In other changes, Home Office permanent secretary Mark Sedwill has been asked to revamp its "inadequate" IT systems
So that makes another government department with a crap IT system! There have been some monumental IT failures in recent years both at the Home Office and Ministry of Justice, including our very own aborted C-NOMIS intended as a universal case recording system. It didn't work, cost a fortune and each probation service opted for differing systems such as CRAMS, ICMS or Delius.
With impending privatisation of probation, clearly someone at the MoJ thought a standard case recording system would be a good idea and it's intended to roll out nDelius (n for national) to all service's shortly. Clearly a reliable, universal and efficient IT system is crucial to the success of privatisation, so how's it doing? The following is one person's experience, and it doesn't look promising:-
In a word `chaos.' No one knows what they are doing. For example, to add a contact you run a national search then when you have found the person you must not click on `add contact', No you have to click on `view' then contact log, then scroll right down to the bottom of the page and then you can click on the other `add contact' button and click click click again.
To make it more complicated the Delius page is designed for a wider screen so it does not fit on a square computer screen so you have to keep moving the page around to see what is in the corners.
When making a contact you can only see 4 lines of what you are typing. Then when you have made a contact there is no button to add the next appointment, Oh no, you have to do the whole search again and programme the next appointment in, around 20 clicks of the mouse, it gives you repetitive strain injury.
If you want to send a letter, god help you, you might as well write it by hand as that would be quicker, I have been shown how to build a letter 4 times but still loose the letter every time. And if you dare to want to see a letter that has migrated over that is nearly impossible as all migrated documents are named, wait for it as `migrated documents', so unless you know the date you sent it you cannot find it.
Then if you want to breach some one it is such a complicated process that only those with a PHD in computing science are able to do it. The OGRS score is hidden deep in the recess of events, and the actual order is not clearly shown.
Flags are not clear and some DV perpetrators migrated over as DV victims! Caseloads are not accurate ie I had 40 cases pre Delius, but now appear to have 22, the 18 others have just migrated to random people who have had something to do with them at some time in the past.
Delerius - it is not fit for purpose and feels like we have been given a case record system from the eighties, Remember when you had to press all the function buttons? Beaumont Colson have a lot of work to do to get it more user-friendly. Lets hope they are paid lots for all their effort.
The problems will be highlighted when there is an SFO and then the managers will have to try and decipher what has been going on with the case. Can't wait until you get it and see what you have to say.
Beaumont Colson are the designers of nDelius and this is what they say about it:-
In 2009 a new, national Delius system, was commissioned by the MoJ and BCL's development of this system was completed in late 2012.
The National Delius application is a browser based, national probation service case management system, designed to include the required probation business logic and appropriate security, and will be rolled-out across England and Wales during 2013.
A large part of the work in delivering National Delius has involved the preparation of migration tools - required to move existing legacy data from a number of different types of case management system. Current migration successes demonstrate our capacity to manage this activity through a standard, repeatable process. There is clear potential for these techniques to be applied in any project concerned with the mapping and movement of data between systems.
No hint of any problems there. In the end history tells us that it's crap IT systems that often frustrate the aspirations of government, so it's as well all those prospective bidders for our work know what they are in for. Yes you guessed it guys, the IT really is crap. The system often 'crashes.' The servers can't cope. It's regularly on a 'go slow' and you regularly lose your work.
Sign the No10 petition here..
It does all sound more Delirious than Delius. In my experience the IT in probation has never been user friendly. As you highlight, software is cumbersome and not fit for purpose, which frustrates and stresses the user. IT also feeds the insatiable appetite to record everything, encouraging a cover your back mentality.
ReplyDeleteProbation IT systems have always mistaken data for information, information for knowledge and knowlege for wisdom. The best outcomes, in my view, occur in spite of these systems and rarely because of them.
