Passport system hit by lack of testing

Limited testing and weak control over changes to basic requirements contributed to problems with the delivery of a new online passport application service.

Last summer the introduction of a new application service was shelved following problems when it was introduced on a trial basis.

The second generation passport application system (EPA2) system was intended to improve customer service by innovations such as allowing credit card payments online, home printing of applications and the electronic transmission of applicants' details to a new back-office system.

According to a report by the Identity and Passport Service (IPS), the EPA2 was introduced on a live trial basis into its Newport office on 16 May 2006 but "shortly after it was switched on the performance of the EPA2 system deteriorated".

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Tasks the system should have completed within seconds were taking many minutes and the number of passport applications in the EPA2 pipeline began to build up. Some applications became stuck due to software defects or user error, the IPS said.

As a result, by 5 June applications via the internet were diverted to the old system and a special team was set up to deal with the backlog.

Following a review it has been decided to simplify aspects of the EPA2 specification rather than just fix the system faults. This redesign is now underway and the IPS said a decision on a relaunch date "is pending" - but until then the old, basic application system will remain in place.

The report said: "Testing clearly was not sufficiently comprehensive for EPA2." The IPS added it should have done more to ensure thorough testing was done and to develop its in-house technical capability, rather than relying on suppliers.

The IPS said it also needs to improve management of changes to basic requirements: "For complex projects with many dependencies, changes will inevitably arise but they need to be properly controlled and their impact fully assessed. This clearly made testing more difficult on EPA2," it admitted.

However, the report found that the introduction of two other IT-intensive projects - the ePassport and the personal identity process system, which checked information provided by first-time passport applicants - was a success.

The report said: "2006 saw three major IT-based projects transition into live operation, two of them have become embedded in our operation and the third will be put back into operation within a programme of other major changes."