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RESTRICTED - COMMERCIAL/MANAGEMENT/POLICY
BA/POCL Programme Delivery Authority Board
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Minutes of the meeting 15 July 1997 ba (7
Attendees
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Alec Wylie - SSA(NI) Chair “. a Cre
George McCorkell - BA rv
Paul Rich - POCL
Peter Crahan - PDA ( th
Bruce McNiven = PDA
John Bennett = ICL Pathway
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Mike Coomb: = ICL Path “s
Sue Daniel. - PDA seeroeasy ica ( (I
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1. Minutes and Matters Arising
1.1 The meeting considered the minutes of the meeting of
4 June and in discussion amendments were agreed as
follows:
2.4.2 OBCS was progressing satisfactorily froma
system point of view and the new target is to
achieve 150 operational post offices by the end
of June with a further 24 during July/August.
The balance were more complex and might fall
outside the planned time frame.
2.4.3 The ten PSTN offices were targeted in this
time frame subject to successful conclusion of
development and testing of the PSTN solution.
Terry Austin reported that ICL Pathway were
attempting to identify which post offices
nationally were ISDN compatible but that BT had
offered to provide this information only as a
response to ICL Pathway’s roll out plans.
3.2 All parties understood what was needed to
deliver CAPS 2.2 [Congo 4.1] and this would be
delivered three weeks after Congo 4 go-live
date. CAPS functionality would not be fully
utilised until Congo 5 with the need for some
manual procedures until ICL Congo 5 is
delivered.
ne a It was recognised that BA was responsible for
communicating policy. The jointly produced plan
for customer education was predicated on BA
sending out PANs directly to the customer. The
plan is an integrated tightly coupled campaign
which aims to have maximum impact on benefit
payment customers as benefits are migrated. It
was pointed out that funding for this direct
mail was not guaranteed to be available from
BA, but this issue would be discussed at the
CAPS Board on 9 June. Irrespective of the route
taken, cost and funding issues need to be
investigated further.
4.3. It was noted that the entire campaign was not
predicated on all actions taking place
precisely as proposed, but the importance of
the TV advertising and the notification of
migration of second benefit was stressed.
£5) The proposals were endorsed subject to cost and
funding issues which, irrespective of the route
taken, would need to be investigated further.
1.2 The actions from the previous meeting were reviewed
and in discussion the following points were made:
1.2.1_AP1: Bruce McNiven to ensure that figures on
foreign encashments are added to the monthly performance
report.
Mr McNiven provided clarification to his update by
advising the meeting of the maintenance of a Foreign
Encashments Log to identify those encashments breaking
the rules. To date 20% of transactions had been
identified has having broken the foreign encasment rules
and those causing concern had been followed up
individually with BA Security. The maintenance of the
Foreign Encashment Log had proved to be a possible means
of identifying potential fraud.
1.2.2 AP 4: Bruce McNiven and Barrie Davies to examine
‘ - £ utili F
Mr McNiven expanded on his update to advise the meeting
that the issue had not yet been resolved but work was in
hand to achieve resolution. It was agreed that a target
timescale for resolution would be required to ensure
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confidence by the next PDA Board meeting. ICL Pathway
were informed that, although they may not feel confident
in being able to provide a definitive statement to the
next meeting, they would be expected to have identified
how long it will take to obtain information for all post
offices and to provide an update position with a
timescale for collation of the full details and
subsequent resolution of the issues.
Action Point 1: Mr Bennett to identify how long it will
take to obtain all the information required for all post
offices and provide a progress update with timescale for
collation of full details and resolution of the issues to
the next PDA Board meeting.
2. Progress Reports
2.1 PDA
2.1.1 Mr Crahan advised the meeting that the written
report had been overtaken by events and provided an oral
update of PDA issues as follows:
2.1.2 As PDA was unsure of ICL Pathway’s current OBCS
roll out proposals and the number of offices included in
the time frame, it was agreed that Mr Bennett would
provide this information in his progress report.
2.1.3 The OBCS system was performing well
overall.However, concerns about certain procedural and
technical elements had been highlighted by an incident of
suspected fraudulent encashment which, following
investigation, had proved to be unfounded, being caused
in the first instance by procedural error. The procedural
and technical issues raised were currently being
addressed.
A copy of the Interim Horizon Service Report (1 May - 2
July is attached)
2.1.4 Following a presentation to the CAPS Programme
Board, outline agreement had been reached on PANs and
migration letter procedures to meet customer education
policy. Detailed requirements relating to frequency and
timing options were currently with the Feeder Benefit
Systems and would then be factored into the debate on
costings. An update would be presented to the next CAPS
Programme Board.
2.1.5 The current Extended Verification Procedure (EVP)
was based on the provision of the first name, the day of
birth and the month of birth, but it had been expected
that the range would be extended for ICL Pathway Release
2. It was now understood that the criteria would not be
extended for this release and it was essential
particularly for BA for whom liability was a big issue,
that ICL Pathway confirmed precisely what would be
forthcoming and in what time frames. PDA and ICL Pathway
were liaising at working level on this. Mr Bennett
confirmed to the meeting that EVP phase 2 would be later
than ICL Pathway Release 2.
