Senior User Group

1
Senior User Group

• 20th August 2008

2
Introduction Previous Actions

• Nigel Williams

3
Key Achievements since Last SUG

• 1 Full system acceptance completed with ONE
• 2 User Testing with YF is substantially
  complete results on web site
• 3 Security Accreditation obtained
• 4 re-commenced implementation planning
• 5 Gateway 4 readiness for service completed
• 6 Scoped and planned remaining r2 development

4
OGC Gateway 4 Review

• Richard Goodwin

5
OGC Gateway 4 Recommendations

• The MCIS team needs to ensure that the testing of
  the linking of the system at YF to the core MCIS
  system is completed in August and that the
  rollout schedule is agreed with RDAs and Release
  1 of MCIS is fully implemented across all the
  RDAs in September and October. Amber
• Finalise the requirements for Release 2 next
  week. (18-22 August). Any future changes to
  those requirements must go through a defined
  change control process, though the presumption
  should be that any changes should not be made to
  the finalised requirements. Amber
• Encourage wider use of SharePoint in the RDAs.
  Green
• Consider a website for the whole of the ERDF.
  Green
• Continue to work with CLG and BERR at the highest
  levels to manage and implement the MCIS system
  and ERDF to best benefit. Green
• These risks should be closely monitored and
  consideration should be given to the resources
  required to manage and mitigate them as the
  project goes forward and these resources should
  be included in the budget. Amber

6
OGC Gateway 4 Recommendations

• The requirements for staff to support Release 1,
  Release 2 and the move to the new support
  contract for the software should be defined soon.
  Amber
• There needs to be consideration given to the
  level of planning and reporting needed, and these
  plans should include all the use of project team
  resources for Release 2 and the new contract to
  support the software used for MCIS system. This
  plan needs to be monitored by the project manager
  and the SRO. Amber
• Consider using the regional leads as the main
  conduit for MCIS communication, within the
  context of ERDF more generally. Green

7
OGC Gateway 4 Recommendations

• The project needs to resolve the remaining issues
  on IT security, including finalising the RMADS,
  (Risk Management Accreditation Document Set) the
  patching of all the software and testing that the
  backup tapes work correctly. Amber
• The project needs to consider carefully how best
  to fund support and development work for MCIS and
  the appropriate timing of any request to the
  RDAs, and may find it beneficial to make a
  request when it can point to the success of MCIS.
  Green
• Recommendation CLG should report on the benefits
  derived from the MCIS system. Green

8
Progress Test Status

• Mark Swan, Jemma Cornish

9
Test Script Coverage Statistics Last SUG, 23/07
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Test Script Coverage Statistics This SUG, 28/08
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Test Script Coverage and Statistics Comparison

• of resolved and closed in scope issues as a
  of total, as at last SUG, 23/07
• Defects 79.5
• Questions 68.6
• Requirements 27.9
• Total 72.2
• of resolved and closed issues as a of total,
  as at this SUG, 20/08
• Defects 84.0 A bit better
• Questions 66.7 About the same
• Requirements 35.3 Being collated for future
  releases
• Total 74.8 About the same

12
Test Script Coverage and Statistics Trend
Analysis
13
Live Use of MCIS at OneNE

• Jemma Cornish

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ONE are Go!!!!

• MCIS Acceptance Meeting was held on 24th July and
  following on from this.
• ONE went live with MCIS on the 28th July as
  planned
• Current Activity
• Training programme rolled out across Agency
• First users, organisations and projects set up on
  system
• ONE specific user guidance being developed
• Any issues discovered are logged on SharePoint
  and resolved with help of MCIS Team
• Overall feedback from training and initial usage
  has been very positive!

15
User Acceptance Testing in YF

• Mark Swan, Lee Pepper

16
Core User Testing at YF, Topics

• Progress with YF
• Issues found, lessons learned
• Current actions
• Data dictionary status

17
Yorkshire Forward Systems Integration Testing
(Contd)

• Progress
• YF systems have been built to incorporate the
  MCIS Data Dictionary Validation Rules
• Proven that YF systems can produce claim and
  project summary XML files as per the XSD
• General verification by business users that
  validation messages have sufficient information
  in them so that errors with the XML may be
  diagnosed and fixed
• Successful upload into MCIS of XML files that
  have been generated by business users using local
  systems. Six projects and seven claims have been
  successfully loaded across two priority axes
• Successful creation of aggregate claim to match
  submitted XML data
• Reconciliation of project and claim XML data to
  MCIS reporting database (one issue reported on
  indicator data)

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Yorkshire Forward Systems Integration Testing
(Contd)

• Issues
• Some of the Data Dictionary Validation Rules were
  not clearly articulated which meant that it was
  difficult to implement the rules correctly in the
  YF local system (e.g. claim schedule data)
• Both the MCIS application and the YF local system
  did not incorporate all of the necessary Data
  Dictionary changes from version 1.7.0 (e.g. claim
  type code, priority axis code, expenditure
  category code)
• Achieved indicator data was being reported
  incorrectly in the MCIS MI database
• The aggregate claim workflow was not very user
  friendly, making it difficult to resubmit XML
  data following the rejection of an aggregate
  claim workaround exists and a defect was raised
  and fixed

19
Yorkshire Forward Systems Integration Testing
(Contd)

• Current Actions
• Agree a UAT timetable, with a formal UAT event to
  be scheduled for the week beginning 08 September
• Publish guidance notes to the Data Dictionary
  Validation Rules document to aid understanding of
  the claim schedule and project cost and funding
  profiles
• Publish an Aggregate Claim Editor / Reviewer user
  guide
• Address the application issues identified above
• Ensure that there is real time Cognos reporting
  of the XML data, rather than using overnight
  refresh
• Improve some of the validation messages in MCIS
  (e.g. add the Project Name, rather than just the
  Project Ref. No.)
• Provide a dump of the latest reference data from
  version 1.8 of MCIS

