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Memphis CIO outlines two‑track 3‑1‑1 overhaul, cites 39 resolved system issues
Summary
City CIO Eric Keane said IT has upgraded servers, added redundancy and fixed dozens of long‑standing problems in the aging 3‑1‑1 system while pursuing a December decision on a replacement core platform; FedEx process experts will help prioritize solid‑waste tickets and other high‑volume issues.
Eric Keane, Memphis chief information officer, told a council committee the city's 3‑1‑1 system work is proceeding on two tracks: patching and improving the existing suite of applications and locking down business requirements for a new work‑order/core platform, with a technology decision planned by December.
"We have a 2 lane strategy," Keane said, describing fixes to servers, implementation of server redundancy and the resolution of about 39 outstanding issues that had frustrated users. He said duplicate requests and automatic ticket closures — long complaints from residents and councilmembers — are now fixed.
Keane said the city is engaging Gartner for vendor selection and has embedded FedEx Quality Driven Management (QDM) experts to rework processes. "We're starting really with approach to business processes...and then fitting the technology to that," he said.
Karen Gauss, the mayor's special assistant leading the modernization effort, told council that roughly 53% of tickets are in solid waste requests and that the QDM process will prioritize work in that division first. Barb Wallander, a recently hired FedEx process adviser embedded in the call center, reported boots‑on‑the‑ground observations and recommended department‑to‑department transfer improvements so calls don't bounce back to the call center unnecessarily.
Councilmembers asked about peer cities; Leo Benitsky (FedEx consultant) said staff had studied comparable efforts in Reno, Bridgeport and Chicago. Members also pressed for community user testing; Keane and Gauss said frequent 3‑1‑1 users will be included as testers for improved web and mobile workflows.
Keane emphasized that the 3‑1‑1 program relies on other planned IT investments (data platform modernization and Oracle upgrades) and said the city hopes to choose a replacement core application by December after completing business requirements.
The committee asked for community rollouts and presentations to neighborhood groups; IT staff agreed to provide updated timelines and to brief council members as requirements and vendor choices are finalized.
