Example 2: lowering compliance costs

In this example, an agency has been tasked by its Minister with lowering the compliance costs for business. Whilst delivering information via a portal is regarded as being an essential first step, the project team have decided that the integration of some key taxpayer-focused processes will deliver the kind of benefits sought by the Minister. After looking at alternatives, the decision is taken to provide a website that aggregates various agency services into value-added processes, combining both the service metadata and additional editorial that explains how companies can best obtain the services they are seeking.

To ensure the service can be used by the widest possible range of businesses, some of the collaboration toolkit will be used to provide real-time online assistance via instant messaging from the website. This text messaging approach will allow human operators currently employed in the agency's call centre to offer one-on-one help as users navigate some of the more complex processes.

From the requirements it is clear the following functionality is required:

• Front-end web navigation components to enable users to find their way around the site easily;

• A news collection and display system, able to categorise and prioritise news stories that are relevant to business users from a wide range of government sites;

• A content management system to allow the agency to add editorial commentary to the basic metadata-driven processes;

• Lists of appropriate services, agencies and contact details, and information about how to use the inter-linked services in the correct fashion;

• A way of quickly and efficiently putting users in touch with the correct people in various agencies that can assist them, without long delays in trying to track down the correct person through the phone system;

• A way of providing real-time online assistance when users have difficulty navigating their way through complex processes.

There are additional requirements, notably for the system to be reliable and scalable to handle the demands of a large number of businesses, and the need for the site to be viewable over low-bandwidth links. Of course, the site must be fast to get operational and highly cost-effective, given that the Minister is looking for near-term results.

Looking at the components available, there are a number of ways to meet the requirements from the available stock of components. These can be summarised as follows:

The component approach allows a suitable system to be created quickly and cost-effectively. The officials involved can focus on meeting the Minister's objectives without the need to wait on the budget cycle for large-scale capital investments.