Action 13: departments will supply a consistent set of management information (as defined by Cabinet Office) for their transactional services
Updated 16 January 2015
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This action forms part of the Government Digital Strategy.
Here’s how departments are responding to this action:
The Attorney General’s Office
Departmental digital strategy commitments (December 2012)
The Law Officers’ departments have supplied management information on their transactional services and recognise the importance of using this to improve services.
Progress during 2013
Law Officers’ departments have been working with Government Digital Service (GDS) to ensure that they provide management information on their transactional services.
Planned activities in 2014
Law Officers’ departments will provide a consistent set of management information on their transactional services.
Progress during 2014
Law Officers’ departments have been working with GDS to ensure that they provide management information on their transactional services.
Planned activities in 2015
Law Officers’ departments will provide a consistent set of management information on their transactional services.
Cabinet Office
Departmental digital strategy commitments (December 2012)
Cabinet Office is in the process of defining a set of management information for transactional services for all departments. Within the department, much of this type of data on the way it runs transactional services is lacking. The department will therefore ensure that management information on the performance of digital services drives continual improvement in services and that this improvement loop is embedded in normal working practices.
Progress during 2013
The Performance Platform on GOV.UK is available in alpha, with performance data from 10 transactional services available. This information complements and deepens the top-level information available in the Transactions Explorer and makes public for the first time detailed information about the performance of transactions which citizens have with central government.
Planned activities in 2014
The Performance Platform will continue to develop and extend to other exemplar transactional services through 2014 and beyond.
Progress during 2014
Performance metrics for Honours and appointment service were created based on the strategic vision for developing the service. A service roadmap was constructed to plan future development of the service.
Planned activities in 2015
Performance metrics will be published as part of the service assessment process and used to monitor the service on the GOV.UK Performance Platform.
Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
Departmental digital strategy commitments (December 2012)
Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) partner organisations with high-volume transactions have processes in place for gathering management information. BIS will work with GDS to refine the set of management information and extend reporting further where required. The department will ensure all BIS exemplar services, and those subsequently redesigned, include automated management information reporting as part of the project requirements.
Progress during 2013
BIS has worked with GDS and its agencies and arm’s length bodies (ALBs) with high-volume transactions to refine the processes for gathering management information. As part of delivering the exemplar services, relevant management information is being identified and gathered in order to assess and improve services. Student Loan Companies is currently working with the GDS Performance Platform team to ensure its service metrics are readily available and useable to drive service improvements.
Planned activities in 2014
BIS will work with its agencies and ALBs to ensure, where appropriate, a consistent set of management information is available, covering rates on:
- user satisfaction
- transaction success
- costs per transaction
- digital take up
BIS will encourage agencies and ALBs to work with GDS on performance dashboards for their transactional services and will build on opportunities available to share usability suites across the BIS network to increase the customer insight and data analytics available.
Progress during 2014
BIS consistently provided management information in a timely manner, actively encouraging the activity of partner organisations.
It increased the number of services providing data each quarter over the course of the year and encouraged relevant partner organisations to use the Performance Platform.
Planned activities in 2015
BIS will continue to provide management information in a timely and consistent manner. It will encourage partner organisations to provide data in a consistent and timely manner and work with GDS to solve any issues throughout the year.
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
Departmental digital strategy commitments (December 2012)
Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) does not offer transactional services directly to the public, so the extent to which we can provide data is limited. However, we are fully in concert with the new, data-driven approach of GDS and will cooperate fully in collating and returning appropriate data to Cabinet Office.
Progress during 2013
DCMS continues to respond to central data requests on a proportionate basis.
Planned activities in 2014
DCMS will continue to response to central data requests where appropriate.
Progress during 2014
DCMS continues to respond to central data requests on a proportionate basis.
Planned activities in 2015
DCMS will continue to response to central data requests where appropriate.
Department for Education
Departmental digital strategy commitments (December 2012)
The Digital Intelligence Team at Department for Education (DfE) is fully engaged with GDS colleagues to ensure a complete set of management information is provided.
