Case Management System: Design, Development, Testing, Deployment, and Operation

Challenge:

IRCC and GAC wanted to replace several paper-based systems at Canadian missions with an online system that could process over 70,000 applications each year. Creating an online system was seen as an effective way to deliver a better user experience, meet program mandates, and at the same time, reduce the high expenses for facilities and personnel being incurred to process applications on paper.

Each application had to be assessed for program eligibility specific to the negotiated agreement for the country of origin. High program popularity and strictly required response (Service Level Agreement) times, combined to present a significant challenge to process large volumes of applications in short timeframes with high accuracy.

Applications in the completed system would be submitted at the rate of up to 5 applications per second with concurrent users sometimes exceeding 20,000. The high number of concurrent users managed to be managed by the system and team was on par with the most sophisticated and busy sites on the Internet – including ticket sales for the largest stadium rock concerts and popular international shopping sites.

Services Provided:

  1. Business analysis (requirements gathering)

  2. Service design

  3. Project management

  4. Technical development

  5. Manual and automated functional testing

  6. Load (stress) testing and system optimization

  7. Training

Results:

  1. The client reported an 800% increase in efficiency and a 10 full-time equivalent (FTE) in labour savings

  2. A completely paperless application submission and application processing

    1. Replaced all paper-based systems with a versatile online application system with an intuitive and user-friendly interface, providing appropriate prompts, helpful tips, and error checking

    2. Increase transparency and reduce anxiety and time-consuming inquiries by allowing applicants to track the progress of their application online in real-time

    3. Eliminated issues with lost or misdirected emails by managing all correspondence and applicant forms through applicants’ accounts (250,000+ items each year)

  3. A real-time workflow configuration administrative module

    1. Allowed for system administrator to reconfigure which hub managed various (or all) steps in the processing cycle in real-time thus enabling the consolidation of processing to actively manage the costs of training, facilities, and personnel. For example, the system administrator could redirect processing from the Tokyo mission to Ottawa at will

  4. A real-time reporting module

    1. Quota fill rates and participation fee collected amounts were available instantaneously rather than after a few months thus enabling a better decision-making process

    2. Applicant queries (over 40,000 in each intake season), were handled efficiently and in a timely manner. Instantaneous access to case notes and all correspondence for any application anywhere in the world was available to anyone with the right permissions

  5. A robust online payment system for clients from 33 different countries

    1. Applicants were able to make a (credit) payment online without having to make a trip to their bank and then submit proof of payment (as was previously the case). This reduced the effort and frustration for the applicants but also significantly improved the financial reconciliation and auditability of revenue. Revenue was submitted and available to the program immediately rather than incurring the delay of waiting for the mission to forward payments in batch