Heading
Document (project) Title: WP5 – 01 – Approach for Use and Lessons Learnt in Connexions Card Pilot at North Doncaster Technical College
Version (release): 1.21
Date: April 2004
Document History
Document location:
Date / Location of file / ContactApril 2004 / Smart Store
Revision History:
Revision date / Summary of changes / Editor05th April 2004 / Editing to ensure the document is in line with the look & feel of all output documents. Production of an abstract. Addition of the standard glossary. / PFA Research
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Version / Date / Approver Name / Approver Title / Approval dateDistribution – distributed to:
Version / Date / Name / TitleApproach for Use and Lessons Learnt in Connexions Card Pilot at North Doncaster Technical College
Report WP5 - 01
Version 1.22.01
April 2004
© Doncaster City Council for the National Smart Card Project
WP5-01 - Lessons Learnt from Doncaster Pilot v1 22.0 Release WP5-01 - Lessons Learnt from Doncaster Pilot v1 2 (edits) 30/04/200419/04/2004
Table of Contents
1. Aim 3
2. Approach 3
2.1 Site and Applications identified 3
2.2 Card Design and Issuance 3
2.3 Data Protection Issues 4
3. Issues arising once cards had been issued 5
3.1 Lost or damaged cards 5
3.2 Other issues 5
4. Lessons Learnt 6
4.1 Objectives 6
4.2 Scope Creep/ Change Control 6
4.3 Buy-in 6
4.4 Customer 6
4.5 Costs 7
4.6 Tool 7
5. Appendix 1 – National Smart Card Project Glossary 8
1. Aim 43
2. Approach 4
2.1 Site and Applications identified 4
2.2 Card Design and Issuance 4
2.3 Data Protection Issues 5
3. Issues arising once cards had been issued 6
3.1 Lost or damaged cards 6
3.2 Other issues 6
4. Lessons Learnt 7
4.1 Objectives 7
4.2 Scope Creep/ Change Control 7
4.3 Buy-in 7
4.4 Customer 7
4.5 Costs 8
4.6 Tool 8
5. Appendix 1 – Glossary 9
1. Aim
The key aim of the “Links to Central Government and other National Initiatives” section of the National Smart Card Projects was to demonstrate how a national card scheme can act as a platform for other Local Authority initiatives. The Connexions Card, as the only major central Government smart card, was well placed to do this.
2. Approach
2.1 Site and Applications identified
The site decided on for the pilot was North Doncaster Technical College (NDTC), chosen in conjunction with Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council (DMBC). NDTC has a roll of 1,300 pupils and was already using the standard Connexions Card within the College.
DfES officials from the Connexions Card Team met with representatives of NDTC and DMBC to discuss the outcomes that each required from the pilot. The card applications chosen were very much driven by the needs of NDTC. We were keen to ensure that nothing was seen to be imposed by DfES as the Connexions Card is purely voluntary for schools and this approach had to be maintained. NDTC had recently opened a new restaurant and wanted to install a cashless catering facility.
It was also decided to put the Champion Sports Pass logo onto the cards. This was a local scheme that enabled discounted entry to leisure centres. It is hoped that this can be linked, through the Connexions Card, to awarding reward points for healthier lifestyles in the future.
A photocopying access application was planned for the second phase of the project.
2.2 Card Design and Issuance
The Connexions Card is issued to the 16-19 year old age group only. The cashless catering application was to be available to the whole school. Therefore, two sets of cards had to be issued in the school; the normal Connexions Card for 16-19 year olds, and an Extended Age Range (EAR) card for the rest. Agreement was reached about the design that NDTC required for the EAR card and no Connexions branding is included on this card.
2.3 Data Protection Issues
The Connexions Card team already had an agreement with the school and students to hold data for the 16-19 age group in order to administer the Connexions Card. This data agreement did not cover the younger age group using the EAR cards.
