Change Management and Quality of Service through Business Process Modeling: The N-VIS, a Public Sector Project

Outsourcing in the Public sector has become common practice in the United States and is spreading rapidly in the European Union. When Information & Communication Technologies (ICT) are involved, outsourcing becomes rather complex. In such cases, a clear definition of the processes to be implemented and a quality assurance monitoring system are crucial factors for success. In addition, globalization, world level financial instability and the need to adjust to evolving standards and requirements, compel Governments and Public Organizations to become more adaptable and to handle changes efficiently. This last constraint has a direct impact on the design of ICT systems; Business Process Modeling becomes mandatory as the most appropriate change management mechanism. In this paper, a new methodology is presented based on Business Process Modeling. Once the model is completed, the relative program code of the final system is produced. In addition to this system, an end-to-end monitoring platform is developed to continuously search, identify and assess technical and human deficiencies. This goal is achieved by following-up the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of the processes, through the creation and management of adequate Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). Once the technical problems are suitably addressed, the focus moves to human skills and competency. In this case, clearly defined training needs can be covered adequately and the system can be used optimally. This new methodology has already been tested successfully on a simple Bank application, a short description of which is included in this paper. The next step is to apply the methodology on N-VIS, the Greek National Visa Information System that is responsible for the exchange of visa application data between the Greek Authorities and the Schengen Member States.