20
Yorkshire Forward Systems Integration Testing
(Contd)

• Data Dictionary Update
• There have been no updates to the data dictionary
  since it was last released

21
Implementation Status Plan

• Nigel Williams, Mark Swan

22
Implementation Status Plan, Topics

• Overview of timescales
• Post implementation review
• Timescales, actions, checklists

23
Overview of Timescales
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Post Implementation Review

• Learn lessons from early adopters
• Template to be provided
• Will be facilitated by MCIS team
• Aim is help inform implementation approach in
  other RDAs and refine implementation templates
  and tasks
• E.g. updated implementation go live checklist
  available, and action spreadsheets to be updated
  for each RDA

25
Audit Authority Assessment Desmond Mulcahy
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Audit Authority Assessment, Topics

• Clarification of AA requirements for final
  approval of RDA Annex XII statements
• AA requirements regarding RDAs approach to Model
  Office and witnessing of end-to-end testing

27
Audit Authority Assessment, Areas to Examine

• Probably drawn from the following list (not
  exhaustive)
• User set up and on-going maintenance
• Data accuracy integrity
• System security and access control
• Audit trails and version control
• Reconciliation of financial and material balances
  across system components, e.g. finance and PMS
• Documentation of local working practices and
  proof that they are being followed and that staff
  have had adequate training
• Chinese walls surrounding RDA as a beneficiary
  are being observed
• Business disaster recovery plan in place and
  evidence that its been tested
• In general, statements of intent made in Annex
  XII are being followed in practice

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End of Morning Agenda Items Any Other Business?

• All

29
Lunch

• All!

30
System Demo

• Paul Cooper

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Risks / Issues Nigel Williams
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Scope / Remaining Development Plan Alex McIntosh
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Scope / Remaining Development Plan, Topics

• Scope baseline
• Remaining (R2) development
• R2 timescales
• Change control process

34
Functionality to be delivered in next release.

• Project Categorisation, by , by
• Priority Themes
• Codes for the Form of Finance Dimension
• Codes for the Territorial Dimension
• Codes for the Economic Activity Dimension
• Codes for the Location Dimension
• But excluding Indicator Cross Cutting Themes
  (BAME, Gender, Disability).
• Automatic generation of electronic Funding
  Agreement or contract variation letter-
  functionality similar to TESA
• Fixes and changes required following UAT / Model
  Office / early live running at ONE and YF
• Medium and low severity defects outstanding from
  System Testing

35
Functionality to be delivered in next release.

• Visits,
• Online capture and submission of Article 13 16
  visits for full system users
• Submission of visits schema for core users as
  part of the aggregate claim evidence
• Irregularities
• Online capture and submission of NIFF SFIR
  Irregularities directly to the MA
• Periodic upload of two irregularities schema into
  core MCIS
• Automated generation of NIFF SFIR forms for
  submission to BERR
• Clawbacks
• Ability to manage Demand Note Offset
  clawbacks within full MCIS
• Submission of clawback schema for core users as
  part of the aggregate claim

36
Functionality to be delivered in next release.

• Real-time push-button reports
• Project Claim Report
• Project Report (printer-friendly snap shot of a
  project)
• Programme monitoring reporting suite based on
  reports being actively used in TESA and MA, CA
  RDA reporting requirements
• Support the implementation of payments interface
  with full user finance systems once they
  become available for end-to-end testing
• and possibly also Aggregate Project
  Clawbacks (i.e. clawback from the funding
  available to a Priority Axis e.g. as a penalty
  for a systemic irregularity)

37
Functionality to be delivered in further
releases.

• Further enhancements around Visits,
  Irregularities, Clawbacks and Funding Agreement
• Project Funding Pot (a useful calculation that
  prevents projects claiming more ERDF than their
  remaining grant minus the value of any
  unconcluded irregularities)
• Monthly Expenditure Forecasting
• Electronic interface with SFC07 for
• Maintenance of OP data
• Submission of Declaration
• Payment notification from SFC07

38
Functionality to be delivered in further
releases.

• MCIS-SAP interface for
• Receiving drawdown
• Paying Aggregate Claims
• NB minimal coding but substantial end-to-end
  testing effort
• On line Expressions of Interest

39
Functionality to be delivered in further
releases.

• Functionality that currently cannot be progressed
  
• Global Grants - unclear whether RDA businesses
  will operate this way?
• Article 55 Revenue Generating Projects - EC
  requirements substantially unclear
• Programme Closure Pack - dependent on Article
  55
• Major Projects
• Ineligible Expenditure
• Single Pot Integration
• Special Rules on Grant Calculations for VCLF
  Projects (e.g. Jeremy Jessica) (note might
  need to be in Release 2)

40
Workarounds

• Go-live release workarounds to be removed
• Visits, irregularities clawbacks work book
• Project categorisation workbook
• Manual entry of Claim Paid Date for RDAs
  ready to implement finance system interface
• Funding agreement schedules
• Workarounds required post release 2
• Capture and tracking of targets against Cross
  Cutting Themes
• Submission of the monthly expenditure forecasting
  spreadsheet to the Certifying Authority

41
R2 Timescales / Change Control Nigel Williams
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Overview of Release 2 Timescales
43
Development Plan
44
Change Control

• Baseline Scope covered by Functional
  Specification, being delivered in r1
• Any further enhancements (inc r2) will go through
  formal change control
• Change Control Panel and Process being
  established
• Will include a RDA members, one core an one full
• All changes will be impact assessed, and will
  require cost/benefit justification

45
End of Afternoons BusinessAny Other Points?

• All

46
Test Script Coverage Statistics Outstanding
Items