Senior User Group

1
Senior User Group

• 21 May 2008

2
Previous Actions

• ONE aiming to approve 1st projects by end of June
  action ONE
• ONE would like MCIS available from early June
  action MCIS team
• ONE encourages other RDAs to focus on designing
  and rehearsing their processes ready for live use
  INFO
• YF looking at all scenarios, such as segregation
  of duty, and matching of cost categories with
  MCIS action YF
• MCIS team to find out what additional info will
  be required with Aggregate Claim, over and above
  XML file
• Data Dictionary to move from 1.3. to 1.7 action
  MCIS team
• Data Dictionary changes to include
• Changes to schemas
• Technical improvements arising from testing
• Clawbacks in separate schema
• Changes to ref data
• Validation Rules to be issued to Core RDA users
  action MCIS team

3
Project Issues Key ChangesRichard
GoodwinNigel Williams
4
Issues
Project Lifecycle
Iterative Development
System database increments
System User Testing
Implementation Planning

• Un-finalised requirements
• Inconsistent understanding of go live contents
• Need for flexible approach

• Need for constant changes
• No stability for core RDAs to build against
• Perception of missed dates
• Late change requests

• Core system - need to constantly update local
  system with latest increment
• Poor communication of changes

• Lack of understanding of local plans and impact
  of changes
• Lack of focus on go live requirements
• Lack of Communication

5
Options
Change Approach iterative to waterfall
Stop Project
Increase Durations
Increase Resources
Separate Core Full
6
Key Changes

• Postpone Implementation support until system is
  complete
• Define Contents of Go Live Build, both Inclusions
  Exclusions
• Implement Release based approach to achieving
  Sign Off, focus on defined build contents
• Cease development iterations
• Identify Sign Off requirements, for MA, AA, RDAs,
  CA
• Manage effective communications to RDAs, focus on
  reason for changes

Shift Focus to Go Live release
Manage Release Scope
Organisational Changes
System User Testing
Evidence based sign off
7
Key Changes

• Document Included Excluded functionality
• Seek agreement of go live release contents with
  RDAs, CA MA
• Develop Release plan based on agreed Scope
• Identify any workarounds for excluded items
• Implement rigid change control
• Inform reasons for any changes resulting from
  testing
• Assess full impacts of any planned changes, seek
  agreement before development

Shift Focus to Go Live release
Manage Release Scope
Organisational Changes
System User Testing
Evidence based sign off
8
Key Changes

• Anne Smith to co-ordinate Release
• Mark Swan to co-ordinate User Testing
  Implementation in early adopters
• Improve Stakeholder communications
• All RDA liaison to be via Mark Swan
• Reasons for changes to be better communicated
• Better understanding of impacts, in both CLG ,
  full core MCIS users
• Sharing of plans, both business technical in
  order to derive target go live dates

Shift Focus to Go Live release
Manage Release Scope
Organisational Changes
System User Testing
Evidence based sign off
9
Key Changes

• Fully system test full and core system before
  releasing to Users
• Improve checking of design deliverables (data
  dictionary) to ensure changes are identified
• Monitor test script execution against full and
  core release
• Publish test statistics in weekly report
• Implement regular, joint CLG and RDA testing
  forums and reviews of open defects

Shift Focus to Go Live release
Manage Release Scope
Organisational Changes
System User Testing
Evidence based sign off
10
Key Changes

• Prepare definition of sign off criteria
• Appoint Go Live Release Committee
• Seek agreement of sign off criteria
• Prepare plans to gather all evidence required
• Seek additional resources e.g. non functional
  testing
• OGC Gateway Review?

Shift Focus to Go Live release
Manage Release Scope
Organisational Changes
System User Testing
Evidence based sign off
11
News

• On a Brighter note
• End to end test completed with ONE, MA, CA
• Current functionality sufficient for go live
• Agreement with ONE, CA MA to stabilise current
  release
• Team now focussed on go live activity
• Recent MCIS team changes will increase chance of
  success
• Management visits made to several RDAs

12
User Acceptance

• Mark Swan

13
User Acceptance, Topics

• Progress Full MCIS
• Progress Core MCIS
• Test Script coverage
• Testing Statistics
• A.o.b / questions

14
User Acceptance Sign Off

• Joint responsibility of Managing Authority,
  Certifying Authority and RDAs
• Objective is to test the complete system to
  ensure it meets the business requirements
• Based on the simulation of business cycles
• User and organisation maintenance
• New / revised / closed projects
• Submit / approve / certify / authorise applicant
  claim, plus evidence
• Payment of claim with RDA finance system
• Visits / irregularities / clawbacks / risk
  management (deferred to later)
• End-to-end aggregate claim process
• Process payment to RDA via SAP
• Performed by
• One NorthEast and YF, with input from SEEDA and
  LDA
• Certifying Authority
• Managing Authority
• MCIS Project Team
• Performed in a dedicated User Acceptance Test
  environment

