Edward River Council

Review of ICT Services

CT Management Group was commissioned by Edward River Council (ERC) in December 2016 to undertake an Information and Communication Technology (ICT) services review, which includes reviewing the current business systems, ICT infrastructure and related components of ICT service delivery. A specific outcome was the development of an ICT Strategy.

The scope of the review was defined as:

A high-level review of the existing ICT environment and related information;

Review of perceptions of the organisation regarding ICT services, including identification of key issues for service delivery where: Service gaps exist when compared to the expectations of the organisation.

Service gaps exist when compared to the undocumented expectations of the organisation.

ICT services and/or direction is not meeting the expectations of the organisation.

Review of current service standards or agreements which are in place for the provision of ICT services to the organisation.

A key component of the review was the progress in place for the implementation of TechOne following amalgamation.

Appointment of a Project Manager

In order to facilitate this project a Project Manager was appointed via an agreement between Edward River Council and CT Management Group. The appointed project manager is working in collaboration with the Council’s project coordinator with the Review of ICT Services project and the TechOne reimplementation being overseen by a project team.

CT Management Group undertook several consultations across the business, including with ICT staff. A series of specific workshops aligned to the organisational structure of the business aimed at obtaining feedback regarding ICT services across the business and specific consultation with relevant suppliers where appropriate to understand current positioning, as well as possible options for ICT service delivery for the organisation.

At the conclusion of this process and after looking at the most appropriate system to go forward with it was decided to re-implement the TechOne system

From that point, CT Management has led the process from planning to execution for the reimplementation of the TechOne system, including tendering for a partner organisation to assist with the reimplementation.

Outcomes

Key outcomes to date include:

  1. Development of a three to four year ICT strategy, which includes an overall program for reimplementing the TechOne system for ERC.
  2. Tendering for implementation partner to lead the reimplementation project for asset management, customer requests, rating, regulatory and related functions, as well as incorporating health checks and improvements for financials, HR and payroll and records management.
  3. Overall project director role for the resultant implementation, with significant updates to water billing, financial, records management, coupled with customer requests implementation.

This has maximised the effectiveness of the TechOne system and minimised the cost of system investment by the council.

Further stages of this project which is expected to be completed by December 2020 include:

  1. Asset management implementation incorporating asset data, financial management and works management including mobility.
  2. Regulatory functions incorporating development applications, building applications, 10.7 certificated and environmental health functions.

Project Manager, Phil Bourke who is continuing to oversee the management of the project stated,

“CT Management Group’s role in this project is to continue to oversee the delivery of all aspects of the project, thereby ensuring the use of the extensive functionality of the system are embedded in the processes and data management procedures within the council.”

He further added, “Maximisation of the significant investment in licensing and implementation through effective, best practice use of the TechOne system remains the cornerstone of the delivery of the project.”