Senior User Group

1
Senior User Group

• 28th February 2008

2
Project Communications

• Project Website
• Latest documents
• User manual
• Plan
• Highlight Reporting
• Regional Visits
• What else?

3
Implementation Planning

• Mark Swan
• Anne Smith

4
MCIS Implementation Overview
Mar
Aug
Apr
May
Jun
July
Sep
Oct
AWM (R1)
1st project approval
Imp Planning
Model office
1st project approval
YF (R1)
Imp Planning
User Test / MO
SWDA (R1)
Imp Planning
Model office
EEDA (R1)
Imp Planning
Model office
EMDA (R1)
Imp Planning
Model office
ONE (R2)
Imp Planning
Model office
LDA (R2)
Imp Planning
Model office
NWDA (R2)
Imp Planning
Model office
SEEDA (R2)
Imp Planning
Model office
5
Implementation - Progress

• 2nd round of Implementation Planning meetings
  will be completed 10 March
• General observations
• Need more information about RDA development
  plans
• Why? Because it gives a dependency to the start
  of Model Office / Business Simulation
• Commitment ramping up / pace quickening
• Constraint on training / MO facilities book
  ahead in good time
• Lead time of external consultants from 3rd party
  suppliers
• Caution book them in good time!
• Use Sharepoint, please

6
ERDF Implementation - non MCIS Actions

• Publicity Plans required by EC within 4 months
  of OP being approved
• Annex XII Statements of Management Control
  systems required before 1st Declaration on OP
• Audit Assessments of Annex XII

7
Core Processes Functional Specification

• Alex McIntosh

8
Core Processes

• Version 0.1 issued to the User Manual Group and
  published on the MCIS Project website on the 15th
  February. Included
• Article 59 Body Claim
• Clawback
• Certification of the Aggregate Claim
• Drawdown of Funds from the EC
• Version to be issued 5th March. Including
• Initiate Irregularity
• Review Irregularity
• Initiate Write Off
• Request EC Write Off
• Regulatory Reporting Intermediate Body to EC
• Regulatory Reporting CA/MA to EC
• Programme Monitoring Reporting Intermediate
  Body to CA or MA
• Programme Monitoring Reporting Ad-Hoc Request

9
Exchange Rate Update of Finance Tables

• The Commissions monthly exchange rate will be
  applied to the programme at the point the
  aggregate claim is authorised into the
  financial systems of the Certifying Authority.
• The monthly exchange rate will be held within
  MCIS.
• The Certifying Authority will be responsible for
  updating the financial tables, the priority axis
  and N2 calculations within MCIS.
• Predefined standard MI reports will be generated
  from MCIS and sent on a monthly/quarterly basis
  to the RDAs detailing updates to the financial
  tables
• Core users will use the MI to update the
  financial tables of their own PMS systems based
  on the information provided by the Certifying
  Authority.

10
Cost Categories

• The RDAs will be expected to collect information
  at a sub category level (below Cap/Rev)
• RDAs can use either the Data Dictionary sub
  categories, or their own that correlate with the
  12 core categories
• As a minimum, the sub cost categories will be
  required with the evidence file with an
  aggregated claim
• This lower level of cost categorisation will be
  required for ad-hoc reporting from the EC and to
  provide assurances of project monitoring

11
Management Information Data Dictionary

• Chris Crow
• Alan Hazell

12
MI Reporting

• MI Database
• Data extracted from MCIS, transformed and loaded
  into data warehouse each night.
• Specific Web and database reporting servers.
• Access to reporting available via MCIS.
• All RDAs will have access to reporting.
• MI Delivery
• Pre-defined Regulatory Reports
• Pre-defined Programme Monitoring reports
• Reporting Dashboard (Q3)
• Ad hoc reporting
• Web service interface

13
Regulatory Reports

• Overview
• Set of pre-written Regulatory Reports for
  reporting to Commission.
• Detailed report specifications to be written and
  made available.
• Reports to be run by RDA and sent to commission
  via CLG. (SFC2007)
• Process map will define workflow
• Programme Monitoring
• Programme Monitoring report will be used to
  ensure smooth running of the programme and
  highlight any areas of concern.
• Report specification to be written for each
  report.
• Examples include Nplus2 monitoring, Financial
  table reports, Irregularity reporting.

