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13. Operate a reliable service

Users expect to be able to use online services 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Many users have limited choice over how and when they access government services. For example, they may be a carer who only has time to apply for benefits in the early hours of the morning.

If a service is unavailable or slow, it can mean those users aren’t able to get the help they need.

How you do it

  • Define non-functional requirements
    Establish when the service needs to be available, how many people are expected to use it at busy times and what impact any down-time might have
  • Carry out quality assurance testing regularly
    Establish system quality attributes for features and non-functional requirements and have a plan in place to deal with issues
  • Test the service
    Test the service in an environment that’s as similar to live as possible
  • Plan for major events
    Have a plan for disaster recovery in the event of a breach or major event that could disrupt service delivery
  • Maximise uptime and speed of response for the online part of the service
    Actively work towards fixing any organisational or contractual issues which make it difficult to maximise availability
  • Deploy software changes regularly without significant downtime
    Use automated end-to-end testing to ensure the service functions as designed and to protect against introducing regression as you continually improve the service

Links to detailed guidance:

Digital Scotland Service Standard

1. Understand users and their needs

2. Solve a whole problem for users

3. Design and deliver a joined up experience

4. Help users succeed first time

5. Make sure everyone can use the service

6. Have a multidisciplinary team

7. Iterate and improve frequently

8. Create a secure service which protects users’ privacy

9. Define what success looks like and publish performance data

10. Choose the right tools and technology 

11. Make new source code open

12. Use and contribute to shared digital practices, processes, components, standards, patterns and platforms

13. Operate a reliable service

14. Ensure sponsor acceptance

 

 

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