| 4. In which ways is the initiative creative and innovative?
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The main objective of a software development project is delivering the quality software that meets the needs as fast as possible within the restrictions of budget and time. Quality includes both internal quality meaning debugged software and external quality meaning that software fulfills the needs of client.
ALM (Application Lifecycle Management) Process handling the lifecycle of application starting from the analysis stage of the project continuing with planning, design, coding, testing, enhancement process and ending with deployment is integrated to projects.
Agile software development method that allows developing the project progressively, flexibility during these stages and suggests staying in touch with the users was used. The management of planning, followup and documentation of business processes were performed via TFS.
Detailed analysis studies are carried out by the specialist working in Department of Information Technologies.
The compliance with regulations of the reports created as a result of analysis studies are controlled by Department’s Project Group. Approved needs are included in business plan and conveyed to Software Group. Completed modules are tested in terms of functioning by Test Group. Training documents are prepared for the modules passing the test processes. The personnel who will use the modules are trained according to designed training program. After all these processes, developed modules are brought into user application. In every central units and provincial units there are project officers. Project officers have the general knowledge about all modules and they are trained in line with this purpose. Error and request reports from users firstly go through these project officers’ examination and then the ones evaluated as needs to be conveyed to center are conveyed to Help Desk (Call Center) by project officers. Requests received by Help Desk are registered and addressed immediately.
Analysis studies for Apostille/Normal Certificate Registration System started in February 2009 and negotiations are conducted with Ministry of Foreign Affairs, General Directorate of Provincial Administrations and Governorate of Ankara within this scope. Upon resulting of analysis studies and within the frame of obtained analysis reports, development period started on 17.09.2009 and ended on 23.10.2009. Apostille/Normal Certification Registration System put into operation following the trainings for governorates and district governorates and the first registries were created by January 2010.
Signature and seal samples scanned and registered to Apostille/Normal Certificate Registration System by governorate and district governorates can be displayed by personnel of General Directorate of Provincial Administrations Data Collection Branch making query within the limits of granted authorization.
Query system is developed for Ministry of Foreign Affairs to be able to display previously used signature and seal samples on electronical platform instead of sending signatory circulars in paper form. Ministry of Foreign Affairs can access Apostille/Normal Certificate Registration System with a user/password through VPN and display the signature and seal samples registered to system as scanned with ID number or Name-Surname information of authorized personnel.
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| 5. Who implemented the initiative and what is the size of the population affected by this initiative?
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Stakeholders of Apostille/Normal Certificate Registration System are 81 Governorates, 919 District Governorates, General Directorate of Provincial Administrations and Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The studies conducted during the creation of system are performed according to received requests, interviews, related legislations and analysis reports. Feedbacks received in consequence of analysis and trainings are put into practice within the project plan.
e-Transformation evaluation meetings are held and there are many articles about the project introduction published within the scope of e-Government studies in Turkey in the journals of Informatics Association of Turkey, Turkish Administrators Association and Turkish Administrative Researches Foundation. NGOs providing support to the project by means of published articles and organizations are:
• E-Government Round Table Meeting (2013) “Ministry of Interior Technological Approaches and Projects” (e-Devlet Yuvarlak Masa Toplantısı (2013) “İçişleri Bakanlığı Teknoloji Yaklaşımları ve Projeleri), BThaber Dergisi, June 2013, Issue 40, Page 6-31.
• The News Journal of Ministry of Interior, September-October,November-December 2009 Issue: 5-6 “Bakanlığımız Hizmetlerinde E-Dönüşüm: E-İçişleri Projesi”(p. 20–21) (“e-Transformation in Services of our Ministry: The e-Interior Project”, in English).
• January – June 2012-1 issue of “Sosyo Ekonomi Dergisi” of Hacettepe University “e-Devlet Çalışmalarına Bir Örnek: ‘e-İçişleri” (p. 223-248) (English Translation: Socio-Economic Journal, A Sample for e-Government Studies: e-Interior) http://www.sosyoekonomi.hacettepe.edu.tr/120110.pdf
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| 6. How was the strategy implemented and what resources were mobilized?
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The project is developed as web application type with ASP.NET4.0 technology, software development language: C# 4.0, framework of study is .NET FrameWork 4.0. Work and data layer infrastructure is founded on WCF(Windows Communication Foundation). Web hosting service is IIS(Internet Information Services) and it can serve on 15 different virtual server. As of the database, MSSQL Server 20012 Cluster and AlwaysOn structure working on four servers which can manage heavy usage load is used.
