Public Sector · Information Systems
Information systems for the public sector.
Systems with multiple roles, records, deadlines and audit trails - designed to absorb a change in regulation.
When public bodies bring us in
- you're preparing a tender and need a supplier
- the project needs several disciplines at once
- an existing system needs extending or connecting
- a procedure needs digitalising from application to decision
- long-term support after handover is required
What this means for the contracting authority
- Traceability for every step of the procedure.
- Documentation that matches the tender requirements.
- One accountable partner even with several vendors.
- Acceptance testing against pre-agreed criteria.
- Support and development after handover.
Problem → solution
Characteristics
- roles and permissions along the org structure
- records with full change history
- deadlines and reminders
- audit trail
- reports and exports
- archiving
- separate staging and production
What a public information system consists of
Besides its subject matter, a public information system always has an administrative layer: organisations, user roles, permissions, workflows, case records, documents, notifications, reporting and an audit trail. That layer decides whether the system is manageable after go-live.
- internal users and their roles
- external users: applicants, companies, citizens
- organisations and the permission hierarchy
- workflows with approvals and deadlines
- case records and change history
- documents, attachments and the link to the document system
- notifications by email and in-system
- dashboards, indicators and exports
- an audit trail of access and changes
Workflows and record states
A central part of such a system is a precisely defined record state: when a case is submitted, in progress, returned for completion or rejected, and who may perform each transition. We write those rules down before development, because they are also the basis for the test scenarios and the acceptance criteria.
Taking over data from existing records
When replacing an existing system, migration is often the hardest part. It needs a source inventory, field mapping, cleaning, a trial run, validation and reconciliation before the final cutover. Records that cannot be migrated are not ignored - a decision is taken for them and documented.
The system has to survive a change in the rules
The regulation a system implements will change - the only question is when. If deadlines, amounts, forms and procedure steps are written into the code, every change becomes a development project. If they are configurable, it is a setting.
- deadlines and amounts as settings, not code
- rules valid from a given date onwards
- older cases still handled under the old rules
- forms that can be amended without a developer
- history showing which rule applied at the time
Roles, deadlines and the audit trail
An administrative procedure is not a form with data but a sequence of steps with deadlines and responsible people. So the system has to be able to say who holds a case, how much time remains and what has happened to it so far.
- assigning cases and covering absences
- deadline counting, including suspension
- a warning before a deadline expires
- an audit trail that cannot be altered
- reports on workload and backlogs
How we run a public project
Requirements
Tender and technical requirements are translated into a delivery plan with milestones and responsibilities.
Project management
One contact, regular progress reporting and subcontractor coordination in one place.
Quality and security
Test scenarios, a security review and compliance with the client's requirements before acceptance.
Documentation
Technical and user documentation, instructions and training material.
Acceptance and SLA
Acceptance testing, handover and support with agreed response times.
Related work
FAQ
Do you help prepare tender documentation?
We can contribute to the technical part and clarifications, within public procurement rules.
Who manages the subcontractors?
We do. The client has one contact and one progress report.
What does post-handover support include?
Agreed response times, defect resolution and enhancements as agreed.
Related solutions
Sounds like your project?
Send us the project description, your existing system, the tender documents or the event date.