ReplyDeleteI comment as someone who has just had Delirious introduced to my Service (sorry, Trust) it is absolutely awful. To add to what is said above, you can't glance through the contacts to see what has been going on when you see someone you don't know. You can't find a new letter you wrote unless you know when you wrote it. If you print out a whole contact, the client's name is not on it so unless you remember to write it on, you are left guessing as to who it might be about. There has been crying in the loo and going off sick. I have also recently been involved in an SFO, and as is said, god knows how some poor ACO is ever going to find out anything from it when one happens with NDelirious.
ReplyDeleteIt's an absolute nightmare, in my Trust most offender managers have come to the conclusion that it's all a ploy to send us slowly, but surely mad....
ReplyDeleteOnce this process has been achieved we will all gladly leave paving the way for the private sector.
Whoever designed it needs shooting!!!
When I went to my first talk on Delius I queried whether it was a good idea to name something so essentially visual after a man who went blind as a result of catching syphilis...well I wasn't looking for promotion and retirement was only a few years away.
ReplyDeletelol - brilliant!
DeleteIt's known as Bilious in our office. No prizes fir guessing that's because that's how we all feel trying to use it. I think I've cracked how to do something, then try to show a colleague and it DOESN'T WORK, because they need to send a different type of letter or enter a different type of appointment. There's no logic to it at all.
ReplyDeleteJust changed to the new NDelius. OMG no words can really describe how shockingly bad this new Delius is. Our trust previously had the old Delius which was brilliant, easy to use and easy to see at a glance what was what. Why didn't the Probations Chiefs all join forces and refuse to use this system. It is antiquated and not fit for purpose. It takes probably 4 times longer to do any task and that's if you are able to do what you set out to do in the first place. Its the biggest load of rubbish I have ever had to use and to think the government wasted 6 million pounds on it.
ReplyDeleteJust been "rolled out" to Sussex. Oh God!
ReplyDeleteYou have my deepest sympathy! Can I invite anyone to catalogue just how dreadful it is by giving some examples?
DeleteCheers,
Jim
It is a shit sandwich and we are all munching away- 'mmm delicious!' we say with our thumbs up as our senior managers glance over at us from their caffetierres.
ReplyDeleteLove the picture you paint - 'mmmmm delicious!' lol
DeleteBeaumont Colson, can I please make a suggestion? Can you chemically castrate the designers in order that they are unable to give to the world any offspring that design equally unusable systems!
ReplyDeleteI detect another reminder of how N-Delius can turn normal rational human beings into crazed individuals, hell bent on some form of revenge for those responsible. My deepest sympathy colleague.
DeleteI have to carry the paperwork this demented system generates around with me and then fill in hours worked hours left and hours still to do. Took me an hour to do at home in my own time this evening as all the offender risks and index and pre offences are openly available for all to see if i take out in front of a group. The TR CRC and subsequent private companies might approve but as a dedicated public sector CP Supervisor I sure as shit don't.
ReplyDeleteA very good point - as a matter of interest what system were you using before? Was it CRAMS? I take it you don't have computer access to N-Delius at home?
DeleteMore examples of how crap N-Delius is would be very welcome.
We used IIMS, worked perfectly well for Supervisors who had to print out worksheets for ourselves and colleagues, risk info very definately seperate from the info that needed recording on the day and could be done securely in minutes. This system makes risk info compromises much more likely. I think the designers never even had an inkling that this info may ever leave the office!!!
ReplyDeleteI know absolutely nothing about IIMS only CRAMS which, although had it's annoying aspects, I found quite user-friendly.
DeleteI'm thinking of revisiting the topic of Delius so any more examples of how bad it is from yourself or colleagues would be most welcome. There's an e-mail contact address on my profile page if you prefer. Discretion and anonymity assured.
Cheers,
Jim
Yet more bemused Supervisors trying to print work lists for the weekend and week ahead today and I became the unofficial trainer, they think I'm demented as I tell them to open then print, then close, backtrack, re open and use different print buttons........ a user friendly interface which allows migration of ............ shite. Sorry for the expletives but hey, it is a bucket of pooh
Delete