Single Window Systems
In the OIC Member States
21
study and a strategy document, which may carry many different names such as Single Master
Plan, Roadmap, Blueprint or Strategy.
The feasibility study gathers and analyses the high level requirements, meaning what the users
and stakeholders expect from the Single Window in terms of changes and benefits. It presents
different options on how these requirements can be achieved and the organizational, legal and
financial impact of the different options.
The discussion of the feasibility study will lead to the adoption of a strategy, which outlines and
defines the approach taken by the government at high level. The strategy document defines the
objectives, the high level functionalities of the SW, the organizational model, and the resources
required for the implementation and operation. An action plan and financial plan is part of the
strategy document.
It is useful, but not always common, to also elaborate an IT strategy 16 to define the possible IT
architectural model and patterns of the SW strategic design.
Planning
On the basis of the strategy document, the government takes the decision to launch the Single
Window, tasks an entity with its implementation and allocates resources to the project. The
Single Window entity/operator undertakes further analytical work to plan the project
implementation. This work is guided by a project implementation plan or Master Plan, which
shows how the strategic goals and objectives will be achieved, by whom and when and how. The
Master Plan is “an important management tool to plan, execute, monitor, evaluate and adjust the
project implementation” 17 . Such a identifies the different aspects of the SW project; IT
development, legal and institutional changes, training and capacity building, communication
and change management, and deliverables and timeframe for delivery identified for each of
them. A project plan, which can be part of the Master Plan or a separate document, establishes
the project team and defines roles and responsibilities, budget and resources allocation and use,
and risk and risk mitigation strategies.
The user and functional requirements of the Single Window are commonly defined using a
Business process analysis (BPA). The BPA includes an inventory of the laws and regulations and
administrative decisions covering the current state of formalities, and leads to the mapping of
the AS-IS business processes and their legal and regulatory requirements. The BPA is than taken
one step further to business process simplification and re-engineering through which the TO-
BE business processes of the future SW system are defined. This leads to the drafting of IT
16 The SW IT Strategy defines all possible architectural model that will cover information technology performance, stability
and security; end-user high level workflows and overall productivity; IT management organization and workflows; business
framework costs and expenses and IT management framework costs and expenses.
17 UNESCAP and UNECE, Single Window Planning and Implementation Guide (New York and Geneva: United Nations, 2012)