Alpha
Aims of the Alpha phase
Core goal: test your hypotheses and recommend a way forward that meets user needs
The alpha phase of a project is where you try out solutions to the problems you found in discovery and try to test your riskiest assumptions (or hypotheses) about the area you are working in.
During Alpha you should: - Build a list of your riskiest assumptions and try to confirm or deny them - Prototype the core or more complex areas of your service and test them with users - Create any necessary technical prototypes to any tricky implementation (e.g. can we access this legacy database to migrate the data out of it) - Consider the whole problem for users, by looking at the wider journey (including offline steps) and consulting with other relevant services where needed - Recommend a way forward to build during Beta
Note that one of the key requirements for an Alpha assessment is that you have tried and tested multiple ideas, so don’t focus on one to the exclusion of others.
Core team
- Delivery Manager
- Product Manager (ideally provided by the business, if not by DDTS)
- User Researcher
- Interaction Designer
- Content Designer
- Service Owner (usually provided by the business)
- Developer
- Business Analyst
The following roles may need consultation or included as part of the core team, depending on the needs of the project:
- Service Designer
- Architect (data or technical)
- Performance Analyst
Key work
- Prototype demonstrating the core/most difficult part of your journey, usually using the gov.uk prototype kit. This should demonstrate multiple ideas and be tested with users
- Tested assumptions from Alpha with evidence to support the chosen way forward
- Technical prototypes to demonstrate any tricky or critical implementation details
- Recommendation for Beta development or a recommendation not to continue
- Show & Tell with a wide range of stakeholders to run through what you’ve done and achieved
- Preparation for Alpha assessment
- Resourcing plan for Beta to request team well ahead of time - this can be provisional but should be created as soon as possible to give enough notice
- DDTS Stage Gate 2 (Delivery Strategy) approval - midway through Alpha you need formal approval of your resourcing plan for Beta - this gate will also prompt procurement activities if we will need to work with a supplier for Beta.
- DDTS Stage Gate 3 (Investment decision) approval. Following your Alpha assessment, you should complete assurance activities for this gate to gain approval for moving into Beta. Templates (WIP)
- TBC
Operational requirements
Data protection DPIA DDTS Portfolio Activity
By the end of Alpha you will need a completed DPIA to proceed. To begin the consultation process and complete your DPIA, contact the Data Protection team. If your delivery is particularly complex this process should be begun several weeks in advance of your Alpha assessment.
- For Environment Agency deliveries: DataProtection@environment-agency.gov.uk
- For all other Defra deliveries: data.protection@defra.gov.uk
Whole life costs calculator (WLC) Business Activity
By the end of alpha you should be able to fully complete a whole life costs calculator (WLC). This aims to calculate the ongoing operational costs of the service. You will still need to iterate this throughout beta. To complete this first approved draft contact the team directly.
- Overview of the WLC process
- Team inbox: wholelifecosts@environment-agency.gov.uk
Cloud Centre of Excellence (CCoE) DDTS Portfolio Activity
At this point you may need support from the Cloud Centre of Excellence to set up environments for prototyping the back office system. (Note that usually front end prototypes are hosted in Heroku). If you do need sandpit environments to test data connectivity or to prototype in Office365 they should be able to set that up with minimal effort.
If you’re likely to progress to beta and will need environments, you should organise your first CRDB (Cloud Review Design Board) meeting in mid/late alpha to allow for a 4-6 week window to set up dev and test environments.
- The CCoE Sharepoint site
- An overview of the route to live
Assurance requirements
Business Activity DDTS Portfolio Activity CDDO/GDS Activity
Alpha assessment CDDO/GDS Activity
An Alpha assessment must be passed to move into Beta. There is an internal team in Defra who facilitate assessments. We advise getting in touch with this team as soon as possible. They can run practice assessments ahead of the real thing to give advice on areas you need to improve, and they can help shape the focus of your Alpha. They will provide guidance for what you need to produce for assessment and the format of the session.
- GDS Service assessment Sharepoint
Alpha report [Optional] CDDO/GDS Activity
] Written summary of Alpha outputs, usually containing the content put together for the assessment.
DDTS Stage Gate 2 (Delivery Strategy) DDTS Portfolio Activity
This gate should be completed midway through your Alpha to secure a team for Beta and confirm the delivery approach. The gate serves to prompt interaction with several teams and begin work on documents that might not necessarily have detail at this stage. It does not matter if your resourcing plans are provisional at this stage - lead times mean that you should proceed as if you need the team to enable resourcing teams to get that team in place or to kickstart a procurement process if the delivery will be outsourced.
- Overview of Stage Gates
- Stage Gate template with guidance for each gate
Business case [Optional] Business Activity
Some parts of Defra require business cases and some do not. If required, this should be produced by a business contact, or where there is none available, produced with significant impact from the business. At this stage, the business case should be high level.
- Guidance for producing business cases
DDTS Stage Gate 3 (Investment Decision) DDTS Portfolio Activity
This gate is completed at the end of Alpha to approve moving into Beta. It’s designed to assess whether the project is viable, delivers value for money and will meet business needs.
- Overview of Stage Gates
- Stage Gate template with guidance for each gate
Integrated Assurance and Approval Plan (IAAP) DDTS Portfolio Activity
Continue to update your integrated Assurance and Approval Plan (IAAP). This is a living document that will be updated throughout the lifecycle of the project, and aims to capture how your delivery will be assured by DDTS.
- IAAP template
Spend control Business Activity
All digital projects need to pass through the DDTS spend control pipeline. Once your currently approved spend is used, you will need to go through this process again. Typically you will need to submit your case with supporting documentation, and it will get reviewed and approved at a PAB meeting.
- Spend control sharepoint site
- Assessment criteria for GDS spend control
Project Online DDTS Portfolio Activity
Continue to: - Maintain basic information about your delivery including key contacts - Update the high level timeline of when you roughly expect your delivery phases to be - Update at least monthly to give red / amber / green ratings for finance & progress - Add your financial forecasting for the spend control approval you’ve got, replacing forecasts with actuals on a monthly basis
Service Design & Service Transition DDTS Portfolio Activity
At key points in your delivery you will need to engage with Service Transition, which sits within the Group Infrastructure and Operations (GIO) capability in Defra. They are responsible for ensuring the architecture, operations and maintenance of your service are properly reviewed before implementation. It is key to engage them early to ensure that you can get the necessary go ahead before any parts of your service go live, hence initial contact towards the end of Alpha.
You will likely engage with the Service Design team (to look at architecture, design of your service including wrap around support and operating model) and Service Transition, to assure key milestones for your service.
In the first instance, you will need to attend a GRIP meeting (GIO Resource and Information Planning) to present your delivery and high level information you have at this point. You will be assigned a Service Transition contact to help guide you through the process.
- Contact the Pipeline GIO.Service.Pipeline@defra.gov.uk to request to attend a GRIP meeting and start this process