Make the next step obvious.
Familiar controls should communicate what they do. Buttons, inputs and navigation should behave as people expect, so they can concentrate on the task.
About Rotunda
Built by a practitioner who knew where the work got stuck.
Rotunda began with a practical question: why do important business processes still involve so much work around the work?
From the MLRO’s chair
Built from experience of doing the job.
Rotunda was built by a practitioner who had done the job: assembling evidence, explaining judgements and producing records that could stand up to challenge.
The assessment methodology has been used in more than one regulated business and was refined through independent review and regulatory scrutiny. The useful test was always whether somebody else could follow the reasoning.
Our aim is to make useful tools accessible to organisations of all sizes, with clear processes for practitioners and records that reviewers and regulators can follow.
Our principles
Make demanding work easier to do.
Show the result as people work.
Make progress and changes visible. People should see what an answer changes and what remains to be done.
Keep the reasoning accessible.
Simplicity must leave room for evidence and explanation. A clear interface should make the underlying judgement easier to inspect.
Keep the effort proportionate.
Setup, learning time and cost should fit the businesses using the tools. Modern technology helps us keep the focus on practical value.
Why Rotunda?
A structure designed to endure change.
Designed by John Nash, the Rotunda began as a temporary ballroom in 1814. It was later moved to Woolwich and reopened as a museum in 1820.
That capacity to adapt is the connection we draw: a clear framework that remains useful as circumstances change.
Explore the building’s historyWhy Scovell?
A name drawn from intelligence work.
George Scovell
Wellington’s chief cipher officer
George Scovell served in the Intelligence Branch during the Peninsular War, part of the Napoleonic Wars, and was for a time Wellington’s chief cipher officer. The National Archives holds his papers, including intercepted French dispatches.
Our screening tool takes its name from that work. For us, the connection is careful interpretation: examine the information, understand its context and keep the evidence behind a decision.
Read the National Archives account