The institution considers and embeds quality at each stage of product development from concept (policy intent) to delivery of a social security benefit or service.
A product (or service offering) is defined as all the component elements that constitute a social security benefit or service, including:
- Desired social outcome;
- Target participant segment;
- Enabling legislation;
- Supporting policy statements;
- Detailed programme design and business rules;
- Business processes (internal and external);
- ICT systems;
- Performance standards;
- Documentation (e.g. forms, letters, pamphlets);
- Publicity and marketing materials;
- Website and social media;
- Access channels (e.g. face to face, agents, call centres, online);
- Launch and awareness process;
- Participant experience;
- Performance and evaluation criteria.
Guideline code
SQ_00500
Mechanism
Mechanism
- The management should engage with participant councils and forums (see Guideline 2) to build participants’ experiences and perspectives into the product development life cycle as appropriate. For participants, it is critical that new products integrate efficiently and effectively with existing products and the existing service environment.
- The management should insist on the engineering principle that all product development and revision processes are repeatable and replicable.
- The management should adopt a sound project management methodology, including effective use of steering committees, executive-level sponsorship and project-level quality assurance.
- The management should ensure that the process of introducing a new product is robust across service delivery channels (e.g. face to face, call centre, third party, the Internet). They should specify which channels are to be used or not used (as certain channels may not be appropriate for certain products).
- The management should appoint executive-level product owners empowered to ensure quality standards are maintained and measured at each stage of the development process.
Structure
Structure
- The management should develop a structured approach to product development which incorporates and measures service quality at each stage of the design and production process. This will increase the probability of the final product meeting quality standards.
- The management should establish a standard product development methodology.
- The management should appoint a product owner with responsibility for the quality of the final product, and a product manager responsible for ensuring quality is embedded in each component part of the product. These roles could be fulfilled by the same person.
Title HTML
Guideline 3. The product development life cycle
Type
Guideline_1
Weight
9