Downtown Denver, CO - QA Test Lead - 14-18 month contract
Posted by: "Pryor, Terri" tpryor@5280solutions.com
5280 Solutions (www.5280solutions.com) is both the internal IT
Department for Nelnet (www.nelnet.net) and a premier player in the
student loan industry, and an award-winning provider of information
technology products and full-service technical consulting. Integrating
technology solutions with business expertise is the unique value 5280
Solutions delivers.
Our core areas of business include Student Loan Origination, Student
Loan Servicing, Student Loan Guarantee Servicing, Educational Loan
Software Solutions, Enterprise Content Management (ECM) Solutions,
Technical Consulting Services and Business Intelligence.
5280 Solutions has been in operation since 1980. In January of 2007, we
merged with Charter Account Systems and Idaho Financial Associates. We
are headquartered in Highlands Ranch, Colorado and have offices in
Albany, Manhattan, Boise and Chicago.
QA Test Lead for the MATS project (Project Details below) - 14-16 months
long
In addition to the duties listed below, the QA Lead will be responsible
to assist the MATS Project Manager with general project management,
oversight, and reporting for the MATS project.
The QA role is primarily responsible for performing any aspect of
Quality Assurance related to the MATS project. The team shall ensure
Software Quality Assurance, QA program Implementation, Testing,
Verification, and Validation to ensure the City and County of Denver's
satisfaction with all implemented software. Duties include:
* Develop and maintain test plans, manual and automated test
scripts (as required) for functional, interface and user acceptance
testing.
* Assists with testing and support activities related to the
implementation
* Writes appropriate test scenarios and scripts, and analyzes
test results
* Execute regression tests, functional tests and data tests
* Report, track and determine priority of reported bugs
* Facilitates and leads User Acceptance Testing (UAT)
* Possesses a solid understanding of quality assurance as part
of the development process
* Produces all deliverables and performs all tasks as described
in the attached acceptance certificates
The project: Multi Jurisdictional Assessor/Treasurer System (MATS)
Project Background
Assessors from Arapahoe County, City & County of Broomfield, City &
County of Denver and Jefferson County began meeting in September 2007 to
discuss individual organization challenges and possible common
solutions. All the counties were having problems with legacy property
tax system software and were considering replacements. Recognizing that
county treasurers are important contributors to the overall property tax
process, the four assessors invited their treasurer counterparts to join
them in 2008 and together began to discuss broader regional issues.
Conversations among the eight tax officials quickly focused on functions
missing or difficult to obtain from existing software applications.
Denver's mainframe CAMA (Computer Assisted Mass Appraisal) system
installed in 1987, was perhaps the oldest continuously functioning
application in the group. Other tax systems, like those found in
Broomfield and Jefferson, were based on commercial products, but had
been so heavily customized over the years that their original vendors
had long since stopped supporting them. All the counties' applications,
in addition to becoming increasing expensive to operate day-to-day, had
become very difficult and costly to modify following changes to tax laws
or when interfacing with newer technologies.
In July 2008, the eight assessor and treasurer executive sponsors acting
together (naming themselves PTOC for Property Taxation Officials of
Colorado) issued a joint RFP for a comprehensive web-based property tax
system defined by a single set of functional specifications. Eight
national and international software firms responded. Having previously
formed five subject matter expert (SME) working groups (Administration,
Business Personal Property, Real Property, Technology & GIS and
Treasurers) to generate the system requirements, 50 SME's and sponsors
from the four counties evaluated and ranked all of the proposals. The
four highest ranked companies were short-listed and each came to Golden
for a week in October 2008 to demonstrate its products and present its
proposal.
When all analysis, discussion and follow up questions had be wrapped up,
Manatron, Inc. and Software Techniques, Inc. (STI) finished one and two
respectively. In a move that surprised PTOC, Manatron acquired STI in
December 2008 leaving the sponsors with only one favored vendor and the
next most highly ranked company a distant third place.
Based on its RFP response, Manatron had the fewest number gaps in its
proposed solution which, after its acquisition of STI, were further
reduced by using some of STI's CustomCAMA product features. However,
the PTOC sponsors were uncomfortable not having a viable company/product
competing with Manatron to give PTOC more leverage in project
negotiations. In an unusual move, PTOC sponsors entered into a separate
(paid) Fit/Gap process with Manatron prior to considering a large dollar
implementation agreement. Manatron's Fit/Gap report, issued in October
2009, identified solutions for all the gaps listed in its 2008 proposal
or discovered during fit/gap process itself.
One advantage to the separate Fit/Gap was to reduce the number of
unknown issues associated with bringing Manatron's GRM (Government
Revenue Management) software up to PTOC's requirements. The Fit/Gap
afforded Manatron an opportunity to study, price and tentatively
schedule the product work necessary for a successful implementation. On
the heels of the Fit/Gap, the PTOC counties negotiated a single set of
contract terms and prices for four individual but highly similar
application installations within the four separate county IT
environments.
Initially planning to begin implementation in January 2010 with the
other three counties, Denver was unable to proceed due to lack of
funding caused by a $100 million City budget shortfall. Although
Arapahoe, Broomfield and Jefferson proceeded with their installations,
Denver was never far away. From day one, Denver's executive sponsors
and SME's have been working side by side with their PTOC counterparts to
not only help in making the other three counties' implementations
successful, but to prepare for Denver's project.
2011 has brought Denver its opportunity to proceed. The Denver/Manatron
contract and statement of work for the MATS (Multi-jurisdiction
Assessor/Treasurer System) are essentially completed and City Council is
in the process of granting final approval for the five-year funding
necessary. One major component remaining to be completed is securing
the services of several specialized contractors to assist Denver
Technology Services in interfacing MATS with some 27 legacy systems that
rely on property tax data in order to function. The MATS implementation
will not be able to go live until all the public and private
organizations impacted can continue their businesses. Timeliness,
cooperation and coordination of all participants will be key to overall
project success.
Nelnet/5280 Solutions is an Equal Opportunity Employer, complies with
Executive Order 11246, and takes affirmative action to ensure that
qualified applicants are employed, and that employees are treated during
employment, without regard to race, color, religion/creed, national
origin, gender, or sex, marital status, age, disability, use of a guide
dog or service animal, sexual orientation, military/veteran status, or
any other status protected by Federal or State law or local ordinance.
Qualified individuals with disabilities who require reasonable
accommodations in order to apply or compete for positions at Nelnet may
request such accommodations by contacting Nelnet's Talent Acquisition &
Recruiting Department.
Nelnet/5280 Solutions is a Drug Free and Smoke Free Environment.
For consideration please forward your resume to tpryor@5280solutions.com
Please don't hesitate to call Terri at either number below if you need
additional information.
Terri Pryor
Director of Staffing Solutions
tpryor@5280solutions.com
terri.pryor@n-d-s.com
