NextGen: HN Pilot Centre Update

NextGen: Digital Awarding is a large-scale transformation project that will transform our ways of working and support digital solutions. This will reshape how we deliver our core services to focus on the needs of our internal and external users. We are excited to announce that the NextGen: Digital Awarding project has officially started and has reached its 16 week discovery stage.    

As we updated in the December 2023 issue of the Pilot Centre Update, it’s a key enabler for NextGen: HN, which will be the first suite of products to utilise the new ways of working.     

What is the scope of NextGen: Digital Awarding?   

The scope for NextGen: Digital Awarding is the full range of activities that are used to enable the delivery of qualifications, including both the core and relevant supporting capabilities.   

This includes all the users, technology, and processes that we currently use as well those that we’ll need to build for the future.   

What does NextGen: Digital Awarding mean for NextGen: HN?

 We will be engaging with a range of centres and appointees throughout the discovery phase to understand their needs, challenges and requirements as they relate to NextGen: Digital Awarding’s scope.   

What are the timeframes for NextGen: Digital Awarding?   

The process has 3 stages which will be implemented over the next 3 years:  

• Stage 1 – Discovery (16 weeks from February to June 2024)   

• Stage 2 – Initial implementation – NextGen: HN (by August 2025)   

• Stage 3 –Digital transformation (From August 2025)   

What is discovery?   

Discovery is the foundational element of ensuring that our future business processes, technology, systems, and people provide digital capabilities and processes based on the users needs. Our service design approach has passed over 40 assessments to align with the Digital Scotland Service Standards and the Scottish Approach to Service Design.  

Discovery provides an end-to-end view of activities within our core processes and the interactions between people, technology, systems, processes and data. In addition, it creates a design for future technology and services based on our user and customer needs.   

The NextGen: Digital Awarding project team has provided workshops with over 40 different teams to map the current state across people, process and technology. We are starting engagement with external stakeholders to understand their user needs, as well as progressing workshops to design future state. The engagement will benefit both NextGen: HN and the wider digital transformation.