Software Compliance: Are we there yet?

Looking back and moving forward

Items to discuss

• Phase I Testing• Phase II Testing• Phase III Testing• System Updates/Release Notes• Beyond Software Compliance Testing

Phase I Testing: Timeline

• Testing window opened on July 1, 2013.• Original Targeted Completion Date: June

2014.• 19 individual modules completed the initial

round of Phase I testing by June 30, 2014.• 15 modules received their Phase I results by

June 30, 2014.• 10 modules earned their Phase I certification

status by June 30, 2014.

Phase I Testing: Observations

• All modules were able to correctly perform basic functionality like record retrieval based on defined characteristics and maintaining historic data.

• Compliance checks on the file extracts generated at the testing session was the most common test deemed not compliant.

• The creation of user defined reports is the one test area that took the longest to complete for all modules.

• The capturing of images during testing, also, tended to slow the process down.

At the end of Phase I testing, you were probably feeling like this…

Or perhaps a bit like this….

Phase II Testing: Timeline

• Testing started on August 4, 2014• Original Targeted Completion Date: April 2015• Revised Targeted Completion Date: January 2015• 34 individual vendor pairings were originally

identified by the Department as needing to be Phase II certified.

• 32 of these vendor pairings have completed Phase II testing as of January 9, 2015.

• 30 of these vendor pairings have been Phase II certified as of January 9, 2015.

Phase II Testing: Observations

• The integrative functionality between systems appears to be operating in a compliant manner based on the testing demonstrations.

• The largest majority of errors encountered during testing occurred within one individual module of a vendor pairing and were not caused by the integration of data.

• The virtual meeting environment helped expedite the flow of the testing process.

• Proactive scheduling has helped this phase stay on a timely track.

You’ve made it through Phase II testing! You may feel like this..

Or perhaps you just simply rather do this…

Phase III Testing: Timeline

• Original anticipated starting date: May 2015• Revised anticipated starting date: February 2015• All three phases must be completed by June 30,

2015.• 78 counties have submitted information for at least

one module of their proposed property tax management system as of January 7, 2015.

• The Department is reviewing the submitted information to verify the accuracy for Phase I and Phase II certification status.

Phase III Testing: The Roadshow

• Scheduling for Phase III will more than likely start within the next couple of weeks, with the first visits occurring in February.

• The Department plans to take a more proactive approach to scheduling Phase III testing, like it did during Phase II, but will remain flexible.

• The appropriate vendors will be made aware when a Phase III visit is scheduled for a given county but vendor attendance is not required.

Phase III Testing: What will the counties have to demonstrate?

• Test Area 1: Property Tax Management System Help Functionality

• Test Area 2: Capture and Maintenance of Data on Record Addition and Update

• County users will choose three different tests from a list of 10 tests to demonstrate

• Test Area 3: Record Retrieval by Characteristic• Test Area 4: Maintenance of Data from Prior Years

System Updates and Release Notes

• As updates are made to your system, please make sure to include the Department on the release notes that are distributed to your county users.

• For the time being, all release notes/updates should be sent to James Johnson at jjohnson@dlgf.in.gov.

• The Department is considering adding a feature to Gateway that would allow software vendors to upload documentation for their software updates.

Beyond Software Compliance Testing

• Trivia du jour: 50 IAC 26 is 115 pages long; certification testing only takes up 5 pages of the rule.

• The regulatory moratorium remains in effect, essentially preventing any changes from being made to 50 IAC 26.

• Still, the Department welcomes input from vendors on possible changes to the rule.

Beyond Software Compliance Testing

• Amending/adding codes to the various code lists is possible even while the regulatory moratorium remains in effect.

• The Department is a signatory to contracts involving property tax management system software vendors and counties.

• Ongoing dialogue and possible incremental testing with vendors to help implement potential technical and policy changes (e.g., Gateway uploads, TIF admin).

Questions?