital First Service Standard\u00a0sets the standard for all online services, which are to be provided via mygov.scot. 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