04 / LIVE

Live

Live is not the end of the project — it is the beginning of long-term ownership. The service runs in production, real people depend on it, and the team keeps measuring, fixing, and improving until the service is eventually retired or replaced.

At a glance

Purpose
Operate the service reliably, respond to incidents, iterate based on evidence, and plan for the service's full lifecycle.
Typical
Ongoing — often years. Major iterations may resemble mini-Alphas or Betas within the Live phase.
Activities
Monitoring, incident response, content updates, accessibility fixes, user research on live usage, roadmap prioritisation, and retirement planning.
Outputs
Stable uptime, published performance data, a backlog grounded in user need, and documentation for teams who will maintain the service.
End of phase
There is no fixed end — the phase continues until the service is retired, replaced, or substantially transformed.

What good looks like

  • The team has clear ownership and capacity for continuous improvement, not just firefighting.
  • Performance data is published and reviewed regularly.
  • User research continues on the live service, not only at launch.
  • Retirement and migration are considered before they become emergencies.

Common mistakes

  • Disbanding the multidisciplinary team immediately after launch.
  • Letting technical debt and content drift accumulate without prioritised remediation.
  • Ignoring support contacts as a source of insight about user pain.
  • Assuming Live means no further assessment or governance attention.

Service Standard points in focus

These points often receive particular attention during Live. See the full Service Standard guide.

Double Diamond mapping

Live is ongoing Deliver — maintaining and improving what works. When major new capabilities are added, teams often cycle back through Discover and Develop modes within the Live phase, even if they do not formally restart Discovery. Read the full mapping →

Related phases

← Beta

Phase guidance is published on GOV.UKunder the Open Government Licence v3.0. UCD Services is an independent resource.