Have you heard of ScotLIS?

Have you heard of ScotLIS? We here at Registers of Scotland (RoS) ask this as part of our user research when speaking to customers. Their responses range from: “Yes, about 20 years ago”, and: “Is that still going?”, to: “I saw a demonstration last year.”

We are developing the online ScotLIS service, starting by displaying RoS data, but with the flexibility to add other “layers” to give context and share data from other sources. We are designing and developing a service that can be used by the public, as well as professional customers, making some RoS data freely available for the first time.

The new service makes RoS ownership information more accessible – an important new feature is map-based searching. We make sure we speak regularly to customers about our existing service as well as showing it to potential new users.

Karen Alexander, the senior responsible owner for ScotLIS at RoS, said: “We have thought ahead and recognised that these days most people access the internet from their phones and tablets more than desktop computers. As with all Government digital services, we are making sure it’s intuitive, usable and accessible to the widest audience possible.

“The development team is using an ‘agile’ method to create the software: they work iteratively, getting feedback and responding to it throughout the process, not keeping it a secret until the end. This means that when ScotLIS is launched in the autumn, many people will have already seen and used it.

“On that note, if you are tempted to get involved (without taking up too much of your time), you can register for our User Experience Panel at www.ros.gov.uk”

Professor Stewart Brymer OBE commented: “I am very pleased to see the concept of an easily accessible online portal to all important information relative to land and property being developed by Registers of Scotland.

“This is the ideal complement to the Land Register. I would encourage active engagement with Registers in the development of the concept and look forward to seeing the first iteration later this year.”

To read more about ScotLIS, please visit www.ros.gov.uk