IT Governance Business Case Cemetery Management Software
THE IMPORTANCE OF CEMETERIES TO THE CITY OF DURHAM
Our cemeteries are a vital community asset. Maplewood and Beechwood Cemeteries, established in 1872 and 1924, are the resting places of many local citizens, including prominent historical figures who were instrumental in Durham’s growth. Both cemeteries have a deep historical importance to the community in that they bring today’s residents closer to an understanding of the past. Cemeteries today can reveal information about historic events, religions, lifestyles, genealogy, and potentially our future…
Project: Cemetery Management Software
3 Major Objectives:
• Ensure business continuity and record integrity by replacing dated management software
• Streamline our existing cemetery operations with the help of a more robust software-based management tool
• Increase visibility to public and provide web services inline with other municipal
cemeteries
Desired Business Value:
• Increased software stability and data integrity
• Reduced reliance on paperbased records by further moving towards digital records and documents
• Added value for customers by way of new robust, publicfacing features
Stakeholders:
• General Services
• Technology Solutions
• City Residents
Current State
The Cemeteries division of General Services uses a software product called NEXUS to track historical burial and lot ownership information for the City’s two cemeteries, Beechwood and Maplewood
NEXUS was implemented back in 2001 to replace the division's dependence on a nearly century-old card filing system
NEXUS was supported for five years up until 2006 via a required maintenance contract. However, that maintenance agreement has long since expired and no additional updates/upgrades to the software platform have been made. Our version of NEXUS is an end-of-life software product.
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Current Pain Points
• The current system is no longer supported, meaning no software and security updates.
• Because the current platform is severely aged, it lacks user friendliness and customization. Data entry and retrieval are cumbersome and repetitive.
• Limited reporting and data analytics capabilities. Management cannot get what it needs to make informed decisions based on data.
• The current system has no digital Mapping Component that the Cemeteries Division or the City’s Residents can utilize. This increases the level of difficulty for location of burials for both staff and visitors.
• No data visualization or dashboards to provide quick overviews of things like task status, metrics, alerts, etc.
• Cemeteries continues to rely on old paper maps to find existing available plots.
NO DIGITAL MAPPING
To the right represents a current paper map that is being used at Durham’s Maplewood Cemetery. This map is used to identify available plots and is updated by hand. Because the map is not tied directly to a database, a separate verification of the plot’s status in NEXUS must be made as well.
Future State
Our future state is a cloud-based Cemetery Management Software Platform. An intuitive and easy to use record management software will streamline the staff’s day to day burial operations, provide the public with online access to digital cemetery data, and incorporate a true GIS-based mapping system.
Future State Benefits
• An interactive digital mapping component that can be utilized by both staff and City residents. An interactive map would allow residents and families to locate burial sites on their own at anytime, from any location, via a front-facing app and/or website.
• Data reporting and visualization capability.
• Efficiently plotting and display of grave information.
• The ability to visually connect burial, grave, owner, and marker information.
• Increased ease in location and identification of burial sites that lack a physical marker.
• Increased data security and preservation via cloud based hosting.
• Repetitive data entry and excessive paper forms would be replaced with single screen data entry and digital signature ability for burial and lot sale forms.
