Chapter 4 Governance and Quality Assurance

4.1 Governance

Each report should include a department/agency logo in the top left corner. All dashboards should have a version control page and information about who to contact for feedback/issues. It should also include an introduction to the dashboard and individual reports should have a short paragraph explaining the purpose of the report.

Use the version control standards (to be determined) for each major change. Use a naming convention that allows files to be sorted in chronological order and always include the version number in the filename.

  • v.0.1 for 1st draft copy, then 0.1 increments for reviewed amendments

  • v1.0 for the signed-off copy (and 0.1 increments for minor change requests)

4.2 Quality assurance

The DfE Quality Assurance Framework applies to all analysis, including dashboards. A bespoke Dashboard QA log can be found on the QA SharePoint pages. The QA log is based on the DfE QA framework but has been tailored such that the checks suggested, and language used, are more specific to dashboards.

The log should be used for any dashboards that have required a total of 3 or more days resource to create or which have a high impact. By using the log, you can record QA activity through ratings, comments, and recommendations for further action. The QA ratings given for each area will be converted into an overall QA score for your dashboard which can be seen at the top of the page. As per the wider guidance around using a QA log, you are free to add additional activities to the log to record any other checks that have taken place.

It is also important to remember that the purpose of the log is to reflect the level of risk associated with the work therefore where proportionate QA has been carried out the QA log score may be low and/or there may be several areas that show as red or amber. As long as your customers are aware of and happy to accept the level of risk, that is totally acceptable. If that is not the case, further QA activities may be required in order to strengthen the QA and reduce risk.

If you have any questions about the QA framework or the dashboard QA log, or if you have any suggestions about how the dashboard QA log could be improved, please contact Model Improvement and Assurance Unit using the following email:

The DfE Dashboard QA Log