14
MI Reporting, contd

• Ad Hoc reporting
• 80 of reporting need will be covered by
  pre-defined reports.
• Ad-Hoc reporting available to allow user to run
  query or develop region specific reports if
  required.
• Useful for PQs or Commission request for
  information outside Regulatory reports
• Access restricted to specific key users.
• In Practice
• Reporting database refreshed overnight
• Development cycle of MI reporting in line with
  application development.
• All MCIS users given consumer access to MI
  reporting by default.
• All requirement request logged via sharepoint.
• Local administrators and first level support

15
MI Reporting Contd

• Security
• MI reporting accessed through MCIS link.
• All Users in MCIS will have access to MI
  reporting as consumer by default
• Increased MI authority based on MCIS role ie
  Report Author can create reports.
• User view of data restricted by role and region.
• Beneficiary MI users restricted to own data.
• Documentation
• MI Framework User Guide
• Specification for each Regulatory and Programme
  Monitoring report
• Security Guide
• Process maps for Regulatory reporting

16
Acceptance Testing

• Nigel Williams

17
Test Strategy Kick-Off

• Introduction
• Explain phases of testing
• Unit Integration
• System
• User Acceptance
• Model Office Business Simulation
• Identify scope, objectives, approach and
  responsibilities for each phase
• Identify Functionality to be tested

18
Unit Integration Testing

• Unit Testing
• Performed by MCIS developers during development
  phase
• Objective is to prove that each basic unit of the
  system functions correctly in isolation
• Integration Testing
• Performed by MCIS developers during development
  phase
• Objective is to prove the integration between
  Unit tested components
• Will consist of both manual and automated testing

19
System Testing

• Undertaken by MCIS project team
• Consist of both Functional and Non-Functional
  testing
• Objective is to test the complete system against
  the functional specification
• Based on the simulation of business cycles i.e.
• Prepare aggregate claim and evidence
• Submit aggregated claim and evidence
• Approve aggregated claim
• Certify aggregated claim
• Authorise/Reject aggregated claim
• Process payment via SAP
• MCIS software will follow a fortnightly cycle of
  releases
• Performed in a dedicated System Test environment

20
Functional System testing

• To test all the business requirements as defined
  in the baseline documentation, which includes
• Functional Specification
• XML validation rules
• Operational Framework document
• Government Gateway Specification
• SAP Interface Specification
• Site map
• State transition diagrams
• User Journeys
• Roles document

21
Non-Functional System test

• Objective is to prove the operational performance
  of the system and compliance with required
  standards, and includes
• System security, including penetration testing
• Performance testing
• Accessibility
• Operational tests (backups, restores)
• Virus protection when loading files
• Browser testing

22
User Acceptance Testing

• Joint responsibility of Managing Authority,
  Certifying Authority and RDAs
• Objective is to test the complete system to
  ensure it meets the business requirements
• Based on the simulation of business cycles ie
• Prepare aggregate claim and evidence
• Submit aggregated claim and evidence
• Approve aggregated claim
• Certify aggregated claim
• Authorise aggregated claim
• Process payment via SAP
• Performed by
• early adopter RDA (i.e. Yorkshire Forward) but
  there may be input from other interested RDAs
• Certifying Authority
• Managing Authority
• MCIS Project Team
• Performed in a dedicated User Acceptance Test
  environment

23
Model Office Business Simulation Testing

• Performed by all RDAs as part of their MCIS
  implementation
• May be run in parallel with User Acceptance phase
  of testing
• Objective is to prove the readiness of the
  complete process (i.e. people, process and
  technology) for operating ERDF
• Successful completion of this phase is a
  pre-requisite for the decision to go live with
  MCIS within each RDA
• This phase will be managed by the RDA Local
  working Group, with support from an
  Implementation Co-ordinator from the MCIS Project
  Team
• RDAs can use the business scenarios used as part
  of System and User Acceptance Testing, but they
  should also be writing extra scenarios to test
  their own MI System

24
MCIS Release Iterations
Unit/integration cycle 1
System Test cycle 1
User Acceptance cycle 1
Unit/integration cycle 2
System Test cycle 2
User Acceptance cycle 2
Unit/integration cycle 3
System Test cycle 3
User Acceptance cycle 3
25
Timings

• Complete test strategy Plan 29 Feb
• Complete user test preparation scripts,
  environment 14th March
• Start User testing 17th March
• Complete user testing 25th April
• Start Model Office testing 28th April?

26
Test Support

• MCIS Testing will be supported by the MCIS
  project Team
• Issues will be logged in Sharepoint, and
  categorised as either Defects, Requirements or
  Questions
• A severity will be assigned to each issue
• Critical
• High
• Medium
• Low
• A priority will also be allocated to defects to
  assign them to a release
• Regular test review meetings will be held within
  the MCIS Project Team to agree priorities against
  the test schedule, defect resolution issues,
  requirements for new software releases etc

27
Support Agreement

• Nigel Williams

28
Support Framework
29
Support Agreement

• Formalised structure providing
• Technical support
• Management support
• Multi-stakeholder Environment
• Will require active Service Desk management
• Underpinned by SLAs
• Procurement Strategy in place
• RDA to be involved in selection
• Focus on SME market
• Contract for up to 7 years

30
SUG part 2

• Nigel Williams

31
Full System Development

• Development on track
• Iterative approach
• V1.2 - 29/2/09
• Aggregation screens to create aggregate claim
• Differentiation between full core MCIS
• Email notifications
• V1.3 14/3/08
• Allow creation of aggregate claims from XML
• Update tables from SFC2007
• V1.4 28/3/08
• Report specifications for regulatory reports
• V1.5 11/4/08
• Complete full system for testing