Chapter 2 · About 6 minutes
Digital delivery
New services are built in phases. Each phase answers a different question, and each one can end with a decision to stop, change direction or carry on.
The phases at a glance
| Phase | Question it answers | What you have at the end |
|---|---|---|
| Discovery | What problem are we solving, and for whom? | Research findings, a description of user needs, constraints and a recommendation on whether to proceed. |
| Alpha | Which approach is most likely to work? | Prototypes tested with users, a preferred approach and an outline of the technical design. |
| Beta | Can we build it well, and does it work for real users? | A working service used by a limited or full audience, improved continuously from feedback. |
| Live | How do we keep it useful, secure and affordable? | A supported service with monitoring, a plan for improvements and a team who can run it. |
- User need
- Something a person must be able to do, written from their point of view, based on evidence rather than assumption.
Discovery
Usually short. We talk to the people who would use the service and those who would run it. The main output is a shared, evidenced understanding of the problem — not a specification.
Alpha
We try several ways of meeting the most important needs, cheaply. Prototypes might be paper sketches, clickable mock-ups or thin pieces of working code. Ideas that fail here have saved money.
Beta
We build the real thing in short cycles, releasing regularly. Accessibility, security and performance are worked on throughout rather than checked at the end.
A note on teams
We aim to work alongside your staff rather than hand over a finished box. People on your side should be able to make changes once we step back.
Live
Going live is the start of the service’s life, not the end of the project. Support arrangements are agreed with you according to what the service needs.