About us
Designed to embed system level thinking at the local level, the Digital Scotland Service Manual (DSSM) will streamline the delivery of consistent and user-friendly digital public services through shared standards, guidance and resources.
The manual will be iteratively developed, with new content, content pathways, and products and services released incrementally.
We’ve released the minimum viable product version of the new manual and we’re still in the very early stages. We would encourage everyone to take a look at the manual and give us feedback and suggestions on how we can make it better.
We expect to transition from a project team to business as usual operations before the end of 2024, after which the products and services we own, or that are referenced in our content, will be subject to continuous improvement, based on both user and business needs.
What the DSSM will contain and do
We will deliver both products and services. These are:
- standards via the Digital Scotland Service Standard
- online guidance via this website
- tools to help you do your work more efficiently
- templates such as business cases, discovery reports and project plans
- patterns and wireframes to build websites that are consistent and easy to set up
- shared data repositories
- common components such as Cloud platform, identity (ScotAccount) and payments (ScotPayments)
- access to DDaT communities of practice and other networks to share expertise, ideas and collaborate
- training via the Scottish Digital Academy
- expert advice and targeted support for projects prioritised as part of a new portfolio management process
Who DSSM is for
The Service Manual is for those about to start or currently undertaking digital transformation projects in the Scottish public sector, specifically those assessed under the Technology Assurance Framework (TAF). Those outside of TAF can also make use of the manual but won’t be able to access some aspect of advice.
Products will be available to everyone in the public sector, although we expect that you’ll need a defined level of digital maturity to make best use of them. Digital maturity refers to your organisation or project’s capability to effectively leverage digital technologies and mindsets when carrying out digital transformation.
To use our products, we’d expect you to have
- medium or high digital maturity
- medium or high digital capability
Services will also be available to everyone in the public sector. Similarly, we’d expect you’ll need a defined level of digital maturity to make best use of them. Digital maturity refers to your organisation or project’s capability to effectively leverage digital technologies and mindsets when carrying out digital transformation.
To use our components and community services, we’d expect you to have:
- medium or high digital maturity
- medium or high digital capability
To use our training services, we’d expect you to have:
- low or medium digital maturity
- low or medium digital capability
To access expert advice users (targeted support for those on TAF only) we’d expect you to have:
- low or medium digital maturity
- low or medium digital capability
Our work is focused around 3 themes. These are:
- delivering consistently high quality digital public services
- supporting colleagues to embrace news ways of working
- giving colleagues the things they need to build and scale digital public services
Delivering consistently high quality digital public services
To do this we will:
- develop a new operating model for people undertaking digital transformation projects
- own and continually improve the standards that everyone needs to meet
- publish guidance on a wide range of topics to support how people approach the delivery of digital public services
Supporting colleagues to embrace news ways of working
We will support others to adapt and adopt standards through
- Tools
- expert advice for those subject to the Technology Assurance Framework (TAF), specifically for those with presumed low-medium digital capability and maturity
- access to communities of practice to share ideas, ask for advice and build connections
- we will work in partnership with the Scottish Digital Academy to identify and develop training courses for those with low-medium digital capability and maturity
Giving colleagues the things they need to build and scale digital public services
The manual will become the single source of assets that people need to follow guidance and meet our standards, assets that will be available are:
- Templates
- Patterns
- Repositories
- Common components such as Cloud platform, identity (ScotAccount) and payments (ScotPayments)
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