15
Progress Full MCIS User Acceptance Testing at
ONE

• Successfully ran scripts (but with some
  observations) covering
• User and organisation set up
• Entering new projects, approving them, accepting
  them and making live
• Revising projects, approving the changes,
  re-issuing them, accepting them and making them
  live again
• Submitting claims, approving, certifying and
  authorising them
• Preparing aggregate claims and submitting to CA
  for approval, certification, authorisation
• LDA and SEEDA visited 29/30 April
• Still to do
• Await fixes to critical and high defects
• Retest and ensure coverage of scripts is well
  documented
• Reporting - COGNOS

16
Progress Full MCIS User Acceptance Testing at
ONE contd..

• Importantly UAT has allowed the opportunity to
  test all claims processes
• Flagged areas for us to look at in more detail
• How to set up RDA as a beneficiary (separate
  organisation in MCIS)
• Workaround if Appraisal is only optional
• How to check applicant claims
• Sample checking on claims (extra functionality
  will be tabled in the RUG)
• Setting up and controlling user access
• Aggregating claims, selecting and deselecting
  them
• How to submit aggregate claims to the CA
• Exploring the checks that the CA needs to perform
• Still to do
• Links to/from SAGE and financial reconciliation
• Visits / irregularities / clawbacks / risks (now
  postponed until later release)

17
Progress Full MCIS User Acceptance Testing at
ONE contd..

• Key view from One North East, MA, and CA is to
  go-live with current version 1.7.1, as presented
  on 16 May, PLUS.
• All critical and high defects fixed and retested
• Assurance that important missing functionality is
  in the firm delivery plan
• Visits, Irregularities, Clawbacks, Risks linked
  together as an integrated work package
• Appraisal mandatory and preceding approval
• On-line expression of interest
• Opportunity to retest the key business processes,
  end-to-end

18
Progress Core MCIS User Acceptance Testing at YF

• Testing started with versions 1.3 and 1.4 of XML
  schemas
• With greatly appreciated help from YF, brought to
  light some design improvements
• Internal referencing of claims to projects and
  programmes
• Removal of clawback data from claims schema
• Use of cardinality rules
• Other minor errors and clarifications
• Error correction after internal testing, followed
  by retesting after YFs input
• Preparation of version 1.7.1. schemas, revised
  from 1.7.0 schemas which were unable to handle
  null files
• In progress over next few days
• YF OP data needs to be mirrored exactly in
  testing environment
• Sample XML from YF to aid internal systems test
• Software revision required prior to YF acting as
  an Aggregate Claim Editor/ Reviewer
• Site visits planned 2 days / week, starting 29/30
  May to help resolve technical issues

19
Status of Helpdesk - SharePoint Issues Last SUG
20
Status of Helpdesk SharePoint Issues This SUG
21
Status of Helpdesk SharePoint Issues Comparison

• of resolved and closed issues as a of total,
  as at last SUG
• Defects 9.5
• Questions 40.4
• Requirements 19.6
• Total 22.0
• of resolved and closed issues as a of total,
  as at this SUG (actually, 20/05)
• Defects 27.5 A lot better
• Questions 30.2 Not so good
• Requirements 23.5 Better
• Total 27.5 Better

22
User Acceptance, End

• A.o.b / questions?

23
Route to Go-live

• Anne Smith

24
Acceptance Approach

• Agree functional scope for go-live
• Complete development of that scope, including
• Upload SFC07 data
• User Interface for setting (Project Aggregate)
  claims to paid
• Ability to aggregate progress report claims (no
  financials), and to produce aggregate claims that
  are either progress report or null (no outputs,
  no financials),
• Ad-hoc reporting implementation
• Restrictions on allocation of roles by
  organisation type
• Disable partially available functions
• XML Validation - business rules
• Complete System Test and UAT formal iteration,
  on final build, with capture of supporting
  evidence
• Complete non-Functional System Testing, including
  performance security
• Fix defects, especially High Critical
• Complete systems and user documentation
• Request sign-off from Release Board

25
Full MCIS What remains?

• ONE, CA MA felt they saw a system last week
  that they could go live on. What is left to
  do?
• We moved to 1.7.1 for go-live release, to
  incorporate approval/appraisal workflow change.
  Work was done on this but has now been deferred,
  in agreement with ONE other RDAs
• Impact 2 weeks
• We reviewed content of 1.7.1 last week, in
  preparation for the testing event at ONE, and
  identified that there are loose ends, and items
  excluded that we believe may be needed
• Impact 5 weeks need to ratify this today
• We are still planning on the basis that UAT be
  signed-off for Core Full together.
• Impact 1 week

26
Plan to initial go-live - Core

• Publish business validation rules for Core by 30
  May, so Core system RDAs including YF can assess
  impact on their developments, and incorporate as
  required. There may be some changes as a result
  of completing v1.7.2 development and fixing
  defects
• Development of v1.7.2 can complete 27 June
  (including 2 weeks just for defect fixing)
• Further XML testing - propose defer until start
  of defect fixing period (16th June), to balance
  timescale / stability requirements do YF agree?
• Allow 2 weeks for XML file upload (to 27 June) 2
  weeks for onwards processing tests (business
  validation rules execution of aggregation
  scenarios) 1 week to re-run scenarios, capturing
  evidence, for UAT sign-off
• Assuming 1 week for final preparations for
  go-live, forecast go-live date for YF would be
  Monday 28th July
• Comments?

