Service Development Management Principles by Gov.uk

Original author: Gov.uk
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This post contains a list of “basic principles” (rather than a set of steps to achieve the goal) that the UK e-government service has developed to ensure that all employees involved in creating Gov.uk services understand how (in general terms) they should their work is going on.

The main task of the Gov.uk memorandum is to explain to the employees the general “rules of the game”, to form a corporate culture, to help them determine their expectations from each other and from work in general. And although these principles may seem trite at first glance, perhaps they should be borne in mind when creating your own internal “manifest” - but how important it is and whether it is necessary for small startups, we discussed with residents of the IIDF Accelerator.


The e-Government of Great Britain (GDS) has identified 6 principles for managing the "delivery" of services. Guided by these principles, you will be able to create a favorable internal culture, within which new services will be created and improved. They are as follows:

  1. Do not hesitate with the "delivery" of the service.
  2. Make decisions when necessary and up to standard.
  3. Get the right people to do this.
  4. See for yourself.
  5. Do only what is beneficial.
  6. Trust, but verify.

1. Do not hesitate with the "delivery"


We help in the development of services that are constantly being improved in accordance with the needs of users. It means that:

  • we eliminate everything that prevents the "delivery" of services in cases where the team responsible for this process does not have enough authority for this;
  • we can always be contacted if necessary through the appropriate service;
  • we find a balance between functionality and quality of services;
  • decision making does not lag behind the pace of service delivery.

We evaluate our success based on the services provided that meet the requirements of users. Successful management involves:

  • active search for obstacles that arise in the delivery of the service, and their elimination before they affect the work of the team;
  • protecting the team from outside pressure or helping to eliminate it, as the service delivery groups will have to deal with it.

The transitions between the 5 phases of service delivery should be smooth, so that management must be prepared for problems and make timely decisions to move on to the next phase.

In addition, management consists of creating a favorable atmosphere for employees. In our organization, we use a horizontal structure, so everyone can contribute to the success of the team.

2. Make decisions when necessary and up to standard


Accept the fact that things change over time. Make sure that:

  • decisions are made on the basis of evidence and are aimed at meeting the needs of users;
  • the service manager and his team are authorized to make decisions and contact the management only if necessary;
  • You adapt to changes and improve the quality of the service through its continuous iterative development;
  • management manages the pace of service delivery by holding short and frequent meetings;
  • risks with a high coefficient of influence and a high probability of occurrence are eliminated as necessary, and control measures (for example, over costs) are based on a balance between cost and possible benefits.

Services will only be successful if we recognize that customer needs arise and change while they use the service. This means that the service delivery group cannot determine the set of its capabilities at an early stage once and for all.

Managers should support this “evolutionary” service development model, given that changes are inevitable and cannot be removed or eliminated. They also need to make sure that the service delivery group knows:

  • that she has the right to make decisions as part of her service;
  • what is the limitation of these decisions;
  • who is obliged to help them when it is necessary to make a decision beyond this framework.

Iterative development of a service is the best way to adapt to ongoing changes and improve the quality of service. We can contribute to this by transferring the right to make decisions to service providers and promptly removing all obstacles in the case of decisions that they have not yet received.

In addition, management should take part in regular meetings such as stand-ups and sprint planning. Thanks to this, managers will be in the know about all matters and will be able to make decisions quickly. It also positively affects their interaction and work with service delivery teams.

We know that it is impossible to simply remove or pass on the risks to someone. We try to pay attention to them and take them on ourselves, but first of all we eliminate risks that can significantly affect the process of service delivery.

Our approach to risk management does not consist in a planned discussion of the risk register, but in their timely elimination. We choose the most suitable moment to eliminate serious risks and only then we begin to plan and take any actions.



3. Get the right people to do it.


Everyone should:

  • act purposefully, efficiently and decisively;
  • focus on goals and key performance indicators;
  • Report openly and honestly about your work.

Trust your employees and let them organize and carry out their work in accordance with the goals of the team, so that the quality of service is improved in response to user requirements.

In leadership positions should be only those who are capable of:

  • make the right decisions;
  • manage the process and guarantee the delivery of quality services.

They provide support to the service provider team and engage the right people at the right time in the right place.

Services are developed by groups of multidisciplinary specialists with different skills and roles in achieving collective goals. They may consist of technical experts, businessmen, and may also include groups of lawyers and political scientists. It is desirable that in each of the teams the service manager remains the same, despite the fact that as the service develops, the skills necessary for employees will change, as a result of which the composition of the team will change.

We make sure that the service delivery groups possess all the necessary skills, and, in turn, create a favorable atmosphere for them, provide them with jobs and funds for cooperation, planning and delivery.

It is beneficial for the teams to be nearby, so do your best to let them work together.

4. See for yourself


When talking with service delivery groups, you can see for yourself what success they are achieving.

Everyone must always be in the know. Whenever possible, we try to talk with everyone personally, and the best way to track employee progress is to make sure of everything yourself. This should be understood as regular visits to demonstrations of the service and making comments and suggestions.

We use the materials that the service delivery groups provide to report on their work.
Thus, we pay attention, for example, to their task boards, reports for each sprint and demo samples in order to get all the information, instead of looking at huge formal reports.

Each time we make plans together, talk with teams to find out and discuss openly:

  • what they are working on at the moment;
  • their plans for the future;
  • what troubles they face.

