File A Statement Of Capital Data Reassessment
The report for Companies House' File A Statement Of Capital Data alpha reassessment on the 27th October 2021
Service Standard reassessment report
File Statement Of Capital Data
| From: | Central Digital & Data Office (CDDO) |
| Assessment date: | 27/10/2021 |
| Stage: | Alpha |
| Result: | Met |
| Service provider: | Companies House |
Previous assessment reports
Add links to gov.uk/service-standard-reports where possible.
Service description
The service allows users to tell Companies House about new shares that have been issued by their company.
Service users
- Directors of companies who are responsible for maintaining the company data.
- Users acting on behalf of directors such as company secretaries, accountants, solicitors etc.
- Companies House internal users
- Search customers – consumers of output data e.g. credit reference agencies, banks, financial institutions, company shareholders
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 articulated clearly who their users were and their needs in greater detail
- the team went into detail on the motivations and barriers for different channel use and to digital uptake showing a good understanding of user behaviours and motivations, alongside key pain points for users
- the team had updated their personas to reflect this understanding, including richer details on the processes and steps in users’ working days
What the team needs to explore
Before their next assessment, the team needs to:
- ensure research with users with access needs and research with assisted digital users is incorporated into their research plan
- use an appropriate range of recruitment methods to mitigate bias and ensure research reflects all actual and likely users of the service (e.g. ensure not only doing primary research with willing volunteers)
- plan to do private beta observations, or use alternatives as close to it as possible (for example, a phone call while watching the real time analytics for errors). This will give the evidence that the service is ready for public beta
- test all parts of the journey as proposed for public beta. If the initial private beta users are intercepted via the call centre, this may involve testing some parts in the prototype, and others as private beta observations
- consider including open-ended research methods (for example in-person observation https://www.gov.uk/service-manual/user-research/contextual-research-and-observation ) alongside usability testing of their prototype to continue building understanding of users’ day-to-day routines, behaviours and needs
2. Solve a whole problem for users
Decision
The service met point 2 of the Standard.
What the team has done well
The panel was impressed that:
- the team provided evidence that users won’t be confused by the different channels—it’s done ad-hoc by its primary users (directors and some presenters), while others use 3rd party software for all tasks
- the team is working with their GOV.UK content team in Companies House to understand and improve the guidance and entry points alongside the digital service
- the team has plans for how to dual-run the new service and Web Filings, including encouraging people to switch from Webfilings via various channels in public beta, and intercepting users via the contact centre for private beta
What the team needs to explore
Before their next assessment, the team needs to:
- test and refine their plans for dual-running the new service and Web Filings, this could be with general prototype testing, or as prototype tasks added on to private beta observations
- continue to work with the Companies House GOV.UK content team, and add the proposed GOV.UK content to usability testing as soon as it is confirmed
Next Steps
Pass - alpha
This service can now move into a private beta phase, subject to implementing the recommendations outlined in the report and getting approval from the GDS spend control team. The service must pass their public beta assessment before launching their public beta.
The panel recommends this service sits a beta assessment in around [3 - 6] months time. Speak to your Digital Engagement Manager to arrange it as soon as possible.
To get the service ready to launch on GOV.UK the team needs to:
- get a GOV.UK service domain name
- work with the GOV.UK content team on any changes required to GOV.UK content