NHS service standard - 11. Choose the right tools and technology

Choose tools and technology that let you build a good service in an efficient, cost effective way.

Build a sustainable service which allows you to change direction in future.

Why it's important

When you make a decision about technology, you're making a significant investment. The choices you make will have a huge impact on your ability to create, iterate and operate the service in a flexible, sustainable way.

What you should do

When considering technical architecture, choice of programming languages, development toolchain and other technology choices, your team should be able to show that you:

• use appropriate tools and technologies to create and operate a good service in a cost effective way - for example, by automating things where possible
• use HTML5 by default
• have made good decisions about what technology to build and what to buy
• understand tech decisions that have been made outside your team and challenge these decisions where it will improve the service
• understand total cost of ownership of the technology and have kept the ability to make different choices in future - for example, reducing the chances of getting locked into contracts for specific tools and suppliers by using open standards
• use standard NHS technology components where possible, for example the NHS login for identity assurance
• have an effective approach to managing any legacy technology the service integrates with or depends on

Guidance

GOV.UK resources

• Building a resilient frontend using progressive enhancement
• Choosing technology: an introduction
• Technology Code of Practice
• Working with open standards

Read more about this

• Code of conduct for data-driven health and care technology (Department of Health and Social Care)
• Enabling infrastructure (NHS Digital - beta)
• Health Developer Network: information and tools to help developers create software for health and social care (NHS Digital)
• Identity verification and authentication standard for digital health and care services, DCB3051 (NHS Digital)

Other help

• Talk to us on the service manual Slack channel or email the standards team at service-manual@nhs.net.