case studies
DTI / BERR
[ Point of Single Contact Stakeholder Requirements Capture ]
Client comment
"Panlogic delivered against the project's objectives in a timely and professional manner. Their consultancy approach was effective in capturing a wide set of learnings, encouraging stakeholders to think from a user point of view as well as from a professional perspective. Their final report set out a clear direction for the future development of the portal. Panlogic worked well with us as part of a team responding flexibly to developments in the project. They listened to our needs and were responsive throughout the project. I would recommend them both for their expertise and because they are easy to work with."
Craig Belsham
Assistant Director
Department for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform (BERR)
Requirements
This project was commissioned by the DTI in response to EU legislation as set out in the Services Directive and referring specifically to the provision of a national Point of Single Contact (PSC). Whilst the Directive sets out minimum legal requirements for the PSC, each member state must decide how this is best implemented.
To that end, a requirements capture exercise was carried out by Panlogic, in order to clearly establish and set out in a report stakeholders views as to the essential and other desirable features and requirements for the UK PSC. Its findings were to inform recommended routes for future implementation.
Strategy and Delivery
As a high-level consultancy exercise, the report had to be representative of stakeholder opinion and expertise, whether political, operational or technical. The report also needed to provide a clear conceptual and implementational direction for the PSC.
The exercise made use of a series of stakeholder workshops, telephone interviews and face-to-face depth interviews to identify the needs of potential users of the PSC portal as well as other affected parties such as the intermediaries and regulating authorities. It also captured the operational requirements of the PSC by the Services Directive, and considered other best practice learnings from related e-Government projects. These requirements were then prioritised in order to determine the necessary and preferred features of a Point of Single Contact portal.
A user-centred methodology was employed to identify and meet the needs of priority user types. This involved the use of user personae and scenarios to encourage government and other professionals to examine the issues from a user perspective first before then applying a professional 'filter' in later discussion.
Value
The resulting report provided a clear and consolidated stakeholder view on the implementation of Britain's PSC, as well as providing a firm professional steer on the optimal form and scope of the portal.
Its user-centred approach built confidence on behalf of stakeholders who felt users' needs were rightly being placed at the centre of development. Wide and appropriate consultation also fostered stakeholder buy-in at both this and later stages of the overall project.
The report is now available on the DTI website, helping to publicly demonstrate the department's rigorous and best practice approach to e-Government strategy.