RD 22/00

TO THE REGULATORY DIRECTORS OF ALL

WATER AND SEWERAGE COMPANIES AND

WATER ONLY COMPANIES                                                      


3 November 2000

Dear Regulatory Director

REVIEW OF THE JUNE RETURN INFORMATION CAPTURE SYSTEM (ICS) AND THE ELECTRONIC REPORTING REQUIREMENTS MANUAL (ERRM)

On the 17 August 2000 Ofwat issued questionnaires to water companies, Reporters, Auditors and subscribers regarding the June Return ICS and the Electronic Reporting Requirements Manual. The questionnaires gave respondents an opportunity to inform Ofwat about what they thought was both good and bad with the ICS and the ERRM in terms of their functionality and ease of use. This in turn will enable Ofwat to deliver better systems in future years.

In total Ofwat received 21 responses on the ICS: 5 from Reporters, 1 from an Auditor and 15 from water companies. Ofwat also received 21 responses on the ERRM: 5 from Reporters, 2 from Auditors and 13 from water companies.

Based on the questionnaires' content the conclusions and recommendations for the ICS and ERRM are best dealt with separately.

The Information Capture System – User Feedback

There were 6 main areas identified where users would wish to see improvements in the development of the system.

• Loading times and file size;
• Inputting speed;
• Printing functionality;
• Multiple users;
• The use of more than one commentary file per table; and
• Exporting data within the ICS to blank MS Excel files.

Many respondents felt that the general functionality of the print facility was not as good as it could have been. In many cases printing a table would freeze the user out of the system until it was completed. Other comments regarding the ability to print commentary files were raised as secondary issues.

Respondents did feel in general that it would be sufficient to have just one commentary file per table. This would make the completion of commentaries easier. Currently some tables have up to 6 separate commentary files that need to be completed.

Having multiple users enter data into the ICS would be seen as a great benefit. The limitation of MS Excel in only allowing one user access to enter data was seen as a drawback especially given the tight timescales for completion of the system. The system can be 'cloned' by users to enable separate entry into different tables, however, Ofwat requires a single completed ICS to be returned and thus data has to be re-entered into a master copy.

The ability to export the data within the ICS to blank MS Excel files would also be a benefit to companies. There was no consensus on the format that this should take.

There were many other useful individual comments regarding the intelligibility of validations, the help file and the menu and tool bars; however, there was no one function that attracted widespread criticism.

Recommendation for the ICS 2001

In light of the importance placed by respondents on the excessive loading time of the ICS, Ofwat recommends the following solution.

Ofwat will issue the 2001 ICS as an MS Access 97 with VBA (Visual Basic for Applications) application.

The benefits of moving to an MS Access based solution from MS Excel are as follows:

MS Access based system

• A dramatic reduction in loading time of the 2001 ICS to less than 30 seconds;
• A similar improvement in performance whilst inputting data, printing, validating, saving and exiting;
• The ability for networking and for multiple users to enter data into the ICS simultaneously;
• A look and feel as close as is practical to the MS Excel based system;
• Better printing facilities;
• No change to the functions of the system, however, scope to improve individual functionality;
• A more seamless interaction with the ERRM;
• The ability to export data to blank MS Excel files from within the ICS; and
• Ofwat will gain benefits in relation to maintenance and production of the ICS that could in future lead to an earlier issue date to companies.

Given all these factors, Ofwat considers that an MS Access based ICS would provide a stable platform for data collection at least up until the next price review.

We would also ask you to consider that the ICS for 2001 is going to contain 7 new tables; 5 for the Board Overview and 2 for Bad Debt. The size of an MS Excel based 2001 ICS will be around 15% larger. The implications for loading times and general performance cannot be ignored. It is likely that an ICS for 2001 built using MS Excel would have longer loading times and no increase in performance compared to the 2000 ICS.

If we maintain the status of using MS Excel 97 this will have the following implications:

MS Excel 97 based system

• Loading times in excess of 4 minutes;
• Continued limited performance whilst inputting data, printing, validating, saving and exiting;
• Large file sizes;
• Reduction in overall functionality to compensate for the addition of 7 new tables;
• Continued limited interaction with the ERRM;
• Limited scope for any future improvements; and
• A continued 31 March ICS issue date due to the increased maintenance and production time, for Ofwat, of an ICS built using MS Excel.

Ofwat does not intend to make this transition without the support of the majority of companies.

We would like your views on whether the transition to MS Access 97 is practicable or not for your company. Could you please complete and return the attached proforma to Carl Poulton, Information Systems Development Manager. Due to time considerations could you please return the proforma no later than Friday 17 November.

The decision will be issued to you in the week commencing 20 November 2000. You are more than welcome to speak to Carl Poulton (0121 625 1349) regarding this issue. He would welcome as many views as possible to ensure the correct decision.

The Electronic Reporting Requirements Manual – User Feedback

Companies, Reporters and Auditors used the ERRM on a limited basis. The main reasons for this were two-fold. Firstly, prohibitive performance due to having a large MS Excel spreadsheet open as well as the ERRM; and secondly, a user interface that was not considered user-friendly.

Many respondents considered using a hard copy to be important, however, many were already making provisions to use the ERRM as the preferred medium for future years.

There were a number of comments related to how the ERRM should inform users of changes and how they should be tracked. It was felt that a more structured and better communicated approach to this issue was required.

As with the ICS there were a number of other individual comments regarding a wide number of areas. Guidance notes, the installation of the system and printing functionality were identified as areas that need improvement.

Recommendations for the ERRM

Due to the limited use of the system by respondents Ofwat recognises that the user interface of the ERRM needs to be revamped to ensure users can access the system more easily. Ofwat will also take into consideration all of the individual comments received and try to improve the functionality. Specific consideration to printing facilities, accessing guidance notes and definitions will be made.

Ofwat also recognises that not all companies, Reporters and Auditors have made the transition to the ERRM from the hard copy. Ofwat had originally not planned to issue hard copies of the Reporting Requirements Manual this year. However, given the comments received Ofwat will issue a CD-ROM containing all the necessary MS Word 97 and MS Excel 97 files that make up the hard copy Reporting Requirements Manual in December 2000. Ofwat will still issue the ERRM with the ICS in March 2001.

Links to the ICS need to be improved, however, if the ICS remains in MS Excel 97 any increased functionality needs to be assessed against decreasing performance. If the ICS is issued using MS Access 97 then a far greater level of integration between the ICS and the ERRM can be obtained with little or no performance overhead.

If you wish to make any further comments regarding the ERRM and its functionality please call Carl Poulton (0121 625 1349).

Many thanks to all those respondents who took the time to complete our questionnaires. The systems for the 2001 to 2005 period will have benefited from your views. Ofwat would like to repeat this exercise after the 2001 Annual Return timetable is completed.

Finally, as a reminder we need a prompt return of the attached proforma to my colleague Carl Poulton, concerning the proposed MS Access 97 ICS by 17 November 2000.

Yours sincerely

ROGER DUNSHEA

Director of Operations

Enc

RD 3 November 2000

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