3.4. Moving into Alpha

As you move through the Service Design and Delivery phases, the team will naturally expand and contract, ensuring you have the right skill composition for each phase.

The recommended team composition for the Alpha phase is:

• Service Manager
• Product Manager
• Delivery Manager
• Technical Architect
• Service Designer
• Interaction Designer
• User Researcher
• Front-end Developer
• Back-end Developer

During Alpha, the team will develop possible solutions to test the hypothesis defined in the Discovery phase. This is done by creating low fidelity code based prototypes, testing technical integrations and endpoints. By testing the required technical integrations and end-points during Alpha you’ll avoid any significant surprises during Beta.

Activities you’ll carry out during Alpha:

• Develop multiple designs and solutions that could address the user need
• Build code based prototypes of possible solutions
• Conduct user research to identify which solutions best address their needs
• Iterate the prototype, incorporating the feedback from users
• Evaluate possible solutions
• Continuously evaluate the service against the Digital Service Standard
• Test technical integrations and end-points

At the end of the Alpha phase, you’ll have explored multiple prototypes, evaluating each solution against user needs, tested technical integrations and endpoints. You’ll use this understanding to define the MVP scope for your service.