Apply the Service Standard in the Department for Education
Guidance and information for how to apply the Government Service Standard to design and build accessible, usable and understandable services in DfE.
The standard
- 1
Understand users and their needs
Take time to understand users' needs and the problem you're trying to solve for them.
- 2
Solve a whole problem for users
Consider where your service fits in your users' journey and whether you can solve a whole problem or influence a wider solution.
- 3
Provide a joined up experience across all channels
Consider where your service fits into a wider journey or alongside other DfE services, and how it will join up across channels.
- 4
Make the service simple to use
Build a service that's simple to use so that people can succeed first time. Test it with users to make sure it works for them.
- 5
Make sure everyone can use the service
Make sure your service can be used by people with different physical, mental, social, cultural or learning needs, whether it's for the public, for staff working in DfE or across the education sector.
- 6
Have a multidisciplinary team
It's important to have a diverse mix of the skills and roles needed to build and operate the service.
- 7
Use agile ways of working
Agile is a way of working that encourages teams to build quickly, test what they've built and iterate their work based on regular feedback and other useful data.
- 8
Iterate and improve frequently
Make sure you have the capacity, people, and technical flexibility to iterate and improve the service frequently, focusing on improvements that deliver the most value.
- 9
Create a secure service which protects users' privacy
Understand what data and information your service will be collecting from users, and how this will be stored and used. Identify and address security threats, legal responsibilities, confidentiality, privacy issues, and risks.
- 10
Define what success looks like and publish performance data
Service teams need to work out what success looks like for their DfE service. Collect performance information across all online and offline channels so that you can measure and show that the service is effective and improving.
- 11
Choose the right tools and technology
Choose tools and technology that let you build a good service in an efficient, cost-effective way.
- 12
Make new source code open
Teams should aim to make all new source code open and reusable, and publish it under appropriate licences.
- 13
Use and contribute to open standards, common components and patterns
Use open standards, common components and patterns, and create new ones if there is not one that already meets your needs.
- 14
Operate a reliable service
Ensure your service is available for use at the time users need to access it. Where a service is unavailable, have a plan to deal with its recovery.