Solution Options & Analysis
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Solution Options Considered
1. Acquire and implement a new Cemetery Management Software Platform
2. Develop an in-house Cemetery Records Management and Mapping solution
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Description
Option #1
Acquire and implement a new Cemetery Management Software Platform
Pros
• Ensure business continuity and preservation of historical records
• Updated features will provide benefits to both internal and external stakeholders
Cons
• Implementation will potentially be lengthy and cause at least some interruption to operations due to re-training for staff
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Option 1. Project Financial Estimate
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COST ESTIMATES FUNDING Description Total One Year Costs (Hours) Run Costs (Hours)/ KTLO Departmental Funding Amount: $0 Labor $ (Hours) Total Internal TS: 97 hours 72 hours Funding Requested (Y/N): Y Business Analysis 0 hours 0 hours TS Services 97 hours 72 hours Project One Time Costs $72,130.00 TS Project Management: 96 hours 0 hours Project Run Cost (External) $5,876.00 General Services Department: 184 hours 24 hours *Total Project Funding Requested $72,130.00 External: $0 (0 hours) $0 (0 hours) *Recurring Cost $5,876 Business Analysis $0 (0 hours) $0 (0 hours) Professional Services $62,100 $0 (0 hours) Non-Labor $ Hardware: $0 $0 Software: $10,030 $5,876 Other: $0 $0 *Total Project Funding Requested (External), includes External Year 1 Run Costs and Non-Labor
Description
Option #2
2. Develop an in-house Cemetery Records Management and Mapping solution
Pros
• Ensure business continuity and preservation of historical records
• Updated features will provide benefits to both internal and external stakeholders
Cons
• Complexity and data migration may be difficult. Will not have as many features as off-the-shelf package
• Development of an in-house solution may take more time to complete
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Option 2. Project Financial Estimate
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COST ESTIMATES FUNDING Description Total One Year Costs (Hours) Run Costs (Hours)/ KTLO Departmental Funding Amount: $0 Labor $ (Hours) Internal TS: 277 hours 72 hours Funding Requested (Y/N): N Business Analysis 0 hours 0 hours TS Services (Including GIS inhouse development) 277 hours 72 hours Project One Time Costs $0 TS Project Management: 96 hours 0 hours Project Run Cost (External) $0 General Services Department: 184 hours 24 hours *Total Project Funding Requested $0 External: $0 (0 hours) $0 (0 hours) *Recurring Cost (In budget operational cost of the GIS program) $0 Business Analysis $0 (0 hours) $0 (0 hours) Professional Services $0 (0 hours) $0 (0 hours) Non-Labor $ Hardware: $0 $0 Software: $0 $0 Other: $0 $0
*Total Project Funding Requested (External), includes External Year 1 Run Costs and Non-Labor
Cyber Security Risk Assessment
Confidentiality
Unauthorized disclosure of information = limited adverse effect on organizational operations, organizational assets, or individuals.
Integrity
Availability
Unauthorized modification or destruction of information = limited adverse effect on organizational operations, organizational assets, or individuals.
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Special Publication 800-60, Volume 2, Rev. 1
Disruption of access to or use of information or an information system = limited adverse effect on organizational operations, organizational assets, or individuals.
The information type identified for the Cemetery Management Software is Public Resources, Facility and Infrastructure Management, with the following security categorization recommendation:
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SECURITY OBJECTIVE CATEGORY POTENTIAL IMPACT LOW
Confidentiality:
Integrity:
Final Security Categorization =
Low;
Low; Availability: Low
Risk Optimization
Risk: Are there proper resources to support on-going administration and operation of a new cemetery management system?
Risk Management Plan: 1) General Services Department has a dedicated Cemeteries division that would be responsible for the administration of the software.
2)Technology Solutions has a dedicated GIS division which provides GIS mapping Support and potential development.
1) Utilizing experience and qualified employees from General Services
• Cedar Glasgow
• Dennis Farmer
2) Utilizing experience and support from the entire GIS Division within Technology Solutions. GIS will support the mapping component of the Cemetery Management System and also possibly build the entire platform, if certain requirements are met.
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Summary & Recommendation
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Options 1. New CMS 2. In-House CMS Cloud-based/ Vendor Hosted solution Increased software stability and data integrity Data Migration capability Shorter Implementation Time Added value for customers through enhanced features Cost $ $ $ $ Cemetery Management Software – Desired Business Value Analysis Criteria
Analysis Summary
Recommendation
Option 1: Proceed with procurement of a new Cemetery Management Software Package
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Our Ask
We are asking for approval of this Business Case and to recommend the funding of a New Cemetery Management Software package for the City of Durham’s Cemetery Operations
Project Planning
Risk & Risk Mitigation
Project Timeline
Implementation Overview
• March 2019:
Gain Approval from Steering Committee
• May 2019: Begin Bidding Process for Cemetery Management System
• August 2019: Select winning bid and procure Cemetery Management Software
• September 2019: Begin implementation of software, beginning with extensive data migration
• March 2020: Launch new Cemetery Management Software
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Project Timeline
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