Collection Architecture

1
Collection Architecture
2009 MSIS Meeting Oslo, Norway
Karen Doherty
May 18, 2009
2
Agenda

• Collection at Statistics Canada
• Business Architecture Initiative
• IT Architecture of Collection systems
• Lessons Learned

3
Collection at StatCan

• HQ (0ttawa) plus eight regional collection hubs
  (Halifax, Montreal, Sherbrooke, Toronto, Sturgeon
  Falls, Winnipeg, Edmonton, Vancouver)
• Collection methods
• Face-to-face interviewing (CAPI)
• Telephone interviewing (CATI Random Digit
  Dialing)
• Paper questionnaires (Canada Post)
• Electronic data reporting (Internet)
• Call Centre (mainly for Census)

4
Business Drivers

• Cost Budget cuts gt need to reduce costs
• Telecom Canadian moving to cell phones gt hard
  to reach
• Electronic Reporting Canadians (especially
  younger ones) want Internet services
• Geography Large tracts of land (remote areas,
  far north, etc.) will continue to be a challenge
• Admin Data/Registries Use is increasing
• Multi-mode Collection Flipping between modes is
  more and more common

5
Business Architecture Initiative

• StatCan embarked on a business architecture
  project in partnership with a private sector firm
• Input sought from a wide range of stakeholders
• Looked at business drivers, requirements,
  services, responsibilities, organization
• Restricted to collection activities
• Excluded Census but Census requirements
  considered during systems specification stage
• A lot of push back and scepticism at the
  beginning even from very senior management

6
BA Recommendations

• Provide respondents with a menu of response
  options
• Realign the organization to match the business
  delivery model
• Separate operations from development
• Adopt common services, processes and tools
• Invest in new technology (corporate IT services,
  wireless, thin client, etc.)
• Develop new collection applications

7
Survey Master Control System

• Functionality includes
• Management of case load regardless of collection
  mode
• Movement of cases between modes
• Transfer of case data to and from legacy
  stand-alone collection applications (until they
  are replaced)
• A data repository for all cases
• Reporting tool for all collection activity

8
Survey Master Control System
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Survey Master Control System

• Designed by the in-house architecture team using
  a Service Oriented Architecture model
• Technology
• StatCans MS.net Development Framework
• MS Biztalk integration platform
• MS SQLServer database
• Development outsourced to a private sector firm
• Production in 2009

10
e-Questionnaire e-File Transfer

• e-Questionnaire
• Internet-based questionnaires (similar to what
  was used for 2006 Census)
• Production in 2009
• e-File Transfer
• Managed bi-directional movement of files between
  StatCan and respondents, clients, users
• Production in 2008
• COTS products acquired via tender
• Access control full end-to-end encryption

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E-Questionnaire e-File Transfer
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Other Tools

• Generalized Tracking System
• Tracking of paper questionnaires, supplies, etc.
• In-house developed MS.net application
• Production 2009
• Case Management
• Requirements definition in 2009
• Field Management System
• Developed for Census
• In use for 2009 Census Test
• Will be adopted by survey Field Staff

13
Adherence to StatCan EA

• All applications run on the standard suite of
  infrastructure services
• All development done using standard development
  frameworks
• Requirements and documentation managed via the
  IBM Rational Suite (Rational Unified Process) and
  Team Foundation Server
• Heavy use of IBM automated testing tools

14
Lessons Learned

• Take the time to review the business architecture
  (question everything, challenge the status quo)
• Need strong governance (senior management
  support)
• Need effective change management process
  throughout
• COTS products can be expensive and take a long
  time to procure but implementation is quick if
  you dont customize much
• Use of common tools speeds up development but
  must make sure resources are properly trained