27
Plan to initial go-live - Full

• Development of v1.7.2 can complete 27 June
  (including 2 weeks just for defect fixing)
• Allow 2 weeks for non-functional testing
  (security, accessibility, performance)
• Allow 2 weeks for formal system test execution
  against stabilised build, and, in parallel with
  this, 1 week to re-run UAT scenarios, capturing
  evidence
• Assuming 1 week for final preparations for
  go-live, forecast go-live date for ONE would be
  Monday 21st July.
• However, we have proposed Core Full should be
  signed-off together (being part of one overall
  software system) hence plan shows UAT sign-off
  concurrent with YF, on Monday 21st July, and
  concurrent go-live on Monday 28th July.
• Comments?

28
Plan to roll-out MCIS to other RDAs

• Movement in go-live date at ONE and YF knocks-on
  to implementation in other RDAs
• To minimise impact, could we address all other
  RDAs in 2 tranches, supported by an expanded team
  of implementation co-ordinators?
• Appropriate to implement to Full System RDAs
  earlier? Because business need is from set-up of
  projects for Full, and from 1st Aggregate Claim,
  for Core
• Plan proposes
• 1st tranche LDA, SEEDA, NWDA with go-live date
  Monday 11th August
• 2nd tranche EEDA, AWM, EMDA, SWRDA with go-live
  date Monday 11th August
• However, we have proposed Core Full should be
  signed-off together (being part of one overall
  software system) hence plan shows UAT sign-off
  concurrent with YF, on Monday 21st July, and
  concurrent go-live on Monday 15th September.
• Comments?

29
Plan to develop next release of MCIS

• Work on requirements could start 16th June - once
  v1.7.2 enters defect-fixing-only period
• Development could start once documentation for
  current release is completed, 21st July
• System Testing could start once implementation to
  2nd tranche of RDAs is complete 15th September.
  Allowing for 4 weeks system testing, and 2 weeks
  UAT, new release could be in live from Monday 3rd
  November.
• But RDAs may prefer
• Longer development period (increased scope)
• More breathing space between end of 1.7.2
  roll-out and start of UAT of next release
• Longer UAT period
• Comments?

30
End of Part 1 Any Other Business?

• All

31
Lunch

• All!

32
Data Dictionary 1.7.0 / 1.7.1 Release Management

• Mark Swan

33
Data Dictionary

• Data Dictionary v1.7.0 issued on 2nd May 2008
• Cumulative updated since v1.3.0 was issued on 3rd
  March 2008
• Addressed issues raised by RDAs in SharePoint
• Addressed issues found during the system testing
  of XML schemas
• Number of issues raised by RDAs mainly due to
  version control
• Data Dictionary v1.7.1 to be issued 30th May
• Correct problems discovered with v1.7.0 version
  control. This will include the Change Control
  spreadsheet between v1.3.0 and v1.7.1.
• Minor updates following XML Schema testing with
  YF.
• Data Dictionary Validation Rules document to be
  issued for review and feedback on 30th May.
• Final version will be issued once testing has
  been completed with YF.

34
Data Dictionary

• And properly to set expectations with all Core
  System users
• There will be other changes in the future in
  respect of
• Visits, Irregularities, Clawbacks, Project Risk
  design work, not yet finished
• Regulatory and business requirements, currently
  not fully understood, e.g. Programme
  declarations, Major Projects, Article 55 and
  Article 42 and their on-going implications
• Results of systems testing, user acceptance
  testing, Model Office
• Agreed new functionality, sanctioned by the RUG

35
Full MCIS Go-live Build in Detail

• Alex McIntosh

36
Full MCIS Go-live Build in Detail, Topics

• Scope included
• Scope not yet included
• Options

Alex will go through the spreadsheet
37
End of Part 2 Any Other Business?

• All

38
One UAT Feedback Spare slide

• Good points (what we like).
• Ease of use
• Audit trails
• Version control
• Electronic workflow/Gating
• In-built validation
• Web based
• Bad points (what we dont like)
• Project appraisal is in the wrong place
• Some usability issues need sorting out (e.g. some
  screens are a bit clumsy to navigate)
• Role names
• And, of course, theres still some of the system
  we havent seen, yet!