Access To Information Equals Transparency

The benefits of Case Management systems from vendors such as ACS, Courtview, Pioneer, Tyler, etc, are numerous and already understood by any Justice System considering an implementation or already using these systems. Process automation and resource efficiency are the principle factors that drive the design and functionality of Case Management systems. Those design principles, while essential to sound transaction system design, do not contribute to solving an increasingly more important and growing challenge - Transparency. Process automation and resource efficiency do not, in and of themselves, equal Transparency.

The reason for this is quite simple. Best practice techniques utilized for process automation and resource efficiency are often quite different than those used for the information generation activity which forms the foundation for providing Transparency. The more business activity included in a process, the more steps the process has, therefore lengthening the time it takes to complete the process. Case Management Systems look for ways to reduce the time it takes to complete any given process by reducing manual steps and compressing the time it takes to process any one single step. The byproduct of the continual march towards automation and efficiency in Case Management Systems is the abstraction of data. The data collected and/or manipulated during these highly automated and compressed processes is compartmentalized based on function or rule to improve the efficiency of each step and therefore the overall process. However, the abstraction or compartmentalization spreads the data out which in turn requires a reassembly to understand the complete process. We therefore need unencumbered access to data in order to generate information. Having access to information is how we understand a process. The more we understand of a process the more Transparency there is. It then follows that the more access to information - the more Transparency.

We have learned that Case Management systems are not designed to be information engines because the actual design best practices they incorporate technically limit their usefulness in this endeavor. Most Case Management Systems use an On-Line Transaction Process (OLTP) design approach for ensuring process automation and resource efficiency. As described above, this is not an information rich environment. The answer to this problem is applying a new design approach to a system for increasing access to information. The emerging generally accepted approach for doing this is Enterprise Performance Management design, also known a Data Warehousing, Business Intelligence, or On-Line Analytical Processing(OLAP). The key point is that this is an approach or methodology and not a tool. One of the principle factors driving Enterprise Performance Management solution design is access to information, or as we now know - Transparency.

JusticePM Blog Signing On

JusticePM is a Performance Management and Information Analysis solution that offers the Justice Industry a unique opportunity to examine many facets of existing Justice Systems and Processes.

This blog will discuss the application of this Product Solution to real world challenges and problems facing the Justice Industry. We will cover topics associated with solving these problems both from a Technical Perspective and a Business Perspective. The objective of this blog is to create an information resource that addresses an information gap in the Justice Industry.

Resource constraints are not new, but they have gained tremendous attention in this current economic cycle. The need for "Transparency" into process has never been greater, especially in the public sector. However, the costs associated with providing "Transparency" can be prohibitive in most areas of the Public Sector, especially in individual Court Systems.

JusticePM helps provide "Transparency" into the Justice Industry, with a mindful eye on the constraints against resources. The primary delivery of this solution is a "Cloud Based Service", eliminating the need for Infrastructure Management, Database Administration, and Code Development. Therefore, allowing constrained resources to focus on the real problems.

"Transparency" is nothing more than visibility into process. Today's systems automate process in more and more efficient ways. That automation comes at a price, the process is hidden in data. The JusticePM platform objective is to address this challenge, by allowing management to Monitor Performance, Identify Opportunities, Create Action Plans, and Modify Operations without having to rely on traditional IT skill sets.

Obviously, there are many topics to cover. Stay tuned we plan to cover them all!