Core Systems Framework
1. Assess Current System

System Trends and Alerts

Download System Trends and Alerts in Word Format

Predecessor to this tool?
None

Intended audience:
Agencies (and potentially with MOSTD Consultant and possibly ISB Core Systems Sub-Committee for casual discussion)

Who fills this out?
Agency Technical and Business Managers / Leads

Purpose of this tool
The purpose of this tool is to help system owners identify technical or business problems with a core system. The items listed here are important in determining a system's health. System owners can use the following measures that apply to them or add additional measures to reflect their own environment. Documenting these items will support a proposal's business justification.

These measurements are meant to be taken on a periodic basis. Developing a baseline and watching trends will alert system owners about problems before they escalate beyond control.

Category (Click on title below for description)	Status	Trend* (over time)
Ability to Meet Business Needs
Meets Business Needs		Improving
Maintenance Backlog		Unchanged
Data Quality		Unchanged
Operational Stability
Business Disruptions		Unchanged
Customer Satisfaction		Weakening
Performance		Weakening
Vendor Support Commitment (hardware and/or software)		Weakening
Resource Requirements
Staff Expertise		Unchanged
System Documentation		Improving
Operation Costs		Weakening
Maintenance Cost/Effort		Weakening

Next Steps?

• Please include this completed “System Trends & Alerts” with all other tools from the Core System Process.
• The next step of the overall process involves identifying and summarizing, at a high level, new requirements surfacing as a result of the above alerts, or through “Requirements Profile” or “Enterprise Opportunity Assessment.”

IMPORTANT NOTES:

1. The performance criteria and measures are just guidelines and examples, not standards. Agencies should select and adjust their own to best represent their needs. (Other areas of consideration might include Help Desk calls, User-Training requests or a category for measuring the ability to extend system functions and incorporate new technologies. Delete or include additional categories if desired.)
2. This tool can be used by the agency to represent an entire system or, components of the system. It is up to the agency as to how they want to best represent their Core Systems.
3. The intention of this tool is not only to address how poor a system might be doing yet also the positive aspects that best represent an agency's agenda and needs.
4. This tool is intended as a communication device -- both internal to the agency and external with MOSTD and potentially the ISB Sub-Committee for Core Systems.

Meets Business Needs - The ability of the application to support business requirements including new requirements and opportunities for process improvement.

• Green = meets all business requirements and process improvement opportunities
• Yellow = unable to meet one critical business requirement or opportunity
• Red = unable to meet two or more critical business requirements or opportunities

Business Disruptions - Instabilities or failures in the application that results in business disruptions (such as: delays in making payments to citizens or businesses, delays or failures to provide mandated reports)

• Green = no disruptions in the past year
• Yellow = one or two disruptions in the past year
• Red = three or more disruptions in the past year

Customer Satisfaction - The acceptance and usability of a system by the users usually measured in terms of complaints and/or a satisfaction survey.

• Green = complaint rate is low and stable, and/or acceptance rating is “acceptable” or higher
• Yellow = complaint rate is moderate and increasing, and/or acceptance rating is “somewhat dissatisfied” or “marginal”
• Red = complaint rate is high and/or acceptance rating is “unsatisfactory” or “very dissatisfied.”

Performance - The ability of the application to execute transactions and/or batch processes in terms of standard measures such as response time, throughput rate and batch processing window.

• Green = response time and throughput rates are acceptable and are not increasing and/or all batch processing can be completed within processing window
• Yellow = response time is marginally acceptable but is increasing and/or throughput rates is marginally acceptable but is increasing and/or all batch processing can be completed within processing window but total elapsed time is increasing
• Red = response time is unacceptable and/or throughput rates is unacceptable and/or all batch processing cannot be completed within processing window

Maintenance Backlog - The number of application change requests in the queue to be worked are increasing.

• Green = stable or increasing at an annual rate less than 1%
• Yellow = increasing at annual rate of 1% to 5%
• Red = increasing at annual rate greater than 5%

Maintenance Cost/Effort - The total cost or effort to maintain and enhance (including new business functionality) a system including personnel staff cost/effort (salaries, benefits and overtime), contractor cost/effort and overhead cost/effort.

• Green = stable or increasing at or less than annual inflation rate - less than 3%
• Yellow = increasing at one to two times annual inflation rate - 3% to 6%
• Red = increasing at greater than two times annual inflation rate - greater than 6%

Operation Costs - The total costs to operate a system including personnel staff costs (salaries, benefits and overtime), contractor costs, system processing costs (hardware, software, processing charges, telecommunications, etc.) and overhead costs.

• Green = stable or increasing at or less than annual inflation rate - less than 3%
• Yellow = increasing at one to two times annual inflation rate - 3% to 6%
• Red = increasing at greater than two times annual inflation rate - greater than 6%

Staff Expertise - The quantity and skill level of the staff that are available to maintain the system as compared to the quantity and level required.

• Green = the proper quantity of staff is available at the proper skill level
• Yellow = either the quantity or skill level of staff is below acceptable standards
• Red = both the quantity or skill level of staff is below acceptable standards

System Documentation - The completeness and currency of documentation needed to maintain and operate the system.

• Green = documentation is complete and has been updated to include all major enhancements and modifications
• Yellow = either documentation is incomplete or documentation has not been updated to include enhancements and/or modifications
• Red = documentation is incomplete and has not been updated to include major enhancements and/or modifications

Data Quality - How well the accuracy of data supports decision making or business process.

• Green = no data inaccuracies or inaccuracies have no business impact
• Yellow = workarounds and post-processing checks are required to validate data
• Red = data is unreliable and cannot be used for decision-making

Vendor Support Commitment - The measure of how well vendor(s) support the application (if acquired from an integrator and/or maintained by a third party), and/or the hardware platform and/or the base software/database.

• Green = vendor(s) support the existing application level and/or hardware platform and/or software/database release
• Yellow = vendor has announced that the current level of application and/or hardware and/or software/database will not be supported after future date
• Red = vendor has announced that the current level of application and/or hardware and/or software/database is no longer supported