Progress during 2013
DfE has been working with GDS to agree standards for the Performance Platform for various digital projects.
Planned activities in 2014
DfE will increase its user testing of both the content sitting on GOV.UK and its legacy services.
Progress during 2014
DfE used a management information tool to guide the development of user-centred services.
Planned activities in 2015
DfE will continue to use the management information tool and analytics to guide decision making and the development of user-centred services.
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Departmental digital strategy commitments (December 2012)
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is already providing management data for some transactions. From April 2013 it will ensure consistent reporting on the key indicators that GDS has identified, except where existing systems would need amending at significant cost.
Progress during 2013
Defra is now reporting key management data for most of its transactions. The exceptions are where information is difficult to provide without change to legacy systems.
Planned activities in 2014
Defra will continue to expand the information it report on, in line with the requirements of the Digital by Default Service Standard.
Progress during 2014
Defra reported management data for important transactions like the Waste Carriers service. In some cases it encountered problems where legacy systems were difficult to change.
Planned activities in 2015
Defra will continue to expand the information it reports on as far as possible, in line with the requirements of the Digital by Default Service Standard.
Department for International Development
Departmental digital strategy commitments (December 2012)
This is not directly relevant at this time as epartment for International Development (DFID) does not carry out transactions at the volume to be monitored by Cabinet Office. However the digital operations team will produce a dashboard which aggregates key measurements of DFID transactions and activities, to enable to the organisation to monitor and track improvements as services are developed.
Progress during 2013
DFID does not carry out services at the volume to require monitoring by Cabinet Office and its transactions are reported on Transactions Explorer.
Planned activities in 2014
DFID will continue to report its transactions on the Transaction Explorer.
Progress during 2014
DFID does not carry out services at the volume to require monitoring by Cabinet Office and its transactions are reported on Transactions Explorer.
Planned activities in 2015
DFID will continue to report its transactions on the Transaction Explorer.
Department for Transport
Departmental digital strategy commitments (December 2012)
Department for Transport (DfT) will collect and analyse performance data on its services to help it identify opportunities for improvement and report progress on delivering digital services. It is working with GDS to automate this process using the quarterly data summary from April 2013.
Progress during 2013
DfT has worked with GDS to ensure reporting on the performance of digital services can be made available freely, instantly and accurately. An interface for the first exemplar service has been developed.
Planned activities in 2014
DfT will ensure that management information for the exemplar services and all other high-volume digital services are available by October 2014.
Progress during 2014
Drivers and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) has provided user stories to be published on the relevant GOV.UK pages. The DVLA portfolio management team also created a dashboard that gathered information from all its current projects and programmes and included a forward view.
Planned Activities in 2015
DfT will ensure management information for the exemplar services and all other high volume digital services is available and continually monitored.
Department for Work and Pensions
Departmental digital strategy commitments (December 2012)
Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) will provide a consistent set of management information wherever systems allow, and ensure that new systems are built with this in mind.
Progress during 2013
Work is ongoing to identify key performance areas and produce detailed management information tailored to meet the requirements of each individual service. Take-up and transaction measures are in place and DWP is currently investigating capture of satisfaction and completion rates.
Planned activities in 2014
DWP is committed to providing detailed management information tailored to meet the requirements of each individual service.
Progress during 2014
DWP started work with GDS to design an approach to publish its transaction volumes and associated costs on the Performance Platform.
Planned activities in 2015
DWP will provide a consistent set of management information wherever possible and ensure that new systems are built with this in mind. It will continue to work with GDS to support this.
Department of Energy and Climate Change
Departmental digital strategy commitments (December 2012)
It will make consistent management information available to internal teams and to GDS for all digital by default services. So far GDS has requested, and Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) will provide for each service: cost per transaction, user satisfaction, transaction completion rates, and take-up levels. This data will be made available to GDS and internal teams, as part of its effort to continuously improve its services.
Progress during 2013
DECC has set up a Digital by Default Programme making consistent management information available to internal teams and GDS. DECC has provided information for the Transactions Explorer, Government Digital Strategy progress updates and any other updates requested by Cabinet Office.