The best way to evaluate progress, determine the mood of the service delivery team and guarantee delivery is to talk to everyone personally at their workplace. There are several tools for this that do not require additional costs. Among them:

  • daily “stand-ups” lasting from 10 to 15 minutes, within which team members provide information about the work done yesterday, received tasks for today and difficulties encountered;
  • regular scheduled meetings before the start of each of the stages at which the team is brought up to date;
  • regular reviews or presentations at the end of each stage to demonstrate the work completed at this stage and discuss any issues and changes that need to be made to the service process;
  • regular retrospectives on which the team can remember what went well and what didn’t, and what changes should be made.

Management should regularly participate in such meetings, at least to monitor their progress. Having made sure personally and having studied the data used by the service provider groups for supply management, you should get all the information necessary for successful management.

If such meetings do not take place, find out why. If carried out, then you need to continue in the same vein if you are responsible for managing this service.

Service delivery managers must collect data during these meetings in order to use them in simple and clear reports. They should be presented so that employees can see them, for example, on task boards or in wiki / collaboration applications. The reports will help build discussion at future meetings.

Task boards are a great way to keep track of progress and reflect on important points, such as questions about what the team is doing and what stage it is at. This helps in planning and communicating within and outside the team.

Service delivery groups must ensure that their information is displayed on their boards and that they are actually used. By looking at the task board of a group, you can get an idea of ​​the current state of its work without resorting to verbose reports that distract attention from working on the service. You should set aside time to monitor this regularly.



5. Do only what benefits


We do our best to meet the needs of users, and try to constantly improve our efficiency from the very beginning. It means that:

  • we set a clear goal, define success criteria and regularly inform everyone about them;
  • we value quality and ensure that the needs of customers are met: for this, the team is given the time it needs;
  • we are engaged in the study and development of ideas that can benefit, otherwise we stop our work.

By "improving efficiency" should be understood the provision of a quality service that meets the needs of customers, and its continuous improvement. The direct delivery of the service - as you go through the stages of research, alpha, beta and operation - is the most effective way to identify the needs of customers and provide users with the opportunity to influence the development of the service.

Reliable management allows us to do this as quickly as possible, focusing the attention of supplying teams on the development of ideas that meet customer requirements. Management decisions, such as supply decisions, should always be factual.

The service delivery group should develop a regulatory document that states:

  • the idea of ​​their service;
  • quantitative goals;
  • Key performance indicators that measure progress in meeting user needs and achieving organizational goals.

Groups of leaders are working on the creation of this document and help to come to a common opinion and understanding of the document both within the organization and beyond.

Service development is a learning process, and we try to benefit during this training. Everyone should strive to find the best ways to meet customer needs. Even when something does not work out when researching the user audience, the lessons learned will guide you towards the development of the service. With this approach, you will not allow the creation of an expensive unpromising service that does not meet the requirements of customers.



6. Trust but verify


We form a simple and convenient management structure in which management trusts subordinates and supports teams so that they can focus on the delivery of the service.

We regularly communicate with teams in order to support them, to help orient ourselves and achieve the desired result. To track progress, we use a tactful approach, carrying out minor but frequent checks. We pay attention to the delivery results and identify areas where something can be improved.

In order to create a favorable atmosphere for the supplying team, we form groups with a suitable recruitment of specialists in order to increase, but not reduce, the pace of supply and support senior employees. Constant communication with the team each time provides management with the opportunity to support, orient and help employees, rather than waiting for less frequent formal meetings.

Regular discussion of the work process and finding ways to increase efficiency plays an important role in successful management. At the end of any stage, each of the groups conducts retrospectives on which the acquired knowledge is discussed: what went well and what did not. This allows you to determine the actions that you plan to take in the next stages. In addition, retrospectives should be included in the overall work plan.

We discussed the material with startups from the IIDF Accelerator:

In your opinion, does the creation of a “memorandum” help the team in its work with a list of the core values ​​and tasks that the project is pursuing, as well as the rules in accordance with which it is planned to achieve these goals and objectives?

Do small companies need it, or should such things be created only in large corporations and on large-scale projects? Do you use something similar in your work?

Eugene Dyachenko, CEO of the Supl.biz project : Startup is a very dynamic structure, including in the values ​​that it brings to the world. Pivots often happen. Therefore, I believe that it makes no sense to postulate any values ​​other than “change the world for the better” at the startup stage. Well, in addition, in a small company, the founders and the first employees are carriers of values. That's when the company grows, then the problem arises of transmitting these values ​​to all new hired employees. For these reasons, we do not use such things in our work.

Anatoly Medvedev, co-founder of the A2 Leasing System project :A successful team must understand the value of their product. A project cannot succeed if its target audience does not see any benefit in it. This, perhaps, is the main thing that any startup should find and clearly convey to its client. The implementation of the project itself should be consistent with the intended plan. This is primarily customer development and hypothesis testing using the HADI method, which helps the project move in the right direction.

Alexey Krasnov, Director of CloudStats :I think that the idea of ​​such a “constitution” for the team is very interesting. Perhaps we even sit down and make something like that. First of all, it is useful for the leaders themselves. Having written down the strategy, vision and rules of conduct on paper, everything can be made more understandable and tangible. And by making this understandable initially for the whole team, you can also save a lot of time in the process of achieving the goal.

It’s generally great when the whole team sees the final goal, and not just works on tasks that they are “let down from”. However, do not be too zealous. Memorandum per page - no more. A clear separation of roles, tasks and responsibilities, necessary in a large business, is not possible in small teams. Flexibility is needed, the ability to quickly reorient and experiment. For a startup, this is especially true, because during the project you can process dozens of different hypotheses and approaches.

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