Success criteria and service constraints - tpximpact/f4-fsa-field-ops-discoveries-overview GitHub Wiki

Success criteria are the outcomes of a process or task that enable a 'job to be done', and that meets the stakeholder's expectations and objectives.

Service constraints are factors that should be taken into consideration when designing, operating and improving the Approvals service.

Constraints are not necessarily roadblocks or reasons not to do things; they provide a way to recognise concerns, potential clashes of interest, technical and process-related issues, and other factors that could prevent the service from being fully successful.

They enable a service team to either find ways to remove or reduce the constraint, or build an acceptance that there will be limitations to what the service can achieve.

Constraints could be:

• Known knowns - Things we know will have an impact and can clearly define.
• Known unknowns - Things we know will have an impact but can't clearly define at the moment.

This section provides a high level summary of constraints that impact the approvals lifecycle. A full mapping of success criteria and constraints against individual jobs to be done is provided in the Service Blueprint.

High level action	Description	Critical success criteria	Key constraints & considerations
Enquiry	An FBO must be approved by the FSA (or alternative competent authorities to operate specified food production activities. Information about the need for approval and the related processes is available on the food.gov website. Anecdotal evidence from user research suggests FBOs are often alerted to the need for FSA approval by their local authority, and directed to food.gov by them.	An FBO can access and understand information about FSA approvals. Information is relevant. Information enables the FBO to start the application process.	Information must meet current and forthcoming accessibility guidelines. There is a range of digital literacy among FBOs. Access to online information may be limited where establishments are located in remote and/or rural areas.
Application	The FBO is required to provide details of their intended operations before commencing production. The current application forms are generic and do not cater for segmentation in terms of FBO or activity type. The complexity of the application and the requirements for approval means FBOs may employ a third party consultant to advise and support them. This means the true cost of gaining FSA approval can be considerable but this is a cost which is typically hidden from the FSA.	An FBO can provide the information needed by the FSA to assess the FBO's readiness to operate. The FSA can receive application information and capture it in its core systems.	Applications can currently be submitted by email or post. Postal application volumes are small (estimated at 5%). There is additional work in processing postal applications. Current application forms were designed for paper and do not have scope to hide irrelevant content based on user type or previous selections. There is a disparity between the data that must be collected as a legislative requirement and the information that is useful to the FSA and/or facilitates downstream processes. Correctly and accurately capturing FBO details, such as entity type, is critical at this stage to ensure legal and financial actions later are valid. There is a dependency on the Finance team to complete background checks on applicants. There is a dependency on external information sources, such as Companies House, to complete background checks on applicants. There is a dependency on audit reports which is maintained in other repositories, and a need to analyse that information, to complete background checks on applicants. Business rules apply. There is a 10 day response time from receipt of the application for the FVL to make first contact with the FBO.
Advisory visits	The FSA offers advisory visits as a way for FBOs to assess their readiness to apply for approval. As of April 2019, advisory visits are a paid-for service (£340) and must be pre-paid.	An FBO can confirm their readiness to apply for approval.	Advisory visits are requested as part of the approval application process although an FBO's readiness for approval may not be determined until the visit. Prepayment for visits was introduced in April 2019 to reduce the number of FBOs using advisory visits as a form of 'free' consultancy. There are requirements for approval, such as HACCP, that require specialist knowledge and this can be provided by dedicated third party consultancies.
FBO withdraws application	An FBO may decide not to continue with their application for approval.	Where an FBO decides not to pursue approval, they can withdraw their application.	Applicant FBOs are not provided with a reference number. Applications are stored alphabetically by business name. Not pursuing an application is either not communicated to the FSA, or notification is via email or phone call.
Assessment visits & Unannounced visits	At multiple points through the Approvals Lifecycle, the FSA needs to schedule and conduct both announced and unannounced assessment visits to FBO establishments. Visits typically result in the production of a written report, and often an accompanying photo evidence report. Visits are a critical part of assessing an FBO's readiness to operate, and to maintaining the approval over time.	The FSA can schedule visits to FBO establishments. The FSA can conduct visits to FBOs and capture information. The FSA can create, store, distribute, and view written and photo reports on visits. The FSA can manage tasks related to visits.	Responsibility for visits is shared across teams/resources. There is no central way to schedule or track visits that can be easily viewed by all those involved. The lack of task or case management tools means the Approvals Team creates manual work schedules/reports. Most communication and notification is via email. Reports may be stored locally in personal OneDrive prior to being sent to the Approvals Team and then stored in Wisdom. Photo reports may comprise approx. 100 photos. These may be emailed separately as part of compiling the evidence report. Business rules apply. There is a 10 day turnaround time to submit visit reports. There is five day turnaround time to review and quality check reports.
