Mar 11
2010
Ahead of the Curve blog series authored by HB Lanarc and sponsored by BasicGov explores trends in municipal management, including a move to adopt sustainable practices. Leading communities are taking on all of these trends and leveraging opportunities to improve services to citizens and productivity
Opportunities for Leadership in Development Review and Approvals
2. Cheaper, faster, more resilient processes
Leading local governments are working hard to streamline business and approvals processes. One common approach is leveraging software tools to make efficient use of time and resources (for example Waxhaw, NC has halved their response time for permit applications).
This software is increasingly used to track timing and content of applications “at-a-glance,” and ranges from in-house, server-based systems to commercial web-based services. It can significantly reduce the staff effort required to manage the process, speed up approvals, and reduce exposure to legal risks by ensuring that all information is collected and communicated to the right people and in a timely manner.
In addition, many local governments are turning to web-based “cloud computing” and off-site back-up systems to ensure they can continue to operate during and after emergencies.
Next post we’ll talk about making visions real.
Previous Ahead of the Curve blog posts Trend 1 – Drive toward sustainability, Trend 2 – Mounting fiscal challenges, Trend 3 – public demands for accountability, Trend 4 – reduce red tape, Trend 5 – risk management, Trend 6 – preparing for emergencies, Development process – manage land use, Leadership opportunity 1 – making sustainability a daily consideration.
Click to read Ahead of the Curve white paper
Mar 11
2009
With new implementation, there is always going to be a discrepancy between what was actually implemented and client expectations. Requirements and customer needs will change; more so during the initial months of usage. What was implemented may not work out in the direction planned. Any system needs to evolve over time.
In a conventional enterprise system, these changes are both expensive and take a long time. Generally, an implementation team is sent on-site to perform the initial implementation. When completed and changes or tweaks are needed, it is both time-consuming and expensive to bring that individual back on site. It may take weeks or months for that person to become available again to make the changes happen. When the client calls on-site enterprise support, they do not know the environment of the clients system. There are many variables involved such as: installed software, driver versions, operating system, network problems, user privileges and software versions.
SaaS removes many of these issues. The SaaS environment is the browser and as the new user is trained on the system, they share the interface with the trainer using web-meeting tools such as GoToMeeting.
One of our biggest clients in terms of users is Mono County in California. They have a population of about 13,000 and we expected more support but we trained the team while we configured the system and they are well versed in how to use the software.
BasicGov’s best practice for SaaS training is to have a point-person or primary user for each module to help us validate and verify the configuration. Using a GoToMeeting, multiple end users view my screen as I move through the system and show the fields, workflow and answer questions. What we found is that the primary users are part of the entire training process and guide their co-workers. These primary users become the in-house experts and they in turn help guide/train the other users. BasicGov’s methodology of constantly training and giving the users hands on experience and support results in a better understanding of how to utilize the software. GoToMeeting allows us to show the team all of the changes made at each stage as we customize the software modules for the city and add optimal workflows.
With a phone and internet connection, SaaS provides better training and support than on-site premise software.
