Adult Social Care Training Funds Reimbursement Scheme alpha assessment report
Service standard assessment report Adult Social Care Training Funds Reimbursement Scheme 22/02/2024
Service Standard assessment report
Adult Social Care Training Funds Reimbursement Scheme
Service description
The new ‘Claim for adult social care training and development’ service will allow employers in the adult social care (ASC) sector to claim reimbursement through the Training Fund Reimbursement Scheme (TFRS). There are 2 types of funding, covering:
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targeted upskilling (TU), which includes formal courses and qualifications for staff who are not registered with a professional body, as well as registered and aspiring managers
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continuing professional development (CPD), which includes activities relating to professional revalidation of staff registered with a professional body
The fund for TFRS payments is the ASC Targeted Funding for Learning & Development (TFLD). TFRS is the payment mechanism by which ASC providers will claim reimbursement from TFLD.
Service users
- employers in the adult social care sector
- NHSBSA employees processing claims for reimbursement
- NHSBSA Contact Centre employees dealing with enquiries from external users
1. Understand users and their needs
Decision
The service met point 1 of the Standard.
What the team has done well
The panel was impressed that:
- the team’s mini discovery shaped their alpha research and helped them to understand more about the context their users work in. This was a good way to start their exploration of the problem
- the team persevered with recruiting difficult to reach participants through a wide range of channels. This was challenging and time-consuming but paid off when they successfully researched with 44 participants. Their pragmatic approach included researching with the same participants more than once to support their recruitment difficulties and this enabled them to learn more about how users interacted with the prototype
- the team unfortunately didn’t conduct accessibility research but did conduct inclusive research with a wide range of possible users from differently sized organisations providing different types of care. Given the range of users they have, this has increased their confidence that the service they plan to test in private beta is the right one
- the team identified their riskiest assumptions about their users and prioritised them for research
- the team used other methods to learn about their users while they struggled to recruit them. Their learnings from the desk research helped to inform the direction of their user research when they were able to conduct it
- the extensive prototype iteration log explained how the team’s research shaped changes. This was promising to learn. Our understanding of this process could have been extended further by visually seeing what the prototype looked like before and after
What the team needs to explore
Before their next assessment, the team needs to:
- carry out the research plan they outlined to address accessibility research during private beta, as there has been a lack of accessibility research so far due to recruitment difficulties
- conduct research with low digital confidence and competence participants, particularly around components recognised as difficult for this user group to use. For example, by testing the ‘upload a file’ component. This may vary depending on the user group, for example it would be beneficial to understand if the US user group needs more support with this than the CPD one or whether that isn’t the case
- explore how to adapt their research for the context their users are working in. They know their user groups lack time in their jobs and that this contributes to difficulties in participating in research, therefore they should consider how they could adapt the research to their users’ circumstances. For example, by shortening the amount of time they ask participants to participate in research sessions or by using unmoderated research methods which can be completed by participants in smaller amounts of time to increase flexibility
- have a plan for later software development lifecycle phases around how to conduct primary research with internal processing support staff who manage the claims. The team’s use of discovery research from other teams to inform their understanding of this user group was appropriate for alpha but they would benefit from conducting research with these users themselves when appropriate
- conduct more research on terms used in the service which most people might not understand but their user group might. For example, they researched whether their users understood the term “revalidation funding” with a small number of participants and used desk research to check this. However, given how important it is for the service that these words are understood, more research to confirm this is needed.
- ensure any learning and research is adopted from the Workforce Development Fund
2. Solve a whole problem for users
Decision
The service did not meet point 2 of the Standard.
What the team has done well
The panel was impressed that:
- the team has identified a problem from discovery, and working on a manageable part of the problem
- the team has worked to identify applicable courses, based on the existing lists that users can reclaim for
- the team has started to identify risky assumptions, and has co-designed parts of the service with users
What the team needs to explore
Before their next assessment, the team needs to:
- develop their understanding of the pain points across the journey and have tested different options to solving the problem. The team may wish to explore further how they can also increase the take up of courses, to match their problem statement
- ensure that the scope of the service is scoped according to what users need to do, and check their risky assumptions that the main users are team administrators
- test and de-risk the riskiest areas of the service development and that there is clear evidence of where the team has reduced risk, this may include understanding some of the technical risks such as updating status or that that payments are complete
- ensure that there is an online journey to provide banking details so that the funds are received in a timely manner and that the process is fully scoped end-to-end
- explore what would happen if any of their users had a dispute about one of the claims
- demonstrate that there is a clear migration plan moving from the Workforce Development Fund
3. Provide a joined-up experience across all channels
Decision
The service met point 3 of the Standard.
