The current system employs a highly customized proprietary commercial architecture that presents scaling challenges without disrupting operational systems. The environment lacks mechanisms to update data architecture or incorporate new functionality without vendor involvement, creating obstacles for business, regulatory, and technology modernization needs. Key challenges include: • Usability Issues - The current permitting system is difficult for internal and external users to navigate, requiring substantial time for process learning and completion. • Data Quality Issues - System modules contain inconsistent data due to varying user utilization patterns and redundant manual data entry requirements. • Minimal Reporting Capabilities - Staff expend significant time collecting data and requesting vendor report generation for permitting processes, executive reporting, and public access responses. • Inadequate and inflexible data architectures - The existing environment cannot reasonably interoperate with internal or external systems. NEW SYSTEM 1. Provide a commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) system to replace the agency's web-based permit and compliance management system. 2. The new system will feature a comprehensive, streamlined architecture built on a modular framework, enabling seamless integration of the four existing systems, providing easier maintenance, and flexibility to support program-specific functionality. 3. The proposed system must be scalable to accommodate future enhancements and should be designed, tested, and maintained using modern software development methodology to ensure long-term reliability and technical efficiency. 4. The new system must deliver accurate, timely data supporting organizational goals. The Environmental Protection Division (EPD) aims to achieve these primary business objectives: • Foster strong relationships with external agencies, government entities, and the public by providing these stakeholders with a high-quality and user-friendly business system to engage services delivered by the agency. Increasing the value and effectiveness of permitting services and offerings to ensure stakeholder and customer satisfaction. • Clean and integrate legacy data into the new system while supporting the deprecation of old solutions and Microsoft Access dependency. • Establish a sustainable, centralized data management and framework. • Implement flexible, scalable information architecture adaptable to changing business requirements. • Develop data analytics capacity for dashboard, map, and report creation to visualize system data. • Enable configuration of forms and web map interfaces for customer data contribution as requirements evolve.
