North of the Border

So far this Blog has focussed on our relations with customers in England. However, we have many customers north of the border. This week will end with our Scottish User Group, so I am dedicating a few entries to what is going on up there.


All the Scottish customers are pushing the boundaries of the system in different directions. Frankly they are pushing us pretty hard, and none more so than North Ayrshire.

It is the end of another weekend in which I have spent a significant chunk of time further upgrading and updating the North Ayrshire Test system. This West Coast Council has gone through every single screen, re-customising each to suit their requirements in a way never attempted by any other customer.

For all customers, there are spin-off benefits; the system is now more customisable than ever before, with, for example, the ability to limit the items in pick lists on specific screens to ensure that no out-of-context entries are every shown. They have also introduced auto-calculation of NOSP/NOP and ABC/UBN end dates. The reports facility now includes auto-filter lists as well as pivot tables. The most recent change has been an extension of the Key Performance Indicator facility, to use it to monitor the timliness of repeat contacts with complainants.

For Scottish customers, there is the benefit of completely new screens, which fit in with Scottish Law. How about this example - the top half of the SSST screen. SSST, for southerners stands for Short Scottish Secure Tenancy. (Click the picture for enlarged version)