Building block statuses
Every building block on the MoJ Design System has a status. This is to help you know how to use them. The statuses are:
- Experimental
- To be reviewed
- Official
- Archived
The Design System team is working to bring everything to the ‘official’ status. They may also be archived.
Learn how you can help develop design system building blocks.
‘Experimental’ status
When the experimental status launches, anyone in the MoJ will be able to add a building block to the Design System. ‘Experimental’ building blocks will be given a brief sense check by the MoJ Design System team. They will next be changed when they’re developed to ‘official’ status.
An experimental building block can be anything from a screenshot with very brief documentation, to something more developed (with code and a Figma design). They can be used as a starting point, concept or idea.
They’ll be early in development and may not have been accessibility tested or considered for use beyond a particular service. They’re only to be used in alpha and beta phases.
Experimentation, testing and adding findings to the Github discussion for each experimental building block will help people understand how to use it. This user-led process helps people to share their designs, collaborate and work in the open.
‘To be reviewed’ status
Building blocks with a ‘to be reviewed’ status were added for use by everyone at MoJ, possibly a long time ago.
They have not been reviewed recently and the work to develop them is not known.
‘Official’ status
When an ‘experimental’ or ‘to be reviewed’ building block gets a full review by the Design System team it becomes ‘official’.
This review includes an organisation-wide discovery and multi-disciplinary team input (including accessibility testing). Usage is thoroughly documented.
‘Official’ status building blocks can be used in every product phase. They’ll be supported and maintained in the long-term.
‘Archived’ status
Building blocks with an ‘archived’ status are no longer being supported and should not be used.
They have been archived because they’re no longer needed. This is usually because the need has been met by the GOV.UK Design System (which we do not want to duplicate).