Action Point 2: Mr Crahan to update the position in
relation to EVP to the next meeting.
2.1.6 At the DSS quarterly review meeting on 10 July,
the Permanent Secretary had been updated on the present
ICL Pathway re-plan proposals. The message communicated
from the Permanent Secretary was one of disappointment
and concerns over the financial ramifications. The PDA
was expected to return to provide the Permanent Secretary
with details and analysis of the ramifications. A
submission to the Secretary of State had been tabled for
Friday 18 July in which she would also be apprised of the
present position.
2.1.7 The meeting was informed of the management
arrangements made to cover Mr Crahan and Mr McNiven’s
absence on annual leave from 21 July to 5 August
inclusive.
2.2 CAPS
2.2.1 Mr McCorkell had no additional issues to report.
2.3 POCL
2.3.1 Mr Rich reported on the following issues:
2.3.2 The decision to move the roll-out of post offices
back to POCL had been taken forward following a workshop
on 8/9 July at which the following key decisions had been
made:
¢ Horizon implementation would be managed as a project,
with a Project Board, project disciplines and focus;
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e the appointment of a National Implementation Manager
(NIM) and 7 Regional Implementation Managers (RIMs) who
would remain as part of the Regional Team with a direct
line to the National Implementation Manager. The
Regional Implementation Managers would have more power
and scope than the existing Regional Liaison Managers;
e the user communication responsibilities within PDA to
be absorbed within the POCL Network function.
2.3.3 The current position in relation to the re-plan
would be communicated up the line to the Chief Executive
within the next 5 days and subsequently up to DTI, thus
placing it in the political arena.
2.4 ICL Pathway
2.4.1 Mr Bennett reported on ICL Pathway issues and the
following points were highlighted in discussion:
2.4.2 ICL Pathway had recently completed an internal
Programme Review the findings and recommendations from
which had been taken on board, resulting in the revised
Programme Plan presented. A copy of the presentation is
attached.
2.4.3 ICL Pathway had briefed their major suppliers, in
confidence, and had informed their own staff that Congo
4(R1c) would not now go-live on 18 August and the
previous plan had been stood down. Work within ICL
Pathway was now focused on achieving delivery of Congo 4
on 13 October on the basis that their recommendation
would be accepted. Work was in hand to provide the detail
underpinning the plan for Release 1c plus the 1998
release plan.
2.4.4 It was pointed out that, to date, there had been no
formal written recognition received from ICL Pathway
confirming their inability to meet the 18 August 1997 and
5 January 1998 dates and stating their intention to move
Congo 4 go-live to 13 October 1997. The meeting agreed
that receipt of this formal recognition from ICL Pathway
was essential to clarify current uncertainties relating
to PERITAS training, impending upgrades of IGL and OBCS
offices and current survey and implementation plans. It
would also colour POCL communications to staff and agents
and would be needed by DSS for their submission to
Ministers scheduled for 18 July. Formal recognition from
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ICL Pathway was required to preserve project control
integrity.
Action Point 3: Mr Bennett to write to the PDA formally
recognising ICL Pathway’s inability to meet the 18 August
and 5 January dates, their recommendations and the
consequent effects on currently planned activities.
2.4.5 The current planning forecast for OBCS live offices
was 140 by the end of June, plus 17 more in July and a
further 14 implemented by the end of August. Some offices
had been deferred and some had been removed from plans
pending instructions received from POCL. ICL Pathway were
also looking at identifying another stream of outlets.
The OBCS software fault relating to the ISDN blue screen
issue had now been fixed and the use of the System
Management Tool enabled down line fixing, negating the
need for site visits. This meant that ICL Pathway could
now manage the estate from the centre.
The results of the recent survey of OBCS offices and the
Service Report were encouraging, particularly the high
score achieved for “Ease of Use”. However, there were
still lessons to be learned and issues to address.
2.4.6 The technical solution to the PSTN (non ISDN) issue
would take until the end of this year to resolve.
Consequently, the non ISDN solution would not be included
in Release 1c (Congo 4) but would expect to be included
in the next release. On today’s evidence it was
anticipated that this would affect 5% of outlets, but it
was pointed out that the PSTN testing issue was currently
on a critical path for Congo 5.
2.4.7 It was ICL Pathway’s desire to reduce the number of
releases and to reduce interdependency with CAPS. This
would require closer improved dialogue between ICL
Pathway and CAPS. It was pointed out that, although there
was no objection to co-working between the two suppliers,
care should be taken not to exclude the PDA, leaving them
in the position where they were not kept informed. It was
agreed that everything should go via the PDA and that Mr
Crahan and Mr Bennett would discuss the mechanisms for
improving dialogue on a managerial level. The recent
appointment of new managers in both ICL Pathway and CAPS
was recognised as providing a good opportunity to
improve dialogue.
2.4.8 Mr Bennett advised the meeting of recent
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managerial changes and introduced Mr Mike Coombs who had
been appointed as Programme Director. His primary task
would be improving the use of resources and realignment.
