Citizen’s Advice experiences instability in Microsoft case management system

The Citizen's Advice Bureau (CAB) has experienced instability in rolling out a new case management system to 20 per cent of its member bureaux.

The new system, which is based on Microsoft's Dynamics management software, is being integrated by Logica, with whom the CAB has a long-standing IT partnership deal.

Computing reported in March last year that as part of CAB signing a five-year deal with Logica to overhaul its IT, it would be rolling out the new system to capture client details into the same database, regardless of the channel being used to submit the details, including web, email, phone and the internet.

The initial development for the new system was completed earlier this year, according to a CAB spokesperson, and a pilot involving 20 bureaux was completed in August.

"Based on the feedback from the pilot it was decided that there would be a first phase rollout starting in September that would extend to around 20 per cent of the bureaux membership," said the CAB spokesperson.

There are currently 398 member bureaux.

However, shortly after the initial rollout began, CAB and Logica had to suspend the implementation as there appeared to be problems with the system.

"During the early days of the rollout there was some evidence of system instability, which hadn't shown up in the pilot," said the spokesperson.

"There was an immediate decision made to suspend the rollout until the cause of the instability was understood and resolved."

Following this, Logica established a team between itself, Microsoft and the CAB to analyse what the cause of the instability was.

According to the CAB spokesperson, a "number of recommendations" came from the team and these have since been implemented.

"The case management is now in daily use by 30 bureaux – just under 10 per cent of our membership – and is stable," she said.

Further deployment across the bureaux will continue throughout 2011.