Grant conditional, extended conditional, & full approval	Approval is a phased process. Where recommended by the assessing FVL, and FBO is granted conditional approval. The FBO is allocated an Approval Number at this point. An FBO with conditional approval must be further assessed in operation before the FVL can recommend full approval.	The FSA can notify Approval Panel members and schedule tasks to review complex cases. The FSA can view information and reports on FBOs to review and confirm/refuse approval. The FSA can manage tasks related to granting approval.	Business rules apply. Once an FBO is granted conditional approval, a six month time limit applies to complete full approval. A three month time limit applies to conduct the first audit.
Change an approval	An approval can be revised during the lifespan of the FBO operations. Change to an approval can be triggered by FBO request when they add activities, change the structure of their premises, or revise their business details. Change to an approval can be triggered by an FSA internal process or action.	An FBO can request a change to their approval, or advise the FSA of a change. The FSA can view information held on an FBO to determine the outcome of a change. The FSA can manage tasks related to changing an approval. Stakeholders involved in downstream processes are notified and can complete dependent activities.	There is complexity in the regulations governing each type of change. The same form is used to submit a change request as to submit a new application. The workflow behind each change type is different. Some change requests do not specifically impact the approval, e.g. change of name.
Surrender an approval	An FBO can surrender their approval if they cease an activity and no longer need to be approved by the FSA, or if they close their business.	An FBO can notify the FSA that they will no longer be operating activities that require FSA approval. The FSA can manage tasks related to surrendering an approval. Stakeholders involved in downstream processes are notified and can complete dependent activities. Audit and charging processes are updated.	Surrendering an approval has an impact on the audit cycle, Field Operations inspections, charging process, and operations assurance processes such as business and resource planning. Surrendering an approval can have an impact on traceability and animal health processes, particularly where health or ID marks have been issued. If downstream teams, such as Finance, are not notified early enough and the approval is removed the charging system cannot complete its processing.
Review an approval	Where the FSA is made aware of serious deficiencies either as the outcome of its audit and inspection cycles, or where a third party has alerted the FSA, an approval can be put under review. Depending on the outcome of a review, an approval can continue with no further action; be suspended while the FBO implements measures to restore approved standards of production; be withdrawn.		Changes to an approval can have an impact on the audit cycle, Field Operations inspections, charging process, and operations assurance processes such as business and resource planning.
Suspend an approval	Where an FSA veterinary expert and decision maker has deemed that an FBO can meet the required standards within an agreed timeframe, the decision can be taken to suspend approval.	The FSA can notify an FBO that their approval is suspended. The FSA can manage tasks related to suspending an approval. Stakeholders involved in downstream processes are notified and can complete downstream activities. Audit and charging processes are updated.	Suspending an approval has a downstream impact on the audit cycle, Field Operations inspections, revenue and accounting, and operations assurance processes. If downstream teams, such as Finance, are not notified early enough and the approval is removed the charging system cannot complete its processing.
Withdraw an approval	Where an FSA veterinary expert and decision maker has deemed that an FBO cannot meet the required standards within an agreed timeframe, the decision can be taken to withdraw approval.		Withdrawing an approval has a downstream impact on the audit cycle, Field Operations inspections, revenue and accounting, and operations assurance processes. Withdrawing an approval can have an impact on traceability and animal health processes, particularly where health or ID marks have been issued.
Transfer an approval	The competent authority for food production varies depending on the activity being undertaken. This means an FBO may need approval from either the FSA and/or their local authority/district council. Where an FBO changes its model of operations or business, and the activities it undertakes it may be necessary to transfer approval to or from the FSA.	When an FBO currently approved by their local authority starts an activity where the FSA is the competent authority, approval can be transferred to the FSA.. When an FBO currently approved by the FSA ends all activity where the FSA is the competent authority, approval can be transferred to the relevant local authority.	There is complexity in the legislation determining when the FSA is the competent authority in specific circumstances and when the FSA takes precedence over a local authority/district council. There is some variation in the devolved adminstrations. Transferring an approval has a downstream impact on the audit cycle, Field Operations inspections, revenue and accounting, and operations assurance processes. Transferring an approval can have an impact on traceability and animal health processes, particularly where health or ID marks have been issued. The level of experience and expertise around approvals varies considerably between local authorities/district councils. There is little consistency in the way approvals are managed and many local processes and procedures.
Reports	Quarterly production reports are created for management purposes. Approvals team-level 'reports' are created to allocate upcoming work.	The agency can monitor the performance of the approvals process. The Approvals Team, and key stakeholders, can identify workload trends, pinch points, and resourcing needs. Stakeholders can track the status of individual approvals.	Data must currently be collated from multiple sources, systems and spreadsheets. Lack of clarity over what reporting is needed and how it is used.
Publishing approved establishment information	The FSA is obliged to publish details of approved establishments in the UK.	A list of all FBOs in the UK can be published and made available and accessible to the public.	Information must meet current and forthcoming accessibility guidelines. Data standards are inconsistent within the FSA, making the transfer and manipulation of information difficult and/or time-consuming. The FSA is required to publish details of all approved establishments in the UK, including those where the competent authority is another agency or organisation (local authorities in England, Wales and Scotland, district councils in Northern Ireland).