JIS Advisory Committee (JISAC)

JIS Migration – Business Process Risk Mitigation

JIS Migration – Business Process Risk Mitigation

Purpose

To maximize business value and control risks, the JIS migration projects need to be managed in ways that are disciplined and that ensure good customer input. In the past, JIS projects often incurred problems and project delays when business process reengineering and changes to business rules occurred informally during software development.  In the migration, releases of new functionality will be firmly scheduled and frequent. That means decisions on business rules and processes need to be made at the beginning of project phases (at least 6 months before a development team is assigned to implement functionality) and to be based on consistent principles that will apply throughout the migration. 

The Release Process

The release process for the new JIS establishes a cycle where new functionality is guaranteed to be released every six months. The amount of functionality varies with the complexity of release. This April/October release cycle is different from traditional two to three year projects in which all functionality is implemented only at the end of the development period. In the migration, smaller amounts of business functionality will be implemented every six months in releases of business value to the court customer community. That business value will have been previously identified and prioritized through customer involvement with the JIS Advisory Committee (JISAC), and associated subcommittees.

Customer Involvement

A critical factor for a successful new JIS is increased and continuous customer involvement throughout the migration. “Enterprise Framework Teams” (EF Teams, described below) as well as other user representatives will be involved. User representatives are the most qualified to review business practices and processes, clarify business process risks, define common practices, define requirements, and perform usability reviews of prototypes. Customers will be expected to review the new business functionality as it is added to the prototype every three weeks. A three-week hands-on review of functionality will provide exposure to a wide range of customers as development progresses. This exposure will enhance customer awareness and training. The appropriate associations and committees will designate user representatives drawn from the ranks of judicial officers, court managers, and court staff. Other justice partners will also be represented as necessary.

Business Processes, Risks, and Common Practices

The release process provides for review of business processes and related policies, clarification and resolution of business process risks, and identification of common practices as needed. Mitigation of business process risks and identification of common practices help ensure the new JIS is an enterprise-wide (entire court system) migration. The Enterprise Framework Teams, consisting of court customers and AOC staff facilitators, will review and evaluate processes, associated risks, and common practices necessary for the JIS to have complete functionality.

The EF Teams are built around business process subject areas (calendaring, accounting, case management, etc.) and are not project groups like JIS has used in past development projects. The EF Teams work under the auspices of the JIS Committee, the JIS Advisory Committee and the Best Practices Committee (BPC) of the Board for Judicial Administration (BJA). As policy decisions warrant, the workgroups will bring issues to these bodies. For each EF Team , participation will typically include several days of effort within each six-month release cycle, but it is important to note that the workgroups will make business decisions that will apply throughout the migration.

To make the release process work the AOC has established a Release Management Team. The AOC is coordinating customer support and application development in conjunction with the new release planning process. The Release Management Team works with those who will actually use the system to refine and finalize business processes and requirements, which are implemented by the development teams as new JIS functionality.

Benefits

The new processes and organization are designed to respond quickly and accurately to changing situations as identified by the court community. This agile approach:

• implements proven software development best practices and techniques,
• delivers products early and often,
• adapts to changes in court business practices easily and efficiently, and
• emphasizes a working partnership between AOC and the customer community.

Benefits from these changes include:

• a single integrated, statewide JIS,
• increased business value to customers, and
• improved quality of software.

As a result of the new release process, immediate changes will be noticed in the planning for and delivery of JIS products. The courts and justice partners will see:

• business value with each release,
• predictable content and dates for each delivery cycle,
• support for customers during and after implementation,
• implementation of high priority user requirements first, and
• adoption of common practices on a consistent basis.

Scope

The Release process encompasses new business functionality funded in the 2003/2005 biennium and applies to new migration efforts. Examples of these efforts include the SCOMIS re-write, store documents, and data exchanges. Most projects currently under way will finish their lifecycle under their current direction. These projects include Juvenile and Corrections System, CAPS, and Felony Judgment and Sentence (J&S).