Technology Code of Practice (TCoP) Review
Generate a comprehensive TCoP review document for UK Government technology projects, assessing compliance against all 13 criteria.Command
Arguments
- project (required): Project identifier (ID or name)
Examples
Purpose
The Technology Code of Practice is a set of 13 criteria to help government design, build and buy technology. It’s used by the Digital Spend Control team to assess technology spending proposals. This command generates a comprehensive TCoP review by:- Assessing compliance against all 13 TCoP points
- Identifying gaps and required actions
- Generating an overall compliance scorecard
- Prioritizing critical issues
- Providing actionable recommendations
The 13 TCoP Points
- Define user needs - Use research to understand user needs
- Make things accessible and inclusive - Design services for everyone
- Be open and use open source - Publish code openly and contribute to open source
- Make use of open standards - Build technology that uses open standards
- Use cloud first - Use public cloud first before considering alternatives
- Make things secure - Keep systems and data safe with appropriate security measures
- Make privacy integral - Make sure citizens’ rights are protected by integrating privacy
- Share, reuse and collaborate - Avoid duplicating technology already available
- Integrate and adapt technology - Build services that can adapt and scale
- Make better use of data - Use data more effectively
- Define your purchasing strategy - Plan how you’ll pay for and buy technology
- Make your technology sustainable - Make sure your technology is sustainable
- Meet the Service Standard - Meet the Service Standard for services
Output
GeneratesARC-{PROJECT_ID}-TCOP-v{VERSION}.md with:
- Executive summary with overall compliance status
- Detailed assessment for each of the 13 TCoP points
- Evidence and checklist items for each point
- Gaps and required actions
- Overall compliance scorecard (X/13 compliant)
- Critical issues list
- Prioritized recommendations (High/Medium/Low)
- GovS 005 alignment mapping
Assessment Guidelines
Status Indicators:- ✅ Compliant: Clear evidence exists, all key criteria met, no significant gaps
- ⚠️ Partially Compliant: Some aspects addressed but significant gaps remain
- ❌ Non-Compliant: Criteria not met, no evidence of compliance, or critical gaps exist
- N/A: Point is genuinely not applicable
- No DPIA for projects processing personal data (Point 7)
- No accessibility testing for user-facing services (Point 2)
- No security assessment completed (Point 6)
- Public cloud not considered (Point 5)
- No user research conducted (Point 1)
Prerequisites
MANDATORY (warn if missing):- REQ (Requirements) - FR/NFR IDs, technology constraints, compliance requirements
- PRIN (Architecture Principles) - Technology standards, approved platforms
- STKE (Stakeholder Analysis) - User needs, priorities
- RISK (Risk Register) - Security and compliance risks
- DIAG (Architecture Diagrams) - Deployment topology
Project Phase Considerations
Discovery/Alpha
- User research, technical spikes, open source exploration expected
Beta
- Accessibility testing, security assessments, DPIA should be complete
Live
- All 13 points must be fully compliant
Special Considerations
For AI/ML systems: Also consider AI Playbook requirements (may need ATRS) For public-facing services: Point 13 (Service Standard) is mandatory For Digital Spend Control: Focus on:- Point 5 (Cloud First)
- Point 11 (Purchasing Strategy)
- Point 8 (Reuse and Collaboration)
UK Government Context
- Digital Marketplace: G-Cloud, DOS frameworks for procurement
- GDS Service Standard: 14-point standard for public services
- NCSC guidance: Cyber security best practices
- UK GDPR: Data protection requirements
- Cyber Essentials: Baseline security certification
- Cloud First policy: Public cloud preferred unless justified otherwise
- GovS 005: TCoP is the implementation guidance for the Government Functional Standard for Digital
Related Commands
arckit service-assessment- GDS Service Standard assessment (Point 13 overlap)arckit secure- Security assessment (Point 6)arckit ai-playbook- AI governance (for AI/ML systems)