Project background
Planning departments in local authorities are currently experiencing a sector-wide problem: back-end case management systems aren’t meeting the needs of the Planning Officers using them.
Over the last few years, a number of pain points have emerged from current systems and processes, including:
● 40%+ of applications submitted via Planning Portal arrive incomplete, resulting in lengthier administration processes and higher costs
● Poor and non-responsive user interfaces make it difficult for Planning Officers to succeed in meeting their goals
● Poor data quality and data accessibility is affecting authority strategic considerations and quality of monitoring
● A lack of required integration capabilities across different systems is blocking streamlined processes, increasing administration activity
● Local authorities are reliant on external software providers to update their product roadmaps, which is a lengthy process
The purpose of the BoPS project is to lean in to the experience of Planning Officers, and to develop a new and improved back-office system for validating and assessing planning applications. The outcome of the project is a system built by Planners, for Planners, which can be used alongside existing and emerging systems and which will allow more time dedicated to proper planning and assessment, and less time spent on administration or responding to system issues.
A user-centred Back-office Planning System (BoPS) for local authorities
BoPS is a collaborative local authority project, funded by the MHCLG Local Digital Fund and led by Southwark Council & Partners.
Contents
- About the project
- Project background
- Our approach
- User research
- Discovery phase
- Alpha phase
- Beta phase
- Weeknotes and sprint notes
If you are part of a local authority team or an interested party and would like to find out more about contributing, collaborating and/or our approach, please get in touch:
Project contact
Project partners
