Meeting the Development Challenges at ONS

1. Meeting the Development Challenges at ONS Ian Shopland Director of Development UK Office of National Statistics

2. Contents • Background • Challenges • Resourcing • Standards, Techniques and Tools • Learning Points • Organisation • External Influences • Where Next?

3. Background • ONS is currently undertaking a major modernisation programme • Driving change into; • business processes and procedures • underlying technology solutions • Major challenges and implications for the ONS Information Management Group (IMG), its people and its partners.

4. The Challenges Convert a myriad of disparate legacy systems into an integrated set of solutions [primarily based on Java and Oracle (and COTS*) technology] Ensure that business as usual is maintained [however, do not have the internal capacity to undertake the modernisation programme without support) Put in place the necessary standards, procedures, tools and techniques [putting right a lack of investment] Cope with a 3 year work-stack that significantly exceeds current capacity. * COTS = Common Off The Shelf packages such as Human Resource Management

5. Resourcing Easy To Create Reduce Total Numbers of People Our “Cone of Uncertainty” Increase People with “Future” Skill-sets ONS Development - People Ability to Create Time Hard To Create “Commodity” “Specialism” (Or ONS High Value Add) Capability Availability • Significant amount of training and mentoring accompanied the introduction of new technologies • Skills deficit was compounded by the volume of work to be undertaken • Estimates of the planned workload identified that IMG would need to double its development resource in order to meet demand. • Xansa* was chosen as the development Partner. People * Xansa UK Limited is an outsourcing and technology company (see www.xansa.com)

6. Partnership Model • The Partnership “ethos”; • A mutual commitment to establish and maintain collaborative ways of working. • ONS and XANSA to work on Projects and initiatives as single integrated teams, with both parties committed to the success of the system delivery and services and the subsequent achievement of ONS business goals. • A clearly articulated commitment to continuous improvement (eg through the implementation and development of ONS methods, standards and procedures which are implemented in our ONSide methodology). • Develop an understanding of desirable individual and organisational behaviour. • Recognise people will behave differently within the partnership

7. Resourcing Barriers • Our people want to train in new technologies but they are managing the business-as-usual work and cannot therefore be released without negatively impacting daily statistical production activities • Our overall numbers are reducing • Unless IMG releases staff for training, it will remain overly reliant on its development partner, Xansa • Not all staff will manage to make the transition from legacy to the Java/Oracle environment • Major dependency on Modernisation to free people to retrain. FTEs on BAU Example - Dependency on Modernisation to free-up Survey Support People Business & Economic Surveys Social Surveys LFS Life Events & Health Studies National Accounts Population Topics Jan 07 Jan 05 Jan09

8. Standards Techniques and Tools Situation Definition Consolidation Solution Shaping Transformation Preparation Solution Design Solution Delivery • Significant amount of work needed to be done to establish a development framework (the way we work) • A full life-cycle methodology, called ONSide, based on the framework provided by Xansa but amended to include ONS-specific requirements • The concept of Object Oriented Analysis and Design supported by the introduction of the Rational toolset, RUP* and DSDM • Component-based development • Creation of standard estimating and testing processes, using TASSC and KARNER estimating tools and the testing elements of the Rational toolset • Tailored training for development staff to support introduction of the above *RUP – Rational Unified Process (See www.rational.com) *DSDM – Dynamic System Development Method (www.dsdm.org)

9. ONSide Bringing it together Transformation Design Solution Shaping HLSAD* DSAD** Solution Delivery Trans Prep Consol -idation. performs Leads Project Manager Project Team (Prince II) ? resources co-ordinates BRD Architecture Requirements Design Construction Integration & Test Service (Ops) Trials *High Level Systems Analysis & Design **Detailed Systems Analysis and Design

10. Lining up Software Development Iterations Transformation Design Transformation Design Transformation Design Solution Shaping Solution Shaping Solution Shaping HLSAD HLSAD HLSAD DSAD DSAD DSAD Solution Delivery Solution Delivery Solution Delivery Trans Prep Trans Prep Trans Prep Cons. Cons. Cons. Release 1 Release 2 Release 3 Strive to have only one iteration in construction (Solution Delivery) at any one time.

11. Technical Programme Governance IM Technical Release Manager for FR1.0 IM Technical Release Manager for FR 2.0 IM Technical Release Manager for FR 3.0 etc IM Service (Maintenance) Release Manager Operations Release Scheduler Business Release Mgrs Business Programme Board Plans, commissions and agrees what the Business Programme will specifically deliver, ensures it delivers to time, cost and quality and achieves business benefit Business Delivery Programme Board Defines “What ONS wants from Programme” Programme Director IM Architecture Lead Architect IM Operations IM Technical Programme Manager Tech Programme Office BU Reps IM Development Planning and Control Board (Core) Business Requirements Manager Design Manager Construction Manager Integration & Test Manager Service (Operations) Manager CAT/Trials Manager Requirements Manager

12. Learning Points • Required for staff to become familiar in the new techniques has taken longer than originally anticipated • Although IMG staff welcomed the rigour that the introduction of the new life-cycle and supporting tools provided, the business users remained to be convinced that this new approach would yield benefits • After period of reflection - the business users are now embracing the life cycle and are requesting it be extended to cover some of their activities

13. Organisation User Interface Infrastructure Elements Business Process Workflow UI Services Operational Management Core Application Business Service Interface Application Services Version Control Application Framework Application Security Services Pluggable Services Application Integration ONS Security Framework Enterprise Resources Legacy Applications Existing Tools New Tools Data Sources • Most notable deficiency was lack of an overall design authority and Technical Architecture team • Reliance on Partner, but plan to migrate IMG staff into the team over time • Systems analysis and design function established same time as the Java Technology Unit. • The estimating and testing functions were established as virtual teams SMP Outline Architecture

14. External Influences • The steps described are major undertakings in their own right. • Resources, plans, lead times, costs • However, ONS is required to make significant changes to fall in line with Government initiatives and reviews such as • Gershon (Efficiency savings) • Lyons (Relocation of staff) • Allsopp (New regionalised statistics) • These reviews significantly impact on the modernisation agenda. • As a result, IMG will need to undertake a number of tactical pieces of work whilst maintaining the drive to deliver against the strategic vision.

15. Where Next? • Continue to develop strategies to free ONS resources from BAU • Improve BAU effectiveness • Continue to refine understanding and build the “future” skill-sets, and develop the people. • Maximise the benefits of Partnership • Deliver, deliver, deliver…….!!!!