The State of Washington’s Employment Security Department (ESD) has selected SLI Global Solutions, Inc. (SLI) to deliver Independent Verification and Validation (IV&V) services for the Next Generation Tax System (NGTS) Project. ESD has chosen an IV&V approach that calls for periodic “health checks” of the project, where SLI core staff and technical specialist review the development artifacts that are specific to each phase of the system development lifecycle.
ESD manages and operates the Unemployment Insurance (UI) program that pays benefits to those who are temporarily unemployed. The UI Tax program is currently supported by the TAXIS/WAGES system (designed and built a quarter century ago) and 15 ancillary computer systems that deliver business functions that TAXIS/WAGES is unable to support. This aging set of systems is difficult and costly to maintain and enhance. As a result, the Department must replace the existing system(s) and, in doing so, has enlisted the assistance of SLI to help mitigate project risks.
The IV&V contract, which runs through August 2013, provides ESD with system development and implementation assessment services that focus on the technical processes and products of the team building the NGTS. The technical assessments include verification and validation that all software development, code, database development, and testing, is done in such a manner that it meets the functional and technical requirements of the Department. The SLI IV&V team reviews development processes to ensure they are adequately documented and conform to contractually defined standards.
As the project progresses to the testing phase, SLI will independently test portions of the software and other work products. Through reviews of test plans, test execution deliverables, acceptance test procedures, and related documentation, the SLI IV&V team will assess and recommend improvements, as needed, to assure software testing is being performed efficiently and effectively.
“We are pleased to be able to assist Washington in ensuring that this new system meets the needs of the State and ultimately the employers and unemployed residents of Washington," said Steven Esposito, SLI’s Vice President of Government Services. “This is the second major contract where SLI is partnering with Washington to improve the delivery of services on IT projects. SLI’s is currently providing periodic IV&V services on the State’s Medicaid Management Information System project."