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DBI details Accela permit‑tracking migration and sets Sept. 4 go/no‑go for rollout
Summary
Deputy Director Ed Sweeney told the Building Inspection Commission the fourth data‑migration is underway, the Accela system will be mostly configured (estimated 98% coverage) and staff must decide by Sept. 4 whether to go live; staff emphasized intensive training and business‑side ownership while commissioners urged continued end‑user involvement.
Deputy Director of Permit Services Ed Sweeney updated the Building Inspection Commission on DBI’s Accela permit‑tracking implementation, reporting that the fourth period of data migration is in progress and that consultants and vendors (Tech 21 and Accela) are addressing bugs identified in testing.
Sweeney said the data migration will bring the system to roughly 98% of the department's needs and that DBI must make a go/no‑go decision by Sept. 4. If DBI proceeds, the system will be frozen for configuration on Sept. 22 and subsequent activity will focus on training staff and end users. Sweeney said training sessions were scheduled and that 10 end users had been in training during the week of the meeting.
Commissioners pressed who is providing business‑side leadership while MIS manager Hema is on medical leave. Sweeney said a cross‑functional team — including Catherine Cruz and Joel Cusi, Tech 21, Accela, Department of Technology staff and DBI division chiefs — is covering the business and technical tasks and DBI is actively recruiting a former employee with experience to reinforce the team.
Several commissioners emphasized that the department must retain strong business management of the rollout rather than leaving implementation to IT alone. Both directors and commissioners said the line staff and future end users must be involved in testing and training; DBI said it had involved end users in recent weeks and would continue iterative testing and bug‑fix cycles.
The commission did not vote on a schedule change; members generally expressed support for staying on the planned timeline if testing and training continue to produce acceptable results, but asked staff to keep the commission informed and to prioritize customer service functions (intake and cashiering) during testing.
Next procedural steps: DBI will evaluate test results and vendor fixes over the following week, make a go/no‑go recommendation by Sept. 4, and continue end‑user training and testing through the scheduled Sept. 22 freeze and subsequent training period.
