https://dataingovernment.blog.gov.uk/all-service-assessments-and-self-certification/amend-my-driver-record-change-of-address-service-assessment/
Amend My Driver Record Change of Address - Service Assessment
The AmDR service is responsible for managing all services and channels required to enable drivers to update the details held on their driver record. This includes: change of name/address; replace a lost/stolen licence; renewals and adding/removing entitlements (including passing a test); accounting for 9m transactions per year
The transformation of these services begun with ‘Change the address on your Driving Licence’, which is currently delivered via online, telephone and paper channels.
Department / Agency:
DfT / DVLA
Date of Assessment:
23/09/2015
Assessment Stage:
Alpha
Result of Assessment:
Not pass
Lead Assessor:
J. Hughes
Service Manager:
D. Ashford
Digital Leader:
O. Morley
Assessment Report
Outcome of service assessment
After consideration the assessment panel has concluded the Amend My Driver Record - Change of Address service is not yet on track to meet the Digital Service Standard at this early stage of development because there has been no user research with users of low digital skills, which is required under point 1 of the standard. The service will need to be re-assessed against point 1 once that work is completed. The panel is looking forward to completing the assessment as soon as the team are ready to do so.
Reasons
The reason the service has not passed at this stage is that there has been no research with users with low digital skills - this is a requirement for point 1 of the service standard for alpha assessment. The team told us that although there are plans in place to carry out research with some users with low digital skills, this has not yet been carried out. This is important because it will enable the team to understand those users’ needs for support and start to make decisions during the beta phase about how, specifically, to meet those needs.
The service has also not passed point 8 – although there are plans to share code within DVLA, and the team expressed a willingness to make its source code open and reusable, there is no plan in place to do so beyond the DVLA. The team needs to put in place a plan to make all new source code open and reusable, not just within DVLA but also publicly.
The service passed all other points of the service standard, however the panel has some recommendations to ensure that the service will meet the requirements for a beta assessment.
Recommendations
The panel makes the following recommendations:
Point 1
The team has made good use of existing customer insight data, is doing user research in the DVLA’s research lab, and also at other locations. However the research so far has been focused on script-based scenario testing, with a large reliance on extrapolating findings from customer preferences and feedback on the existing service. This is useful but not sufficient to give the team a full understanding of user needs. This was reflected in the description of the user need the service is designed to meet, which is expressed in terms of meeting legal requirements, rather than real-life user needs that prompt them to use the service. The team should carry out frequent observational testing, where users are not given a script or asked about preferences, but are instead asked to use the service as though they would if they were using it themselves. This will help the team to gain a deeper understanding of user needs in relation to the service.
The team should ensure that when testing with low skilled users they not only assess their interaction with the digital service but also understand the nature and extent of likely assisted digital needs, and feed this back into the development of the service.
Point 5
The team is relying on the development of a platform elsewhere in the organisation - the platform and the service are being developed at the same time. The teams will be colocated but we recommend that the organisation ensure that it has put in place appropriate governance to manage and oversee the interdependencies between these two programmes of work.
Point 12
The service has met the requirements for alpha assessment – the service is using GOV.UK design patterns and style guide, and to that extent it is consistent with other services on GOV.UK. However the panel has some detailed recommendations to help ensure that the service is as straightforward as possible for people to use [the further recommendations were included in an annexe].
Summary
The service meets the requirements for all but 2 of the service standard points for alpha, and we have made recommendations in some areas for the team to focus its efforts to ensure they have a successful beta assessment. The service will need to be re-assessed against points 1 and 8 in order to fully meet the requirements for alpha assessment.
The team contains all the right skills and is the first that will be fully staffed by DVLA staff rather than external providers. The team has put in place the ways of working that are required for agile delivery. The team clearly demonstrated that there is an opportunity to increase digital take-up and user satisfaction in comparison with the existing service, referencing data and user feedback about the existing service. The team is already at a well advanced stage in deciding its performance metrics for the service, and will be able to benchmark the new service against the existing service.
The team needs to move from script-based testing and preference-based interviews, to observational user research, and should implement the design recommendations arising from the assessment.
Digital Service Standard criteria
| Criteria | Passed | Criteria | Passed |
| 1 | No | 2 | Yes |
| 3 | Yes | 4 | Yes |
| 5 | Yes | 6 | Yes |
| 7 | Yes | 8 | No |
| 9 | Yes | 10 | Yes |
| 11 | Yes | 12 | Yes |
| 13 | Yes | 14 | Yes |
| 15 | Yes | 16 | Yes |
| 17 | Yes | 18 | Yes |
