Why projects are assessed

Every Ontario government project that involves creating or improving a digital service needs to meet the Digital Service Standard.

This applies to both in-house and vendor projects throughout their development.

To support this, we use a digital assessment process to:

  1. Evaluate digital services against Ontario’s Digital Service Standard
  2. Guide and support teams with the right tools and advice so their services:

When projects are assessed

You’ll show your work to your assessment team at the end of each phase in the digital service design cycle. The phases are:

  1. Pre-Discovery – when you identify the problem you are trying to solve and the team that will work to solve it
  2. Discovery – when you do the research to understand who uses, or will use, your service and what they need
  3. Alpha – when you create and test your prototype
  4. Beta – when you apply what you’ve learned in the previous phases to build and refine your service so it’s ready to go live

If your project is already underway, we’ll work with you on a plan to get it on track to meet the Digital Service Standard.

Who assesses your progress

A team of 3 to 5 people will assess your progress.

We pick people to be assessors because they understand who and what is needed to create user-centered digital services. Your assessment team will include experts in disciplines that are relevant to your service (for example, a product lead, experience designer or technology lead).

What to expect at assessments

Each assessment is an opportunity for your project team to show off its hard work and for the assessment team to give feedback and make sure your project’s on track to meet the Digital Service Standard.

Your first step is to contact the digital assessments team if you:

  • are starting a new digital service project
  • have already started a new digital service project
  • are improving an existing digital service
  • are not sure if your project will need an assessment

Before the assessment

We’ll send you a list of questions that you’ll need to submit before each assessment.

During the assessment

The assessment team will expect you to:

  • show the work you’ve done for that phase
  • answer questions about what you’ve done to meet the standard
  • explain what you plan to do next

At the end of the assessment, we will give you an Assessment Note that includes the result of your assessment and details how your service aligns with the Digital Service Standard.

Training and key resources