Planned activities in 2014
DECC will continue to provide information for the Transactions Explorer, Government Digital Strategy progress updates and any other updates requested by Cabinet Office.
Progress during 2014
DECC collated transactional information on a regular basis, using the process to encourage performance monitoring.
Planned activities in 2015
DECC will continue to provide information for the Transactions Explorer, Government Digital Strategy progress updates and any other updates requested by Cabinet Office. As new services are developed these will include performance management information.
Department of Health
Departmental digital strategy commitments (December 2012)
Department of Health (DH) will report against all relevant data sets from April 2013. It will also systematically use digital data and insight to inform policymaking by using specialist techniques such as influencer mapping, and by developing the capability of its staff to do this for themselves.
Progress during 2013
DH and its ALBs are now reporting against all the relevant data sets for transactions and these are live on the Transactions Explorer. There has been a roll-out of monitoring dashboards for owned and earned media across communications which are used by the press team to monitor current or emerging stories. They’re also used by the wider communications division to manage crisis communications with its ALBs. DH is using digital data and improved management information to understand more about its users’ needs and to evaluate the impact of the work across the department.
Planned activities in 2014
DH will provide quarterly data for all transactions from the department and all its ALBs. The collection and reporting of this data will be a condition for approval of digital spend by DH.
The use of monitoring dashboards will be rolled out further across DH to policy teams, and particularly its Digital Champions network. DH will continue to use digital data to build a clear view of user need and the performance of the department.
Progress during 2014
DH provided quarterly data for all transactions from DH and its ALBs and now reports on almost 100 different services.
DH is reviewing all services provided by the department to ensure that it also reports on all fully offline transactions.
Planned activities in 2015
DH will continue to provide any required management information.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Departmental digital strategy commitments (December 2012)
Working with GDS, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) will take forward a programme to improve management information on its existing services and build effective management information into new services. FCO will use the transition to GOV.UK to improve how it uses website analytics to improve the services and information it provides to users.
Progress during 2013
FCO consular directorate’s management information improvement project has been working to improve the production and use of management information to drive improvements in services. A number of FCO services, including the legalisation and the registration of birth deaths and marriages abroad, were integrated with the GOV.UK Performance Platform.
Planned activities in 2014
FCO will ensure that management information data requirements are fully integrated into plans for new and updated consular IT systems.
The introduction of online payments for birth and death registrations and other services in 2014 will give the department further sources of management information for its services. This will include the number of users accessing information on its services on GOV.UK but also the proportion who then go on to apply for the service online.
Progress during 2014
Four FCO digital services are already on the Performance Platform, and FCO built Performance Platform integration into newly transformed digital services.
Management information data requirements were fully integrated into requirements for new and updated consular IT systems, due for tender in early 2015.
Planned activities in 2015
As FCO moves more services online it will make sure they are built so they can go onto the Performance Platform. It is also interested in extending the Performance Platform to cover non-digital elements of major transactions and will scope how that might work in practice.
HM Revenue and Customs
Departmental digital strategy commitments (December 2012)
HMRC will begin reporting against defined data sets provided by Cabinet Office from April 2013. Its new digital by default services will include automated collection of management information. These measures and indicators of performance excellence will enable continuous improvement and drive high quality service delivery to its customers.
Progress during 2013
HMRC has been developing key performance indicators (KPIs) and measures for the multi-channel digital tax platform; these are being expanded as part of the exemplars programme of development.
It has also been in the process of developing a further set of metrics which will enable the department to measure progress on moving away from paper, phone and post. This will include the ability to view the ways in which customers interact with its online services and enable the department to iterate and improve services, leading to additional benefits for customers and for HMRC.
Planned activities in 2014
HMRC will complete the delivery of KPIs and metrics for exemplars. It will also develop a set of metrics for the department to measure the progress and move away from paper, phone and post.
Progress during 2014
HMRC completed the performance indicators and metrics for exemplars. It also developed metrics to measure progress and help inform ways to move away from paper, phone and post.
Planned activities in 2015
New services will include the automated collection of management information made available via the Performance Platform.
