Service standards

The GOV.UK Service Standard provides the principles of building a good service. This manual explains what teams can do to build great services that will meet the standard. (Rewording required)

Understand users and their needs

Develop a deep understanding of users and the problem you’re trying to solve for them.
Solve a whole problem for users

Work towards creating a service that solves one whole problem for users, collaborating across organisational boundaries where necessary.
Provide a joined-up experience across all channels

Work towards creating a service that meets users’ needs across all channels, including online, phone, paper and face to face.
Make the service simple to use

Build a service that’s simple, intuitive and comprehensible. And test it with users to make sure it works for them.
Make sure everyone can use the service

Provide a service that everyone can use, including people with disabilities or other legally protected characteristics. And people who don’t have access to the internet or lack the skills or confidence to use it.
Have a multidisciplinary team

Put in place a multidisciplinary team that can create and operate the service in a sustainable way.
Use agile ways of working

Create the service using agile, iterative user-centred methods.
Iterate and improve frequently

Make sure you have the capacity, resources and technical flexibility to iterate and improve the service frequently.
Create a secure service which protects users’ privacy

Evaluate what data the service will be collecting, storing and providing.
Define what success looks like and publish performance data

Work out what success looks like for your service and identify metrics which will tell you what’s working and what can be improved, combined with user research.
Choose the right tools and technology

Choose tools and technology that let you create a high quality service in a cost effective way. Minimise the cost of changing direction in future.
Make new source code open

Make all new source code open and reusable, and publish it under appropriate licences. Or if this isn’t possible, provide a convincing explanation of why this can’t be done for specific subsets of the source code.
Use and contribute to open standards, common components and patterns

Build on open standards and common components and patterns from inside and outside government.
Operate a reliable service

Minimise service downtime and have a plan to deal with it when it does happen.