System Support and IT Services Case Study:
Executive Summary/Introduction
The customer operates a set of Internet-based tools for information-sharing among child support officials in the Federal Government, the states, municipalities, overseas territories and Native American tribal areas. The center is organized according to teams, called Workplaces, each of which is responsible for a specific area of child welfare support. The center maintains a central repository of information across all communities of interest to support the Child Support Enforcement community across the nation, Indian tribal regions, and overseas territories.
Challenges
Workplace members include participants across a large geographical area and with varying levels of technical understanding, with close collaboration as a primary requirement. Though nearly every organization had internet access, each organization’s internal computer systems varied significantly. Information was of ten shared via e-mail, leading to poor data integrity and inaccurate change tracking and access control.
How Our Services Helped
The QSMI Team’s goals included improving data integrity through a central data repository with tighter and more accurate control over viewing and modifying the data, and fostering more effective collaboration between the customer’s varied and dispersed user base. The system included the following features and functions:
• Automated all Workplace administration and made it accessible from a web browser. Workplace leaders were able to more easily manage existing Workplaces and create new ones with a single click.
• Provided an effective user registration process, which Workplace managers can view and control from a central location.
• Put processes in place to permit effective scheduling of meetings.
• Implemented three separate communication channels for real time online communication between team members:
- On-Line Chat Sessions: Users may initiate on-line chat sessions with other Workplace members through instant messaging technology. Workplace members available for online chats are displayed as green links from the “Workplace Members” page.
- Application Sharing: Application sharing allows multiple web-users to manipulate a file stored on a user’s computer. For example, users participating in a conference can see and make changes to a file on another user’s computer.
- White Boarding. White boarding provides a mechanism whiteboard for Workplace members to draw diagrams or post handwritten notes to other online users.
• Put processes in place to permit effective scheduling of meetings.
Benefits /Results
QSMI was able to help the customer improve data security and control access to data, and empower users to effectively communicate between and across Workplaces. In addition, improved communications fostered more effective collaboration and fostered a greater sense of shared purpose. The results are summarized below:
• Vastly improved communication between the customer’s disparate and geographically separated user base.
• Provide ongoing system and end-user support – scheduled and on-call.
• Stronger data security and better change management of the data.
• Empowered users to manage and change their own information.
• Increased security through a formal access control system controlling who sees what data.