Because the Microsoft Dynamics CRM suite used by the Ministry of Economic Development uses the same framework as Microsoft xRM, the software-maker’s application framework for the management of any business entity, the MED realised it had a development tool in-house.

It wanted to develop and deliver a number of new custom applications quickly and realised it could do this using what Microsoft calls its xRM Application Platform Framework, which actually underlies Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

In addition, xRM offered the MED an enhanced user experience, thanks to its workflow automation component, which is delivered via a modern user interface, making it easier to maintain and share data among systems.

Legacy systems hamper mission
The Ministry of Economic Development (MED) aims to foster New Zealand’s economic development. It employs 750 people, in eight branches, across New Zealand. They cover a range of economic activities, from strategy to consumer affairs.

The Ministry of Consumer Affairs and the Ministry of Tourism are semi-autonomous departments of the MED. The ministry is made up of many branches and departments, each with its own goals, processes and data-sets.

Increasing demand for solutions that provide recording, managing, tracking and reporting, and simplified workflow, together with meeting legislative requirements, has resulted in a constant flow of requests from work-team managers for business applications to manage data more effectively and efficiently.

Within the ministry, employees typically work in units that require distinct applications and associated workflows. A challenge common to each group is the need to produce regular reports back to government ministers. Because of aging legacy systems, data residing in silos and multiple spreadsheets, and numerous paper files in some cases, days of effort was required to compile these reports.

Another challenge faced by the MED was the proliferation of hundreds of disparate databases. Over the years, many single-user data stores, such as Access, Paradox, and SQL databases, had mushroomed across the MED, making it difficult to capture and share data between departments and work teams. The discrete data stores also hampered collation of information that managers could use to make informed decisions quickly about new policies or initiatives.

One framework, many applications
Seeking to solve their data access problems, the MED’s work teams turned to the IT department. Soon, the business analyst team was fielding a long list of custom application requests.

“As the team’s understanding of the xRM application development framework grew, it became clear it offered us a highly flexible and customisable development framework, and a solution for a significant proportion of our team’s varying requirements,” says John Beckford, Information Technology Group, software development & support manager for the MED.

The Ministry of Consumer Affairs (MCA) had already implemented Microsoft Dynamics CRM, so the MED’s IT leaders were familiar with the capabilities xRM. When the MED’s energy safety team requested a case management application with similar characteristics to the MCA’s solution, the IT managers again turned to xRM and added the Energy Safety Intelligence (ESI) application to the framework in Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

“The workflow, tracking and interface requirements were similar to those developed for the Ministry of Consumer Affairs,” recalls Beckford.

“Since we already had the xRM framework in place and were aware of the effort required to create applications, we compared up-and-coming projects with other technology in use at the MED and figured it would be cheaper and quicker to use Microsoft Dynamics CRM for the ESI as well.”

Accelerated development
By using familiar Microsoft application framework building blocks, to create multiple applications on a single platform, the MED has increased end-user efficiency, while simultaneously reducing IT development and ensuing support costs.

Early on, the MED IT team established an assessment process for new business applications, which helped identify those that could be delivered easily via Microsoft Dynamics CRM. A high-level data model and basic workflows, together with a list of customisation requirements, provide a good indication.

Typically, a suitable business application can be modelled to prototype stage in about 60 hours, enabling the business users to ‘experience’ their new system through screen interactions and basic workflow.

“Once we’d become comfortable with the strengths of Microsoft Dynamics CRM and which business requirements it could deliver easily we were surprised as to the percentage of application requests for which it was the optimum solution,” recalls Beckford.

To date, the MED has implemented five unique applications built on the xRM framework:

• Consumer Affairs Reporting Tool. A dynamic, unified database to capture all information relating to product standards and product safety issues.
• Energy Safety Intelligence. A common database incorporating workflow automation to support all operations, including the capture of incident data, management of open investigations, audits and compliance activities.
• Grants Information Management System. A case management system to store and administer citizen grant applications submitted to one or more of the MED’s eight grant funds.
• MED Contracts. To store, share and monitor all contracts for goods and services.
• Future Competitive Advantage. To maintain detailed profiles, business development plans and product/export portfolios of New Zealand’s business movers and shakers.

In addition, the MED IT team has five new line-ofbusiness applications on the xRM framework underway, including a Hazardous Waste Permits application, to manage international permit approval processes, and a tool for the MED’s legal team to manage their case work.

Multiple benefits
“The xRM development framework is helping us to standardise a sub-set of our systems and databases, which makes them easier to maintain and allows data to be shared among systems and teams,” says Beckford.

“Ultimately, that’s given us significant savings in set-up and development costs, because we don’t need infrastructure and architecture resources each time we develop a new application.”

“Using the xRM development framework is quicker, as non developer resources are able to customise it to their needs,” explains Beckford.

“This means we’re able to be much more responsive to our internal customers, saving time and money, and resulting in more agile business processes.”

Feedback from the departments these applications have been developed for has been very positive, with clear benefits being seen by the users.

“The Energy Safety Intelligence application is an essential tool to help us manage our department proactively and ensure we best serve public safety,” says Mark Wogan, operations manager for energy safety at the MED.

“Now, I can run reports encompassing both our electricity and gas work groups, and identify safety incident trends more effectively, to create education and prevention programs,” says Wogan.






> Intergen
W: www.intergen.co.nz
Wayne Forgesson - Director Marketing
P: +64 4 472 2021
E: wayne.forgesson@intergen.co.nz
W: www.microsoft.co.nz/dynamics






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