Validating the planning assumptions from the beginning will save time, money, and frustration down the line.
Agencies tend to accept feasibility study assumptions without further validation or challenge as they prepare for vendor support solicitation. The information in the study becomes the foundation for your new system planning. Through our extensive IV&V work with child support agencies, Public Knowledge® (PK) provides unique insight into the complexities of implementing a new system. Here is your biggest risk when adopting a new child support system.
Plan Now, Save Later
Assumptions may not age well from when they are first recorded until the system integration vendor begins work. This, along with undocumented assumptions, leads to faulty plans and designs. The flaws will reveal themselves in costly change requests regardless of the original estimates.
Make Informed Decisions
PK helps validate the assumptions and identify risks. Our firm has decades of experience in the child support program and systems integration to know what to anticipate. Our IV&V teams can validate assumptions, create risks, and develop mitigation strategies to reduce your overall risk exposure within your system. The work completed on the front-end of a new system is vital when mitigating future risk.
Clearly Define Roles for Better Outcomes
One common assumption is the agency has experienced Subject Matter Experts (SME) to temporarily staff the project as Business Analysts (BA), and after the project, they intend to return to their regular jobs. PK has found these two assumptions to be invalid on two fronts.
The Difference Between a BA and a SME
First, a SME is not the same as a BA. Most agency staff have never functioned as a BA and end up trying to learn “on the job,”—which is too late in the process. Second, as the project moves into Maintenance and Operations, these staffs have all the new system knowledge. They prove indispensable for the future enhancements of the new system, therefore, should not return to their previous job duties.