However, in this project the Connexions Card Team was effectively acting as an agent for NDTC and Doncaster MBC, in order to produce cards on their behalf. As such, the data (name, date of birth and photo) already resided within the school and was not moving outside the school system. Therefore, it was decided that a letter of information to parents of the younger age group would suffice rather than seeking active permission which is normal for this age group.
Connexions Cards were issued as follows:
· To all existing Connexions cardholders, unless advised by the College that they had left the College.
· To Yr 11
· Cards were encoded with the Infineer cashless catering application
· The Champion Sports Pass logo was printed on the reverse of the card in the bottom right corner.
EAR Cards were issued as follows:
· To Yrs 6 (for feeder schools to the College),7,8,9,& 10
· To staff
· They had a contact chip, photo and were printed with name, date of birth and expiry date
· Each white EAR card had coloured borders to denote Year of Entry OR the whole card coloured to denote Year of Entry.
· Staff cards did not have colour borders
· The Champion Sports Pass logo was printed on the reverse of the card in the bottom right corner.
Temporary Cards
· A supply (20% of total) of Temporary Connexions and Temporary EAR cards were provided to cover loss/damage.
3. Issues arising once cards had been issued
On the whole, the cashless catering scheme was an immediate success, well received by students, staff and parents alike. It had positive impacts on bullying and removed the stigma of free school meals.
3.1 Lost or damaged cards
However, at the beginning of the project, there were a higher number of lost or damaged cards than anticipated. With EAR cards, the replacement rate was 20%, of which 50% were lost and 27% were damaged. With the Connexions Cards, the replacement rate was 10%. The normal replacement rate is 2.6%. In cases such as these, temporary or replacement cards were issued.
It was found in the life of the project that persistent card loss or forgotten cards can be resolved in the following ways:
i) By increasing the intrinsic value of the card. i.e. providing additional smart and ‘show and go’ applications.
ii) By providing rewards linked to continual card use. e.g. Healthy Eating Rewards.
iii) By providing stepped penalties for students that persistently forget their card.
A high incidence of damaged or faulty cards was found to be due to a batch of faulty cards received from the supplier for the new school intake in September 2003 and this was resolved.
3.2 Other issues
Initial labour cost estimates did not account for:
§ the time site staff need to deal with queries from pupils and parents
§ the high level of dedicated knowledge required as a central resource
§ volume of feeder school talks to collect pupil data and publicise Smart Cards to Year 7 intake
§ time spent producing replacement cards
§ Additional costs of converting future cash vending machines to Smart Card vending machines
4. Lessons Learnt
In summary the following points should be noted when implementing Educational Establishment smart card projects:
4.1 Objectives
It is essential that a project adhere to the primary objectives defined in the initiation document. During the implementation of a project, stakeholders other than the 'Client' or ' Funding Provider' will offer influence. In the Local Authority domain and with a large number of stakeholders the management of this influence is critical. In a Local Authority the Business Case for the introduction of a project will be centre around the improvement for social infrastructure. In practice the primary aim of services, which possess a Trading Function, is to increase profitability or market influence. These pressures may add an adverse skew on the primary objectives of the scheme.
4.2 Scope Creep/ Change Control
It is crucial to clearly define the scope of a project from the outset. Following initiation many services may wish to join or become involved in the project. This involvement must be managed and controlled by the Project Manager. Even at Board level external pressures can provide influence enabling other project partners to become involved. At implementation stage this late joining of project objectives will cause confusion, altering tightly defined timescales, budgets and resource requirements.
4.3 Buy-in
A multi-partner project will require significant 'buy in' from all project partners. This 'buy-in' must involve a commitment of financial and human resources. It is not sufficient for a partner to commit to a project and not contribute to the risk associated with it. This approach can often be overlooked by a local authority, which may view the project as a corporate objective. This corporate view will recognise that some services contributing to the scheme may have problems providing the revenue to make this commitment and will therefore not seek any. This failure to provide a commitment can undermine the scheme. A formal commitment will verify that all the project partners have similar enthusiasm to achieve its outcomes.
