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Service Assessment

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Command

arckit service-assessment <project ID and stage>

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Arguments

• PHASE (required): alpha, beta, or live - The assessment phase to prepare for
• DATE (optional): YYYY-MM-DD - Planned assessment date for timeline calculations

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Examples

arckit service-assessment "001 Alpha"
arckit service-assessment "001 Beta" DATE=2025-12-15

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Purpose

1. Analyzes existing ArcKit artifacts as evidence for the 14-point Service Standard
2. Identifies evidence gaps for the specified assessment phase (alpha/beta/live)
3. Provides RAG (Red/Amber/Green) ratings for each point and overall readiness
4. Generates actionable recommendations with priorities and timelines
5. Includes assessment day preparation guidance

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The 14-Point Service Standard

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Section 1: Meeting Users’ Needs

1. Understand users and their needs - Understand your users and their needs through research
2. Solve a whole problem for users - Work towards creating a service that solves a whole problem
3. Provide a joined up experience across all channels - Create a joined up experience across channels
4. Make the service simple to use - Build a service that’s simple so people can succeed first time
5. Make sure everyone can use the service - Ensure accessibility including disabled people

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Section 2: Providing a Good Service

6. Have a multidisciplinary team - Put in place a sustainable multidisciplinary team
7. Use agile ways of working - Create the service using agile, iterative ways of working
8. Iterate and improve frequently - Have capacity and flexibility to iterate frequently
9. Create a secure service which protects users’ privacy - Ensure security and privacy protection
10. Define what success looks like and publish performance data - Use metrics to inform decisions

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Section 3: Using the Right Technology

11. Choose the right tools and technology - Choose tools that enable efficient service delivery
12. Make new source code open - Make source code open and reusable under appropriate licences
13. Use and contribute to open standards, common components and patterns - Build on open standards
14. Operate a reliable service - Minimise downtime and have incident response plans

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Output

• Executive summary with overall readiness score and critical gaps
• Detailed assessment for all 14 Service Standard points
• Evidence inventory mapping artifacts to standard points
• Assessment preparation checklist with priorities
• Assessment day preparation guidance
• Documentation to share with panel
• Who should attend and show and tell structure
• Tips for success

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Assessment Process

1. Reads existing ArcKit artifacts (STKE, REQ, RISK, PLAN, DIAG, etc.)
2. Maps evidence to each of the 14 Service Standard points
3. Applies phase-appropriate criteria (alpha/beta/live)
4. Assigns RAG ratings based on evidence found
5. Identifies gaps and generates specific recommendations
6. Provides assessment day guidance

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RAG Ratings

• 🟢 Green (Ready): All critical evidence found, team ready to present
• 🟡 Amber (Partial): Some evidence found but gaps remain
• 🔴 Red (Not Ready): Critical evidence missing, significant work required

• 🟢 Green (Ready): 12+ points Green, max 2 Amber, 0 Red
• 🟡 Amber (Nearly Ready): 10+ points Green/Amber, max 2 Red
• 🔴 Red (Not Ready): More than 2 Red points or fewer than 10 Green/Amber

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Phase-Appropriate Criteria

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Alpha Assessment

• Lower bar for operational evidence (monitoring, performance data)
• Higher bar for user research and prototyping
• Critical: User testing, team composition, technology viability

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Beta Assessment

• Higher bar for everything
• Critical: Working service, security testing, accessibility compliance, performance monitoring
• All 14 points must be addressed substantively

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Live Assessment

• Highest bar, operational excellence expected
• Critical: Published performance data, user satisfaction, continuous improvement
• Operational maturity demonstrated

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Prerequisites

• PRIN (Architecture Principles) - Technology standards, compliance requirements
• REQ (Requirements) - User stories, NFRs, accessibility requirements

• STKE (Stakeholder Analysis) - User needs, personas
• RISK (Risk Register) - Security risks, mitigation strategies
• PLAN (Project Plan) - Phases, timeline, team structure
• SOBC (Business Case) - Benefits, success metrics
• DATA (Data Model) - GDPR compliance, data governance
• DIAG (Architecture Diagrams) - C4, deployment
• SECD (Secure by Design) - Security assessment
• DPIA (DPIA) - Privacy protection evidence

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Related Commands

• arckit tcop - Technology Code of Practice assessment (points 11, 13 overlap)
• arckit analyze - Comprehensive governance quality analysis
• arckit traceability - Requirements traceability matrix

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Resources

• Service Standard
• What happens at a service assessment
• Service Standard Reports - Browse 450+ published reports