Service assessments

A service assessment measures a service against the 14 points of the GOV.UK Service Standard.

It’s a space for service teams to get expert advice from a panel of specialists and peers.

The governance model will not change how service assessments work.

Which services require assessment

All transactional services require an assessment.

A transactional service allows users to either:

exchange information, money, permission, goods or services
submit personal information that results in a change to a government record

Internal services and services built using off the shelf software or software as a service also require an assessment. Spend control determines whether a non-transactional service needs an assessment.

Products and platforms

Service assessments look at whole services, not just products or platforms. If a new product is added to a service, the entire service still needs to be assessed.

When service assessments happen

Service assessments happen at the end of alpha, private and public beta phases.

Teams may also hold a more informal workshop at the end of discovery.

A service should also be assessed if:

it is new
it is being rebuilt
the team changes significantly

An existing service may need an assessment if a service introduces new uses groups or user journeys. A lead assessor or service assessment manager will make this decision.

Services in continuous improvement or which develop new features do not require assessment.

Who assesses the service

Most Defra services will be assessed by an internal panel.

A service is assessed by a cross-government panel if either:

the service is likely to handle more than 100,000 transactions per year
civil servants in more than one organisation will use the service