Most of us have never contemplated the totality of services provided every day by our local or city governments. From administering elections to maintaining a court system, a coroner's office, birth and death records, and deeds of trust, to managing trash pickup, recycling programs, and hazardous waste disposal, local governments are document repositories extraordinaire! The consolidated city-county government of Denver, Colorado, is a striking case in point. With a combined population of over 600,000, and encompassing 155 square miles and 80 defined neighborhoods, this fused governmental entity oversees nearly 140 schools, over 200 parks, 29 recreation centers, 14 public libraries, 34 fire stations, over 1,000 buses and five light rail lines, Denver International Airport (DIA), an animal shelter, a Department of Motor Vehicles, and hundreds of other governmental departments and services. The amount of documentation in the varied and yet often interconnected departments is staggering. Nearly $1 billion and over 10,000 employees are needed to keep Denver's services running and to record, verify, and compile all of the supporting documentation. In 2005, the more than 70 agencies of the consolidated city-county government used 14 different document management systems, none of which could communicate or interact with each other. The Information Technology department supervised multiple autonomous IT units with their own systems and standards. This decentralization created problems not just with document sharing, but also with document security and the ability to audit record keeping functions, particularly scanned contracts and financial records. Employee productivity was negatively impacted through time wasted in locating required documents from other agencies, duplication of IT functions, and cumbersome document scanning applications. Mayor John Hickenlooper, a proponent of government transparency and efficiency, created a centralized IT group and assigned it the task of conceiving an integrated strategy to unify and streamline IT functions. Scrapping the 14 document management systems was an obvious first cost-saving action. The enterprise content management (ECM) system adopted would need to revamp the city's contract record system so that it no longer needed a nightly reboot, met security standards, and was easily searchable for employees across agencies. Described by Al Rosabal, Deputy CIO Denver City and County, as an "end-of-life" system, the existing system had poor search capabilities and overall feeble performance. Initially, the Technology Services Group was stymied in locating a cost-effective solution that could be implemented without any interruption in service. Then it discovered Alfresco. Alfresco's all-Web-based, open source ECM system was not only affordable to implement, but would conservatively save Denver approximately $1.5 million over five years. CIO Rosabal estimates that, over time, the open source model could save the city up to $1 million a year in recurring licensing, deployment, and maintenance costs as opposed to a proprietary system. Alfresco's ECM capabilities include document, record, and image management, document versioning, multi-language support, and support for multiple client operating systems (Windows, GNU/Linux, and Solaris), Web content management, and integration with MySQL, which Denver used for its relational database management system. With a browser-based graphical user interface and integration with the most commonly used Microsoft Office suites, Alfresco ECM was a perfect fit to economically meet Denver's needs. Implementation began in 2009 and took place in 6- to 12-week cycles over 15 months' time. Each cycle also included employee training. This gradual phase-in encouraged employee cooperation and allowed time for feedback before the next learning curve began. For the auditor and controller offices, Alfresco was integrated with the current PeopleSoft Financial Management software so that employees could view contracts and associated content within the familiar interface. Complete automation of the contract requisition, writing, and authorization processes resulted in accelerated contract approval time and enhanced contract and financial document auditing. The procurement process had the same structural problems as the IT department; it was spread throughout multiple autonomous or semi-autonomous agencies. To centralize and standardize the procure-to-pay process (which includes the initial decision to make the purchase, the process of selecting the goods, and the transaction to pay for the goods purchased), the existing PeopleSoft Financials system was again leveraged. Elements of the workflow and document repository were handled by Alfresco, and a Web service was used to communicate and move requisitions, purchase orders, receiving documents, accounts payable invoices, and associated documents between Alfresco and PeopleSoft Financials. In addition, an Alfresco content repository maintained all data retention policies.
According to Rosabal, another important part of the long-term strategy was to improve citizen engagement. A key element was to extend the document repository to citizens. While many documents could be obtained at government offices, Denver wanted to provide citizens with online access at a reduced cost. As with the contract record system and the procure-to-pay process, Oracle Enterprise Service Bus (ESB) was used to integrate Alfresco with PeopleSoft and other key applications. This enabled data to be routed as Extensible Markup Language (XML) messages between multiple applications. Documents could now be moved between Alfresco and PeopleSoft and made available to citizens on the Web.
Another initiative to better serve citizens was an upgrade to the 311 service. 311 is a special non-emergency phone number in many communities that connects citizens to a Citizen Service Center. Residents can call to report community concerns such as pot-holes, barking dogs and other noise disturbances, graffiti, roadway debris, and dysfunctional street and traffic lights. Denver migrated the 311 service online by reusing newly created Web services and incorporating Alfresco with the call center and customer relationship management (CRM) software. Citizens can now use an online form to submit complaints and concerns from their computer or through iPhone and iPad apps. With the Alfresco ECM, PeopleSoft, and Oracle ESB infrastructure in place, Denver can now reuse the 311 application technology to proceed to new initiatives such as migrating various licensing, permitting, and inspection programs online and making them accessible to mobile devices. If the projected cost savings are fully realized, Denver can look forward to not only improved employee productivity, superior document access, auditing, and security, and enhanced service to its citizenry, but the ability to strategically invest in future technology.
1. What types of problems was the consolidated city-county government of Denver, Colorado, experiencing with document management before instituting the Alfresco ECM system?
2. How did the Alfresco ECM system provide a solution to these problems?
3. What management, organization, and technology issues had to be addressed in selecting and implementing Denver's new content management system?
4. How did the new content management system change governmental processes for Denver? How did it benefit citizens?