Chapter three

How work moves from blank page to ticked list

There are no trophies on this page. Instead, here is the method and the criteria you can hold us to.

1. Conversation

We talk through what you want, who uses it and what already exists. If it is outside our five services, we say so here.

A short document: what is in, what is out, what “finished” means, and which checklist will be used. A quote follows this, never before.

You see working pieces regularly, not a reveal at the end. Questions are written down with their answers.

The relevant checklist is worked through and every item is marked ticked, open or not applicable, with a note. Open items are shown, not hidden.

You receive the work, the annotated checklist and notes on how to look after it.

Criterion	What it means in practice	What it does not mean
Usable by keyboard	Interactive parts can be reached and used without a mouse in our manual check.	A formal accessibility conformance claim.
Readable	Text contrast and size checked; content works when zoomed.	Testing with every assistive technology.
Honest states	Errors explain themselves; success messages only appear on real success.	That nothing can ever fail.
Documented	You can find out how it works without us.	That you will never need help.
Open items visible	Anything unfinished is listed at handover.	That the list is always empty.