Mr Andrew Boswell , ICL Technical Strategy Director, had
also joined the programme on a short-term basis and would
be responsible for technical integrity issues,
highlighting where there were skills shortfalls and using
ICL to fill the gaps. PDA and sponsors were advised that
there would be no change in positions until notified by
Mr Coombs and until that time present contacts should be
maintained.
2.4.9 Mr Bennett concluded by highlighting those issues
and requirements high on the ICL Pathway agenda for
resolution:
Issues
- Release 1c testing;
- Migration of data - technical solution;
- Confidence in future releases;
- Solution to the non ISDN issue;
- Confidence in Beat Rate
- Configuration Management
Requirements
- Customer Education (the gap)
- Benefit Migration Change Request
2.4.10 Mr Crahan requested information regarding ICL
Pathway’s intention to migrate their Operational Support
Services to Belfast on a home working basis. Mr Meagher,
PDA, had written to Terry Austin expressing his concerns
relating to the security of the proposed home working and
requesting clarification but, to date, no response had
been received. Mr Bennett confirmed that it was ICL
Pathway intention to provide CFM support from the most
efficient base which was Belfast, but agreed to report
back to the Board on their precise intentions.
Action Point 4: Mr Bennett to report back to the Board on
ICL Pathway proposals to migrate Operational Support
services to Belfast on a home working basis.
3. Status of Planning Activity
3.1 Mr Crahan reported that it had appeared that
everything had been moving toward achieving Congo 4
(Release 1c) by the 18 August until PDA received
information from MOR, Integration Testing and Security
Testing which identified real problems. On 3 July ICL
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Pathway informed the PDA that, following an internal
programme review, they had concluded that they would not
be able to meet the 18 August go-live date and proposed
13 October as the revised date for Congo 4. Since that
time the PDA had been working with ICL Pathway to assess
the detail. To date the PDA had not been given visibility
of the low level detail supporting the high level plan
for 13 October date, but it was hoped that this would be
made available at a meeting currently taking place. It
was essential that PDA were apprised of the detailed
evidence supporting ICL Pathway proposals before any
analysis of achievability could be done and a plan built
for Congo 4 to bring with confidence to the Board.
3.2 The workshops were currently not in a position to
work up any detailed plans beyond Congo 4 as these would
be dependent upon the validation of the proposed 13
October date for Congo 4. The meeting agreed that
activity to work up the details for future releases would
continue but discussion of options would be deferred
until plans for Congo 4 had been agreed. Sponsors
required Mr Bennett to ensure that the PDA were provided
with the low level detail supporting ICL Pathway’s plans
for Congo 4 and re-stated the earlier action on him to
provide the PDA with formal recognition of ICL Pathway’s
inability to meet the 18 August and 5 January dates.
3.3 The position on Congo 4- and Congo 5- was understood
but the meeting agreed that there was a need to take an
informed view of the implications in the near future.
3.4 End to end Security testing was on the critical path
and PDA had been advised, at working level, that a major
Riposte upgrade was required. Mr Bennett confirmed that
there were some software changes required but these did
not constitute a major Riposte upgrade release.
3.5 The meeting agreed that discussions on the issue of
possibly fast tracking the commercials relating to the
latest re-plan should be taken outwith the PDA Board and
the PSC.
4. Independent Programme Review
4.1 The meeting was advised that Keith Todd had
particular views on the proposed Independent Programme
Review in relation to what would be included in the
review, who would conduct it and when it would take place
and was keen to discuss these at the PSC meeting.
4.2 Sponsors were hopeful to start the review as soon as
possible and had suggested Cooper and Lybrand or PA be
contracted with technical support being provided by ASE.
It was understood that ICL Pathway would be given the
opportunity to add their ideas, particularly into the
decision on who should conduct the review and it was
agreed to defer final decisions on how to take it forward
until after hearing Keith Todd’s views at the PSC meeting
later that day.
5. Any Other Business
5.1 The meeting approved the Secretarial Standards as
proposed in the paper. It was agreed that there was not
sufficient time to debate issues fully at meetings when
the Sponsor Pre-Board, PDA Board and the PSC meetings all
followed on the same day. The following changes were
agreed:
e the Sponsor Pre-Board and the PDA Board meetings each
required three hours to complete;
e PSC meetings would not be scheduled on the same day as
the PDA Board meeting;and
e either a minimum half hour break to be allowed between
the Sponsor Pre-Board and the PDA Board meetings on the
same day; or
e Sponsor Pre-Board meetings to be held on the afternoon
prior to the Board meeting the following morning.
5.2 It was agreed that the next Sponsor Pre-Board meeting
would be held from 13.30 - 17.00 on the afternoon of 20
August at King Edward Building, followed by the PDA Board
from 10.00 am on 21 August at Feltham.
5.3 The secretary was asked to re-arrange the meeting
scheduled for 23 October due to the non availability of
Mr Wylie.
Action Point 5: Secretary to revise the current meetings
schedule taking into account: the need to separate the
PSC meetings from the PDA Board; to allow three hours
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each for the Sponsor Pre-Board and PDA Board Meetings,
with at least half an hour between; and the availability
of members
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