The Client
The Arizona State Board for Charter Schools (ASBCS) is a charter authorizer responsible for overseeing public charter schools that operate in Arizona. Overseeing more than 500 charter schools, the agency is the largest charter school authorizer in the state and is the second largest authorizer in the nation. The agency’s stated mission is “To improve public education in Arizona by sponsoring charter schools that provide quality educational choices”.
Their Challenge
ASBCS was finding it increasingly difficult to scale and deliver services effectively, due to an antiquated technology platform that performed poorly and lacked much-needed functionality. The agency staff had developed a significant number of time and resource intensive workarounds to deal with the system’s shortcomings. Over time, this led to poor customer satisfaction and raised questions about the agency’s transparency and competence in delivering on its mandate. Agency leadership, including Mary Ellen Lee (President of the Board) and Ashley Berg (Executive Director), knew they needed to replace or overhaul the system but were unsure on how to articulate their needs and secure the needed investment in a difficult funding environment. Additionally, they had limited insight into what options might be available and what it would cost to replace or overhaul the system.
Our Solution
MSSBTA first performed a comprehensive and methodical Needs Assessment, utilizing InfoTech’s Elicit / Analyze / Validate approach. During the Elicit phase, MSSBTA used surveys, interviews, and group sessions to capture requirements from ASBCS staff, charter holders, charter associations, members of the public, lobbyists, and other state agencies. In the Analyze phase, MSSBTA categorized, highlighted dependencies, and prioritized the requirements. Finally, in the Validate phase, MSSBTA presented the requirements to key stakeholders for approval. MSSBTA also worked closely with the agency staff to create process maps for 13 primary business processes that the Board staff conducts.
Equipped with the requirements document generated from the previous step, MSSBTA then performed a Gap Analysis and Impact Assessment along with agency subject matter experts (SMEs), to identify requirements that could not be fulfilled by the current technology platform. This information helped MSSBTA determine the qualitative and quantitative benefits of replacing the platform.
Using the approved requirements and the completed gap and impact assessment, MSSBTA worked with agency leadership and other state stakeholders, to develop a clear roadmap for moving the initiative forward. This roadmap included detailed next steps for obtaining approval and budget to move forward, along with a high-level plan for completing the modernization of the technology platform and achieving the desired business outcomes.
In addition to the core activities above, MSSBTA provided appropriate and timely status communications to the agency leadership team and ensured that risks and issues were addressed.
Their Results
“The direction is even better defined than we had originally anticipated.” – Ashley Berg, Executive Director and Sponsor
“Thank you for your guidance and advice throughout this process. We knew we did not have the knowledge nor the resources to put a thorough needs assessment and evaluation together, so thank you!” – Ashley Berg, Executive Director and Daniel Cobin, Assistant Director
On a tight timeline, MSSBTA delivered a complete inventory of the agency’s requirements, a gap assessment of the current technology platform, and a proposed modernization roadmap. The outputs from this initial phase are critical and will inform the creation of a Business Case, Vendor Selection, and Implementation of a Replacement Platform.
Deliverables
Business Requirements
Gap Analysis
Modernization Roadmap