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Assessor s s Office Workflow Systems John Ragan Consultant - Colorado CustomWare,, Inc. Retired Assessor City and County of Denver
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John Ragan 20 years with the Denver Assessor s Office Manager of Personal Property Assessments, Deputy Assessor and Assessor Previously with the University of Denver, and the Federal Reserve Bank College teacher
Automated Workflow Basics Taking a manual process and applying technology to it in a way that reduces costs and increases speed, reliability and accuracy A A software tool which allows the organization to develop and manage business processes
More specifically Electronic workflow systems are rules-based electronic document routing systems that enable users to process work more efficiently and more accurately than with paper processing.
Evolution of workflow products Workflow products have evolved from diverse origins, such as document imaging systems, document management systems, etc, or from vendors of other types of automated systems who saw the need to enhance those systems with a workflow function.
Workflow diagram
Sources for workflow systems Vendors who also provide valuation software systems Vendors who specialize in workflow systems which can be integrated into the valuation system already in use at an assessor s s office System integrators
Case study in Denver Modest beginnings Wanted Clerk and Recorder to scan deeds and route those images electronically to our Ownership Change staff. CAMA, personal property valuation, and administrative software systems already in place Aligned our needs with goal of city managers for a citywide document imaging and workflow system; offered to be the pilot program.
Denver First intra-office workflow step: problem deeds First problem discovered: employees forwarding work anonymously Personal property section joins the workflow (already were using online filings) Scan personal property declarations, route the images to the queues of staff members for processing.
Scanning, routing, working Scan deeds or personal property declarations Route the images of those documents Enable employees to do their work by viewing the document images
Broader uses Not just scanning and routing deeds and declarations: *creating packets for field work *generating e-mailse *time study *workflow initiated for one department by another (i.e., a valuation correction in the assessor s s office causes workflow into treasurer s office where a refund is generated)
Appeals processing Online appeals routed to appropriate individuals Highly automated appeals workflow (Harris County Appraisal District s s online appeals and automated responses with calculated offers of adjusted values)
Shared Databases In addition to using images of documents, skip the document and use shared databases (Service Oriented Architecture) An example from Denver: Title companies will electronically route information from their databases directly to the Assessor s Office, bypassing the need for the Clerk and Recorder to scan the deeds.
Ammunition - Obtaining budget approval Arguments, strategies, etc, which can be used when seeking budget approval for a workflow system: Upgrade to existing system Possible lower cost if you are an early user of the software. Other city/county offices can use the same system.
Ammunition cont d Productivity enhancement study showing benefits of eliminating manual procedures. Savings on archival/retrieval costs for off-site storage of documents. New legislation which can be cited as reason for acquiring new systems (new valuation tables, complicated exemptions, appeals procedures, etc) Shift in any existing responsibilities from state to local Newly elected officials or new I.T. directors who want system improvements or consolidated databases, workflow systems, etc.
Ammunition cont d Old system is close to obsolete, hard to service, etc, and there are significant dangers that would be faced if the system failed. Improvement in service by completing tasks more quickly (timely ownership changes, for example) The importance of I.T. support: Assessor should fully educate their I.T. leaders By partnering with I.T., assessors can get in the queue for limited resources and have another champion in the budget request process.
The more the C.I.O. knows, the better the initial estimates will be for the project, reducing possible cost overruns and delays. From the vendor side: Does the vendor have any flexibility in pricing to help the city or county stay within their budget?
Questions to ask regarding a proposed automated workflow project Have you conducted a thorough study of your business processes, streamlining them and making them consistent? If you have, are you y thoroughly convinced that your new procedures are exactly what you y want to automate? Has your city or county implemented automated workflow and integrated it with applications in other departments, or is this the first time? If you previously implemented automated workflow elsewhere successfully, can you tap into the internal expert that led the initiative, and learn from his or her successes and failures? If this is the first time, do you have highly skilled IT staff that t understand the complexities of system integration and workflow design, d and who know the vendor s s product at the necessary level of detail? Do you have the IT resources necessary to handle the workflow implementation and integration, as well as the design review, interviews and testing with key staff, and training, in addition to their current c job requirements? Are you flexible with regard to the project completion date? Is it acceptable for the project to be slowed by other priorities or design d flaws that are discovered during the process?
Your employees Employee response to implementation of workflow can vary (by age group, or by tenure, technical sophistication, etc) Involve employees, or representatives from employee groups, when holding planning meetings for the workflow system Can avoid misunderstandings later
Information sources San Diego County Assessor s s Office Project Case Study: http://www.ecmconnection.com/downloads/detail.aspx?docid=a78900ce-f5ab f5ab-4909-a2dd-0324094664d4 Solano County Budget Proposal and Justifications: http://www.solanocounty.com/propbudget/pdf/u 1140.pdf Article on workflow basics and functions: http://www.gonzobanker.com/article.aspx?article=246 Workflow Management Coalition: http://www.wfmc.org/about/welcome.htm
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