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Workflow Management Systems in Parliamentary Research

Services

Erik Axelsson, Charlotte Albrektson& Bertil Hansson

ECPRD ICT-meeting, Bucharest 18-19 November 2010

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Contents of Presentation

• Results of ECPRD request on workflow management systems

• Presentation of the Riksdag Research Service’s electronic workflow management system

• Concluding remarks

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ECPRD Request 1525 on Workflow Management Systems

• Background: gather information before starting the process of purchasing a new workflow management system for the Riksdag Research Service

• All ECPRD-correspondents

• 40 responses from chambers in 35 countries + EP and PACE

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The Questionnaire

• Background questions to get a better picture of different research services’ needs for workflow management systems

• Main focus to investigate the use of workflow/document management systems

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Background: Number of Requests

• Great variety: <100 to >100 000 requests/year

• Most commonly 1 000 to 3 000

• Explanations?- size of chamber- different clients

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Occurrence of Workflow Management Systems

0

5

10

15

20

25

Have workflow system Does not have workflowsystem

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Many Requests = Workflow System?

0

5

10

15

20

25

< 1 000 requests annually > 1 000 requests annualy

Does not have workflow system Have workflow system

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Type of Workflow Management System

• In-house developed most common

• Based on a commercial product, eg Lotus Notes, Sharepoint…

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Year of Introduction

• A few pioneers in the 1990s

• The vast majority introduced during the last 5-10 years

• Older systems replaced or further developed

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Fields of Application

• Monitor the workflow (of course…)

• Other purposes- retrieve statistics

- following up of activities- planning

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Searching Possibilities

• Many systems have a search function

• A common purpose is to reuse information from previous responses

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Archiving

• Archiving of requests and replies

• Archiving of correspondence- Part of the system- Separate database- No need

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Future Plans

• Eight chambers indicate that they plan, or just have initiated, the purchase of a workflow management system

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Research Service of the Riksdag

• 40 researchers

• About 2 000 requests/year

• Our clients: Party secretariats, MPs, ECPRD, Standing Committees, Riksdag Administration

• Always written replies - memorandums

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Our Electronic Workflow System - RutUpp

• Introduced in 1995

• Developed in-house

• A Lotus Notes database

• Substantial development over the years

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Fields of Application

• Resource management / planning - Tool for Head of Research Service and heads

of sections

• Workflow - Tool for researchers

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Web Based Form

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Requests/year

Newly arrived requests

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Current requests/ section Memorandums

attached to requests

Link to database with requests and memorandums 1995-2005

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Follow up and planning

Yearly views per

- month

- researcher

- client category

- subject

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Full Text Search

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Current Development

• Publishing memorandums on the intranet and/or the Internet

• Meeting demands from media and public

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Future Development?

• Save correspondence in connection with requests and memorandums

• Electronic archiving – separate solution?

• Develop current system or purchase a new system?

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Scope for Research Services’ Applications

• Case management• Basic tracking of requests

(semi-) automated workflow• Storage and retrieval

• Folders on a file server Document management system or Content Management System

• Process support• None Collaborative tools

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Swim lane process activity diagram

Client

Department head

Section head

Researcher

Assistant or Clerk

The Riksdag Library

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Scope for RutUpp

• Case management• Semi-automated workflow. Adequate

statistics

• Storage and retrieval• Reports stored in RutUpp, source material in

separate database(s). Printed copy archived

• Process support• None

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Thank you for listening!