Government agencies typically perform casework. They may refer to it by different names such as service delivery, investigations, onboarding, ticketing, and so on. But it’s any workflow that involves multiple steps, documents, regulatory processes, reviewers, and approvers.
Some examples of casework include coordinating disaster response and recovery efforts, processing applications for citizenship, and coordinating veterans’ claims for benefits such as healthcare, disability compensation, education, and housing.
Case management is the organized process of planning, coordinating, and monitoring tasks and resources to resolve the issue, or case. It aims to ensure an optimal outcome by efficiently managing the various components and interactions within a case.
Types of government casework
Public sector organizations typically handle four main categories of casework:
Process-to-decision case management, where cases conform to a strictly prescribed set of rules, like in government procurement
Service requests, where the agency delivers a service like issuing permits
Incident management, where the agency needs to resolve a situation like repairing hurricane damage
Investigative case management, where an agency needs to resolve an issue like potential employee misconduct or violations of environmental law
3 major case management challenges in the public sector
Departments often manage hundreds of different case types, with tens of thousands of new or backlogged cases in any given day. But they lack the technology for efficient case management processes. No matter the type of case, they share many of the same challenges:
1. Manual processes
Many public sector organizations rely on manual processes, such as using spreadsheets and email to track and manage cases. These outdated methods are prone to errors, data inconsistencies, and inefficiencies, leading to delayed responses and fragmented communication among stakeholders.
The lack of centralized data storage hampers collaboration, making it difficult to maintain a comprehensive overview of case progress and history, ultimately impacting the quality and timeliness of service delivery.
2. Legacy systems
Legacy systems persist in government due to substantial investments made over time and the gradual addition of new functionalities to meet evolving needs. These systems have become deeply embedded in organizational workflows.
Legacy systems pose a significant challenge in case management processes because integrating modern technologies like AI is often complex and costly. Customizing workflows to meet evolving needs is complex and costly as well, constraining the flexibility required for an efficient case management process. And increased maintenance demands of legacy systems divert resources from more strategic initiatives, hampering overall productivity and innovation.
The user experience with legacy systems is typically poor. They lack the intuitive interfaces and functionalities of contemporary solutions. And disjointed systems require rekeying information into multiple systems, increasing the risk of errors.
3. Siloed data
Siloed data presents another critical challenge, as information stored in isolated systems prevents comprehensive visibility and transparency across the organization. This fragmentation makes it difficult to make informed, data-driven decisions, since accessing and synthesizing relevant data becomes a cumbersome process.
The inability to integrate data seamlessly across different departments and systems hinders the application of advanced technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), which relies on a large volume of high-quality data to deliver meaningful insights and efficiencies.
How to build an efficient case management process
Building a case management process at government agencies involves several key steps:
Assess needs and engage stakeholders. Identify the objectives of the case management process and gather input from all relevant stakeholders to ensure their needs are considered.
Evaluate and design. Review existing systems and workflows to identify strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement. Then design a standardized process that defines steps, roles, and responsibilities, from case initiation to resolution. Specify roles and responsibilities, decision points, and required documentation.
Select and implement technology. Choose an agile case management solution that is easy to customize and integrates with existing systems. Implement the chosen technology through a phased rollout, starting with a pilot program to test and refine the system.
Implement and test. Implement the case management software in a phased rollout, starting with a pilot program to test and refine the case management workflows. Gather feedback from users, make necessary adjustments, and iterate often.
- Monitor and improve. Continuously monitor the performance of the case management process, using metrics and feedback to evaluate its effectiveness. Make ongoing improvements based on data-driven insights and stakeholder input.
Foster a culture of continuous improvement by encouraging feedback, conducting regular reviews, and staying updated with best practices and technological advancements in case management.
Why low-code technology is ideal for government case management software
Low-code technology is an excellent choice for government case management software due to its fast development and deployment, which reduces implementation time and costs.
The agility to update workflows without extensive coding simplifies customization. It ensures that processes can evolve with changing requirements. The ease of incorporating emerging technologies like AI enhances operational efficiency.
Appian developed Case Management Studio for Public Sector to empower government organizations to:
Rapidly develop case management applications in weeks with low-code.
Offload repetitive manual tasks with AI and process automation.
Integrate with legacy systems and remove data silos with a patented data fabric.
Design incredible user experiences.
