Roadmap To Water Quality Performance Measures

Background

The Drinking Water Quality Unit (DWQU) is part of the Scottish Government, and is responsible for providing information on the quality of water in Scotland to key stakeholders, including members of the public, the Regulator of Water Quality, and the Scottish Government.

The unit produces an annual report on the quality of water throughout Scotland and undertakes adhoc analysis throughout the year.  DWQU has recognised the need for more effective use of water quality data to help improve the service it provides, and following a restricted tender exercise, invited Sopra Group to conduct a project to review existing tools and processes, and to provide a roadmap identifying the best way forward.

Business Drivers

An improved Business Intelligence (BI) environment will have a major impact on the operations and capabilities of the unit.  Provision of more sophisticated software, and of the supporting infrastructure, will enable the unit to provide a better service to stakeholders by supplying better, faster information. 

These improvements will free staff to concentrate on other tasks, and offers the opportunity for more pro-active and constructive use of the information stored, including the capability for public access to water quality data as part of the e-Government initiative.  Before applying for the budget for any proposed development, DWQU wanted a full understanding of the tasks involved, and the benefits that they would bring.

Solution

DWQU selected Sopra Group because they liked our approach and were impressed by the quality and experience of our staff.  DWQU appreciated our expertise in BI systems and our ability to take an independent view of vendor products.

The project focused on identifying how improvements could be made in Data Warehousing, Reporting, and Geographical Information Systems (GIS) using existing resources within DWQU and the Scottish Government.  Improvements were sought which would decrease the time taken to perform analysis, and provide stakeholders with higher quality information. 

The project described the recommended solution and provided DWQU with a detailed understanding of:

• The technical architecture required, including tools and processes
• A detailed understanding of the activities, timescales and costs associated with implementing the solution
• Risks and dependencies.

Key Benefits

The project provided DWQU with:

• A strategic vision of an improved BI environment providing stakeholders with fast, high quality information
• A roadmap with prioritised tasks to enable it to achieve the necessary improvements
• The information to produce a comprehensive business case to support its application to the Scottish Government for funding the proposed development.

The recommended solution focused on using existing resources within DWQU and the Scottish Executive, proposing a low cost solution that maximises the benefit from past investments.

Future

DWQU has used the results of the project to apply for funding to implement an improved water quality measurement solution.  Subject to funding approval, the DWQU plans to create an environment that provides stakeholders with fast, high quality information on the quality of water in Scotland.  Ultimately this will help to deliver improved water quality standards to the general public.