AlphaGovUK

alpha.gov.uk is now open. The website is a prototype for a single UK Government domain, and gives developers, Government and the public an opportunity to assess design objectives, web technologies, information architectures and user experiences which are currently laid out for the project.

With news of several government online projects facing imminent closure, the decision to adopt an open release cycle may come as no surprise: involve stakeholders (i.e. the British public) early to demonstrate what is both prudent and possible, before a huge amount of (public) money and time have been spent. So far, so good.

(Last year's strategy review of UK Government's online services, overseen by lastminute.com co-founder Martha Lane Fox, makes for an interesting read. The document is available to read here (2.58MB PDF) from the Cabinet Office website — via nicepaul.)