• Collection Infrastructure: TFS 2010( Right now a tool named CCNet)
• Source Code Versioning and Control Tool: TFS (Team Foundation Server) 2010
• Manual Test Tool: MTM (Microsoft Test Manager) 2010
• Reporting tool: SQL Reporting Server
• Web Hosting Service: IIS (Internet Information Services) 7.5
• Session Management: State Server
• Appropriate load distribution: it is provided with Netscaler citrix Load Balancer device
• Authentication Process: DC (Domain Controller)
• Cache Management: Microsoft AppFabric 1.0
• Architecture:
Communication is provided with the TCP connection established between web and WCF. This type of communication is safe and fast. Moreover, it is secure because WCF has no access to outside. WCF will be carried to a seperate virtual server and the structure will become more stable and secure in the future. TypedDataSet and CCG (developed by Ministry of Interior Department of IT) are used for data access. Through these methods database acess processes can be made easily, with high performance and safely. Additionally, all the required automatic code development tools are written by Department of Information Technologies. It has the mechanisms of error detection and logging. Team Foundation Server (TFS) that is designed for institutional projects and containing a system which will keep all kinds of content (not only codes but also documents, error logs, requests, tasks, test automations, etc.) under version control is being used.
Practice based MSF Agile method was adopted in order to handle modelling and documentation efficient and productively of the software systems coming with TFS (Team Foundation Server). ALM (Application Lifecycle Management) Process handling the lifecycle of application starting from the analysis stage of the project continuing with planning, design, coding, testing, enhancement process and ending with deployment is built on Agile.
Apostille/Normal Certificate Registration System established on that technological infrastructure is used by 81 governorates and 919 district governorates throughout the country and these institutions are involved in e-Government transformation.
Costs of time, communication and personnel are retrenched by providing the public and citizens with that important service through a central system without the necessity of separate investments of each governorate in order to complete the transition to e-government services. High costs for maintenance of separately operating softwares and security of any and every information on the established database are prevented. Because the same applications are being used in all units, the adaptation period that needed for personnel assignment changes is shortened. Important progress is made in providing performance control.
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| 7. Who were the stakeholders involved in the design of the initiative and in its implementation?
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Benefits of Apostille/Normal Certificate Registration System are presented below:
• It is ensured in electronic environment that a document authorized in Turkey with Apostille or Normal Certification can be used in another country legally.
• The procedures of the citizens who wish to have apostille procedure can be concluded in a fast and secure way since the authorized person signatory list is kept in the system.
• Source and time saving can be ensured with the e-signature use in the ratification of “Apostille Certification”.
• International apostille process and procedures can be accelerated and redtape between the states can be reduced.
• Electronic reporting procedures and batch queries can be performed.
• Being an IT based system, abolishment of conventional paper processes and the unnecessary costs derived from them can be provided.
• Apostille/Normal Certificate Registration System supports Green IT approach because it encourages spending less time and source comparing to ‘conventional’ paper based apostille system.
• Totally 526.820 apostille certificates are provided through this system since 2010.
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| 8. What were the most successful outputs and why was the initiative effective?
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Following the one on one interviews with users by visiting determined governorates and district governorates within the scope of analysis and enhancement studies for Apostille/Normal Certificate Registration System, analysis reports was created. Cities (provinces) and districts visited in 2012 are Governorate of Bolu and District Governorates of Mengen, Dordivan, Yenicaga, Governorate of Ankara and District Governorates of Yenimahalle, Mamak, Kizilcahamam, Governorate of Konya and District Governorate of Selcuklu, Governorate of Eskisehir and District Governorate of Odunpazari and in 2103: Governorates of Malatya, Elazig, Afyon and Usak. Additionally, surveys are prepared for governorate and district governorates. In this way, user satisfaction can be measured, complaints or new requests are received. These complaint or requests are discussed with project managers and required developments are provided according to needs determined upon evaluations.
From the statistics pages designed for General Directorate of Provincial Administrations, numbers of apostille or normal certificates can be reported according to date or unit criteria.
Within the scope of business intelligence studies, any statistical report related to apostille and normal certificate can be created dynamically through http://iszekasi.icisleri.gov.tr/ by authorized person
Through the statistics pages designed for General Directorate of Provincial Administrations, the numbers of apostille or normal certificate can be reported according to date and unit criteria.
Any statistical report regarding apostille and normal certificate can be created dynamically by authorized person within the scope of business intelligence studies through http://iszekasi.icisleri.gov.tr/.
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| 9. What were the main obstacles encountered and how were they overcome?
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During the development period of Apostille/Normal Certificate Registration, incomplete information given by user personnel complicated the module analysis and this caused delay in plans from time to time. In spite of this, detailed module analysis reports including business processes and flow charts were prepared by making meetings in governorate and district governorates with the participation of expert analysts, software developers and test specialists. In the stage of using the developed modules, trainings and surveys are organized in order to raise users’ interest and awareness.
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