HM Treasury
Departmental digital strategy commitments (December 2012)
This is not applicable to HM Treasury (HMT) as it is not a transactional department.
Progress during 2013
This action is not applicable to HMT.
Planned activities in 2014
This action is not applicable to HMT.
Progress during 2014
This action is not applicable to HMT.
Planned activities in 2015
This action is not applicable to HMT.
Home Office
Departmental digital strategy commitments (December 2012)
Plans for monitoring service quality and user satisfaction (according to GDS’s performance framework) will be incorporated into the design of all digital services. This data will inform ongoing service development, and will also form the basis of feedback to Cabinet Office via mechanisms such as the quarterly data summary.
Progress during 2013
Home Office has been working with GDS to review and improve management information within services. Home Office has been committed to contributing to the GOV.UK Performance Platform and is also building management information consoles, presenting web analytics data combined with key application statistics, as part of its digital applications.
Planned activities in 2014
Home Office will continue to review and improve management information within services. On the Registered Traveller exemplar web statistics will be combined with data from the e-Gates to provide an end-to-end transaction view.
Progress during 2014
Home Office worked with GDS to review and improve management information within services. The Passports exemplar has agreed processes for additional reporting requirements such as:
- service delivery
- counter-fraud and operational demand
- compliance with GDS metrics via existing reporting tools supported by a dedicated application reference number
For the Visas exemplar, Home Office developed an alpha performance dashboard. Service analytics are in place for this exemplar and Zabbix is used for service monitoring.
Planned activities in 2015
Home Office will continue to review and improve management information within services. On Visas, the alpha performance dashboard will be taken through to production as part of the preparation for live service assessment by March. The refreshed Home Office digital strategy, to be published by end of February, will set out strategies to improve monitoring service quality and user satisfaction.
Ministry of Defence
Departmental digital strategy commitments (December 2012)
The Finance and Military Capability area will embed the requirement to meet government standards for benchmarking, efficiency, sustainable development targets and business priorities and report on savings within the Defence Plan. They will develop coherence and efficiency in management information delivery to improve evaluation of service performance and costs.
Progress during 2013
Work has been delayed until the appointment of the Digital Transformation team.
Planned activities in 2014
Ministry of Defence (MOD) will develop management information to meet defined government standards.
Progress during 2014
MOD reported transaction data from the UK Hydrographic Office and Queen’s Harbour Master via GOV.UK.
Planned activities in 2015
Management information on major MOD services will be reported to the Cabinet Office as redesigned services are implemented.
Ministry of Justice
Departmental digital strategy commitments (December 2012)
Ministry of Justice (MOJ) will take steps to measure performance and deliver real-time management information. It will work with its business to identify how it can apply this to existing services and build automated data collection into all of its new services.
Progress during 2013
MOJ adopted comprehensive and consistent analytics on all its services. It used agile methods to identify opportunities for getting better, more relevant, targeted management information around the use of services for the benefit of its organisations. It built capability in business analysis and has been engaging with the business to build effective cost models to define the benefits of digital transformation.
Planned activities in 2014
MOJ will * continue to use analytics on all services * maximise benefits to the business from service transformation * develop a performance and analytics dashboard for all its services
The department will help services define metrics that allow it to understand the service transformation and channel shift that building digital services creates. Then it can identify necessary policy changes and cost savings, backed up with evidence gathered through iterative development of the service.
Progress during 2014
MOJ began developing analytics in exemplar services, both before and during public use, to measure performance and identify areas for further development. It worked with GDS Performance Platform colleagues to improve the way management information was reported across all contact channels. The Prison visits booking team built a dashboard to showcase performance against the agreed service standards (the 3-day turnaround from submitting the request to staff confirmation) for all prisons. The Court finder team worked on a combination analysis and feedback system to inform senior managers of service feedback. This is not just a digital tool but also examines live service delivery.
Planned activities in 2015
MOJ Digital Services will continue to work with the GDS Performance Platform team to improve the way management information is reported across all contact channels.
The team will also continue the process of building dashboards to show the scope and status of all digital products.