Building standards - digital competency assessment system: options appraisal

7. Recommendation

7.1 Recommended Approach

1. The recommended implementation for the Digital CAS solution is Option 3: Development of a bespoke .Net Digital CAS solution.

2. This is primarily because this option would be tailored to meet the user requirements exactly, and leaves plenty of flexibility for extension to meet any future requirements. This option scored highly for most assessment criteria and minimises the recurring cost of the proposed solution. A bespoke .Net application can be hosted in any preferred cloud hosting solution, and avoids vendor lock-in as the Building Standards Hub would maintain control over the data.

3. The main drawback to this approach is a higher initial implementation cost compared to other approaches.

7.2 Alternative approach

1. An alternative approach for the Digital CAS solution would be Option 4: Development of a low-code Digital CAS solution within the Microsoft Power Platform.

2. This approach provides most of the same benefits as option 3. It can be hosted within an identified Azure subscription, and also helps to avoid vendor lock-in. Additionally, it has the same benefits around being tailored to the user requirements and leaves flexibility for future development. However, it should be recognised that whilst user requirements can be met, it will be more difficult to do so compared to the bespoke .Net approach. In addition, compromises will need to be made in terms of the look and feel of the solution, making this approach less attractive than the bespoke .Net approach.

3. Another differentiating factor with this approach is that it has higher recurring costs. This is offset by lower initial development costs, so might be an option if there is a preference to reduce initial capital expenditure at the expense of additional operational (recurring) expenditure.

7.3 Interim Solution

1. Options 1 and 2 should not be considered as a long-term solution, as they do not meet all the expected requirements of the Digital CAS. However, since they can be realised with very little capital expenditure, they might be suitable for consideration as a short-term solution. This might improve the user experience of building standards verifiers in the meantime while further procurement and discovery activities are carried out for the recommended option.