Run a discovery peer review

As a trained assessor, you'll help a delivery team to understand if they've completed their discovery.

You'll consider whether they've made well-evidenced recommendations and are ready to move onto the next phase.

If a more complex service is having a mid-phase peer review, as an assessor, you should support the team to identify any gaps or actions they could take before their end-of-phase assessment.

Discovery peer review panel

A panel will consist of user research, design, product or delivery and a technical role.

Together you'll provide a level of assurance for a delivery team to decide if they need to stop the project, pause and focus on recommendations or carry on as they are.

As part of the panel, there will be a lead assessor, who'll be responsible for chairing the discovery peer review and coordinating the report.

Before a discovery peer review

You should:

  • read the supporting artefacts and start to think about questions
  • take part in an introductory call (organised by the Service Assessment Plus team) and agree an agenda
  • answer questions or concerns

During a discovery peer review

You should:

  • review the work
  • decide if the delivery team have done enough to understand who the users are and their needs
  • understand what the problem is
  • understand priorities for the delivery team
  • determine if the team has things to work on in an alpha or should stop
  • provide authoritative advice, guidance, and recommendations

After a discovery peer review

You should:

  • add recommendations or outcomes to the report
  • submit the report, if you're the lead assessor
  • provide any support needed after the peer review, along with any actions. This could mean answering questions or giving advice

You'll be supported by the Service Assessment Plus team.

Complete a discovery peer review report

The report should conclude whether the delivery team have understood the problem space and priorities for next steps following the end of discovery.

If the team have not yet reached a decision on next steps, the report will give feedback and recommendations based on the evidence shared.

Draft a report

Acknowledge any constraints or business requirements the team are working to.

Make sure you consider feedback on the positive aspects of the project or service too, not only on recommendations on what to improve.

Work with the rest of the panel to gather your findings and recommendations. Do this in a way that suits you. For example, use a shared Word doc or the panel chat in Teams.

Once the panel are happy with the notes, add them to the final report in the service. This is usually done by the lead assessor, but the panel can add their findings individually.

You should aim to complete the report within 3 days.

Submit a report

It's the lead assessor's responsibility to submit the peer review report to the Service Assessment Plus team for final checks before it's shared with the delivery team.

If the team accepts the report and there are recommendations the panel has offered to support, the team will be in touch. This could mean having a follow-up call or giving advice on a workshop, depending on the recommendations.

If the team challenges the report, they'll raise any issues with the Service Assessment Plus team, who'll set up a meeting with the panel.