What the team has done well
The panel was impressed that:
- the team has an excellent understanding of the service landscape and are in regular communication with associated services and departments
- there is a well-established customer support model that can help support users should the need arise
What the team needs to explore
Before their next assessment, the team needs to:
- ensure that the customer support model has prepared for an increase in their workload once the service is deployed
- consider the use of webchat within their service to supplement the users engaging with the customer support model advisors
- implement an agreed process for the customer support model to provide feedback from users that have dropped out of the service and contacted them to complete their task
4. Make the service simple to use
Decision
The service met point 4 of the Standard.
What the team has done well
The panel was impressed that:
- the team have considered their riskiest assumptions and undertaken research to evidence their impact
- the team have already considered ‘admin groups’ when organisations need to access the service
- the team have considered the situation where an organisation has lost all personnel with access to the service, and they need to grant them access
- the team have used several identifiers (National Insurance number and job title) to help users identify the correct people in their organisation
What the team needs to explore
Before their next assessment, the team needs to:
- undertake an accessibility audit before they go into Public Beta so that they can have the necessary accessibility statement for when they are in the public domain
- review their designs from an accessibility perspective. Several of the H1s do not provide users with sufficient context which can be problematic for screen-reader users, such as ‘Select training’ instead of ‘Which training course or qualification are you claiming for?’
- consider making the ‘What happens next’ section that includes the submit ‘call to action’ is only shown when the users have completed filling out the claim rather than the users having to work out when this has been completed. This is particularly important for users with access needs. Similarly, evidence of completion should only be available once the learners have been added to the claim
- contacting the training providers to discuss alternative ways of providing the necessary evidence that the training has been completed
- make use of the latest patterns, in particular the status tags from the revised task list (GOV.UK Design System > Components > Task list)
- stress test their assumptions further about a scaffolding screen and not having a check your answers, which would make the service simpler from existing patterns
- ensure that their development of an existing pattern is added to the GOV.UK Design System backlog to get more insights and peer reviews from other government departments
5. Make sure everyone can use the service
Decision
The service met point 5 of the Standard.
What the team has done well
The panel was impressed that:
- they have considered users may prefer to get some ‘training/insight’ when completing their first claim by providing a video (supported by transcript) that provides some reassurance for first-time users
What the team needs to explore
Before their next assessment, the team needs to:
- expand the breadth of users the team has undertaken research with, and ensure that different user groups are reflective
- review their designs from an accessibility perspective
- ensure that small independent organisations that are not as familiar with funding and reimbursements are able to use the service intuitively
- ensure that their service is usable by those who are considered ‘assisted digital’ to provide the necessary reassurance at various stages of their service
6. Have a multidisciplinary team
Decision
The service met point 6 of the Standard.
What the team has done well
The panel was impressed that:
- the team is working together well, and there is a cohesive multidisciplinary team
- even with some of the recruitment and people challenges, such as being without a product manager the team has included various skills and expertise
- the team has started to consider scaling and onboarding new providers, as well as transferring knowledge to the organisation
What the team needs to explore
Before their next assessment, the team needs to:
- ensure that the team has access to a product manager
- ensure the use of suppliers is on a sustainable basis, and that the team has considered the most appropriate way to bring in additional expertise
7. Use agile ways of working
Decision
The service met point 7 of the Standard.
What the team has done well
The panel was impressed that:
- there is an appropriate level of governance to the project and check-ins with senior stakeholders, including the Service Owner
- the team are able to engage and challenge senior staff, such as some of their timescales for delivery
- the team are engaging with different stakeholders through show and tells
- there is a clear cadence and ceremonies, with the team planning to adjust their ways of working for scaling the team e.g. not having events on a Friday
- the team are engaging across government
What the team needs to explore
Before their next assessment, the team needs to:
- ensure that others across the programme are engaged and kept informed, so dependencies and risks can be minimised
- continue to engage across government
8. Iterate and improve frequently
Decision
The service met point 8 of the Standard.