4.4 Customer
In a smart card project of this nature it is essential that consultation take place with the end-user i.e. in this example, the student. The initial drive to implement a project may come from the School Support Services i.e. Catering: and Corporate Strategic objectives however the overriding success of the project is entirely dependant on the views and opinions of the end user. Failure to undergo this consultation may lead to a 'disenchanted' user. This disenchantment may be created by a feeling that the smart card system has been imposed on the user instead of being introduced on their behalf.
4.5 Costs
A feasibility study should always be undertaken to evaluate and consider the operational costs associated with such a scheme prior to its initiation. These costs should include direct labour, routine maintenance of the system, the resources required for data collection, marketing and promotion. The success of the scheme will not only depend on the successful technical implementation of the project but also the operational support it receives. A failure to provide the correct support for the project could impose serious risks.
4.6 Tool
Education smart card schemes are 'tools' which enable schools and their support partners to provide new services, and joined up thinking to benefit students. It is important for services to understand that the introduction of a smart card scheme is to facilitate their service and will require significant investment. The objectives and benefits of this investment may not be realised for some time following implementation.
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WP5-01 - Lessons Learnt from Doncaster Pilot v1 22.0 Release WP5-01 - Lessons Learnt from Doncaster Pilot v1 2 (edits) 30/04/200419/04/2004
5. Appendix 1 – National Smart Card Project Glossary
This Glossary is intended to help readers to understand terms used in the National Smart Card Project publications. The primarily purpose is to be useful in this context rather than a precise set of definitions.Numeric
3G - / Third generation mobile telecommunications technology
A
ActiveX - / A loosely defined set of object-oriented programming technologies and tools developed by Microsoft. The main technology is the Component Object Model (COM). ActiveX is Microsoft's answer to the Java technology from Sun Microsystems.
Algorithm - / A sequence of steps used to perform a mathematical operation
ANSI - / American National Standards Institute: Standardisation coordination body for the USA
API - / Application Programming Interface: A set of routines, protocols (q.v.), and tools for building software applications (q.v.)
Applet - / A program designed to be executed from within another application (q.v.). Unlike an application, applets cannot be executed directly from the operating system. On the Web, an applet is a small program that can be sent along with a Web page to a user. Java applets can perform simple tasks without having to send a user request back to the server.
Application - / A piece of software that performs business functions. It can reside on a smart card (q.v.)
Archiving - / Copying data onto a backup storage device
ASN.1 - / Abstract Syntax Notation One: A language that defines the way data is sent across dissimilar communication systems
Asymmetric Cryptography - / Cryptography (q.v.) using a Public Key/Private Key (q.v.) combination
Authentication - / A security process that verifies that a person seeking to use an application (q.v.) on a smart card (q.v.) is the person who is entitled to use it for the purpose intended
B
Biometrics - / Biological authentication mechanism such as a fingerprint, iris, voice, facial dimensions
BIOS - / Basic Input Output System: Built-in software that determines what a computer can do without accessing programmes from a disk
bit - / Binary digit: The smallest unit of information on a machine. A single bit can hold only one of two values: 0 or 1. The term was first used in 1949
Block - / Action taken by an issuer to prevent the use of a card, or a particular application on a chip card
Bluetooth - / A short-range radio technology aimed at simplifying communications among Internet (q.v.) devices and between devices and the Internet
BSI - / British Standards Institute: National Standards body for the UK responsible for facilitating, drafting, publishing and marketing British Standards
C
C++ - / One of the most popular high-level programming language for graphical applications
CA - / Certificate Authority q.v.
Card-to-card - / Transaction to transfer something (usually money) from one card to another
CAT - / Cardholder Activated Terminal: A terminal that dispenses a product or service
CCID - / Chip Card Interface Device: USB (q.v.) devices that interface with or act as interfaces with chip cards and smart cards
CDMA - / Code Division Multiple Access: A generic term that describes the technology on which a wireless air interface is based