NHSX Standards Catalogue / Directory Discovery and Alpha

Hypothesis

Creating a central repository of interoperability standards, use cases, exemplars and other resources will make it easier for people to find and use standards. This will drive adoption.

What we did

Over a total of 7 weeks we reviewed multiple sources of information to gain a deep understanding of the interoperability landscape, standards, definitions and other complexities in this space.

We conducted 2700 minutes of research over 45 sessions with users. These included:

• 24 semi-structured interviews, 3 focus groups & 1 journey mapping session in discovery
• 1 ideation workshop and 17 prototype testing sessions in alpha

We spoke to health care providers, developers and information specialists, IT suppliers and central teams who oversee digital procurement and technology assurance.

We designed 3 prototypes for a standards directory and tested 2 of them with real users. We identified a technical solution for building the service and developed a beta specification for how to take this work forward. Link to latest prototype (username: nhsx password: test)

Key findings

Our research validated that people can’t find standards easily. Standards are produced by multiple sources with no central directory where everything can be found. Expert users had learnt where to go but it’s a confusing landscape for newcomers.

However we also identified other problems, which means a central directory will not in itself drive adoption. In total we identified 60 unmet user needs across 50 users.

Their pain points included:

• standards not being developed quickly enough
• standards not being mandated and enforced
• low levels of understanding about interoperability and the correct use of standards
• there’s a lack of support and users have competing priorities

We also identified that:

• users want to know which versions of standards are supported and what is in progress
• users would value access to, and the ability to contribute to, use cases and supporting information
• users want to find all the standards relevant to their use case and needs and browse by function
• we need to make sure the directory is kept up to date to build consistency and trust

Prototypes

We developed our strongest concepts into a series of prototypes we could show users to gather feedback.

Prototype 1 - testing

Our objective was to explore:

• if the way the information was structured was logical for expert and novice users
• if the content worked for technical and non-technical users
• if the navigation options worked for users who knew what they wanted as well as those who didn’t
• if the broad headings and sections of the guidance pages made sense

Link to first prototype (username: nhsx password: test)

Prototype 2 - testing

Our objective was to explore:

• if the new descriptions were an improvement
• if the simpler language for filters and statuses were understood by users whilst still accurately reflecting meaning
• if the improved layout of the detailed standard page helped users find what they needed
• if more developed guidance was clear and useful to users new to interoperability

Link to prototype 2 (username: nhsx password: test) Link to prototype 2 including minor content tweaks following first 4 users (same username and password)

Prototype 3

We made a few final changes including:

• removing security standards to focus the scope on interoperability standards, APIs and * services which support interoperability
• re-structuring how we display related standards
• tweaking feedback mechanisms for more clarity

Link to prototype 3 (username: nhsx password: test) Changelog for all prototypes (same username and password)

Prototype 4

Our objective was to explore:

• if the community contribution platform we set up in GitHub would be usable for technical and non-technical users
• if the initial roadmap we put together was understood by users and helped them plan for their own standards development
• if the layout of the detailed standard page we iterated helped user to scan and find what they needed

Link to prototype 4 (username: nhsx password: test) Changelog for all prototypes (same username and password)

Prototype 5

We made a few changes including:

• moving the community platform from a testing area to NHSx GitHub account
• improving some of the community platform features
• re-structuring the roadmap to make it more easier to navigate for users

Link to prototype 5 (username: nhsx password: test) Changelog for all prototypes (same username and password)