What the team has done well
The panel was impressed that:
- the team have made clear iterations as part of their alpha and tested different areas with their users
- the team is actively testing content and design and have documented the different iterations they have undertaken
What the team needs to explore
Before their next assessment, the team needs to:
- ensure that changes are tested with a breadth of users, and that the service works for all users
- ensure that the team are learning from the current Workforce Development Fund and iterating their end-to-end view. The team should develop further insight into the wider problem space, and where there are pain points to iterate and improve
9. Create a secure service which protects users’ privacy
Decision
The service met point 9 of the Standard.
What the team has done well
The panel was impressed that:
- the team understand the importance of securing the service based on the principles of GPG44
- appropriate consideration has been given to the use of personal data for counter-fraud and auditing purposes
What the team needs to explore
Before their next assessment, the team needs to:
- do user testing with a wide range of people to ensure that the proposed Microsoft B2C authentication solution meets user needs while also protecting the service
- provide further evidence on the approach to securely managing files uploaded to the service by end users
- report back on any outcomes from the GDPR Impact Analysis
- ensure that the service has completed its IT Health Check
10. Define what success looks like and publish performance data
Decision
The service did not meet point 10 of the Standard.
What the team has done well
The panel was impressed that:
- the team could articulate a north star metric and had completed some initial work on their performance framework
- the team has considered the data available
What the team needs to explore
Before their next assessment, the team needs to:
- ensure that the performance framework is end-to-end and across the whole problem. It currently starts at a claim being submitted but should consider how users start their journey and the wider process they follow
- baseline and ensure that they know how to meet the mandatory metrics
- ensure that a DPIA is agreed with their data privacy and assurance team
- consider the types of Google Analytics or performance data that they need to collect, and how
- explore and consider the ways in which the organisation and the team can understand data for example dashboards
11. Choose the right tools and technology
Decision
The service met point 11 of the Standard.
What the team has done well
The panel was impressed that:
- the team have selected proven technologies food the fundamental parts of the service
- there are plans in place to enhance the service with critical features during private beta, and these include some indicative thinking on technology choices
- the service will use a cloud-first architecture
What the team needs to explore
Before their next assessment, the team needs to:
- demonstrate that there is a good technical solution in place to meet the expected user need for search. For the first stages of private beta, the team has indicated that a simple database search may meet user needs. However, once the service scales up, it’s unlikely that a database search will suffice. The team is considering a more robust search engine, such as Elasticsearch. During private beta the team should carry out much more in-depth work to validate these early assumptions
- use private beta to evaluate and demonstrate the efficacy of Microsoft B2C in terms of progressive enhancement, accessibility and usability
- explore a range of technical options related to file upload. Users are required to upload files as evidence, and therefore the service must ensure that this minimises the potential of error (for example poor quality images), while also maximising efficiency and sustainability in terms of the storage and retention requirements of such files
12. Make new source code open
Decision
The service met point 12 of the Standard.
What the team has done well
The panel was impressed that:
- the team has plans to open source the work they will do in private beta and has access the public GitHub along with the support to do so
- the team has plans to code in the open for full transparency
What the team needs to explore
Before their next assessment, the team needs to:
- share the links to the work they have published
13. Use and contribute to open standards, common components and patterns
Decision
The service met point 13 of the Standard.
What the team has done well
The panel was impressed that:
- the team embraces the use of shared components and has plans in place to make use of both GDS and NHS BSA shared components
- the proposed user authentication patterns will use open standards (OpenID Connect)
What the team needs to explore
Before their next assessment, the team needs to:
- confirm whether integration with GOV Notify will be completed during private beta
14. Operate a reliable service
Decision
The service met point 14 of the Standard.
What the team has done well
The panel was impressed that:
- the team has a plan for full-service management through existing support mechanisms
- there are plans in place using existing and well-established patterns and tools to deploy updates through automation
- the team has a good understanding of the test approaches and tooling needed to ensure quality in build and deployment phases
- there will be a Test Manager embedded in the team
What the team needs to explore
Before their next assessment, the team needs to:
- explore how well the proposed design meets the needs of users accessing via mobile devices. Although these are likely to be a minority, some of the design features (such as tabbed pages and multiple file uploads) add complexity. A mobile-first approach is therefore recommended
Updates to this page
Published 12 July 2024