Software underpinning the Planning Portal receives top quality accreditation
The software platform underpinning the online Planning Portal, through which planning applications are made in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, has received a prestigious quality accreditation from the Software Improvement Group (SIG) and TÜV Informationstechnik GmbH (TÜViT).
The certification has been awarded to the KeyChain, platform developed by TerraQuest, the business that has provided Planning Portal as joint venture with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities (DLUHC) since 2015.
TerraQuest is the only UK based business to receive the accreditation in the last 12 months, in recognition of the robustness and flexibility of the coding that underpins KeyChain platform and, in turn, the Planning Portal.
In 2019, four years after acquiring the government’s planning application site, TerraQuest began rebuilding Planning Portal using its inhouse expertise. The KeyChain platform was developed by TerraQuest to ensure that the Planning Portal could be delivered in a robust and flexible way. By doing so, this enables changes to be made quickly to reflect adjustments in government policy that can be implemented with little to no notice.
SIG was initially engaged as an independent external consultant to the KeyChain platform project in 2021 to ensure it achieved industry-leading standards. Following its completion, TerraQuest elected to submit KeyChain to SIG/ TÜViT to test its Trusted Product Maintainability. TerraQuest now joins the ranks of a small group of businesses globally in holding a four-star ranking.
Laurie Cunningham, the Chief Technology Officer at TerraQuest explained:
“The addition of KeyChain means that Planning Portal can now offer a much more streamlined and efficient service for users, an outcome that we are incredibly proud of. As well as this, KeyChain offers a highly secure platform providing assurance that user’s personal information is safe and protected on our site. Receiving a four-star ranking from SIG/ TÜViT for Trusted Product Maintainability only goes to show how far we have progressed. We have risen to the challenge of achieving this certification while continuing to provide a fantastic service.
“An example of the KeyChain benefits in action is the fact we are now able to react to legislation changes rapidly and reflect them in the platform immediately. We are also now in a position where we can continuously improve the technology that supports the Planning Portal, by releasing new features into the platform on a fortnightly basis. This has enabled us to further strengthen our position in the land and property technology sector.”
Bart Fehmers, CEO of Software Improvement Group said:
“Software improvement Group’s guidance helped accelerate TerraQuest’s platform software development and foster a culture of quality. We are proud to have helped TerraQuest’s KeyChain platform (and framework) achieve a four-star Trusted Product Maintainability certification. This is objective proof of its maintainability, robustness, and futureproof design.”
