Single Window Systems
In the OIC Member States
101
significant changes were delivered thanks to this funding
The Kyrgyz Republic
A pilot SW system, covering only 6 agencies and few services, was built prior to the project to
mobilise support for the real SW development by giving stakeholders a practical understanding
of the concept.
Table 24: Operation Phase- Challenges and Options
Challenges
1. Delivery Gap
When the SW becomes operational, there is often a gap between the expected deliverables, the
initial requirements and the output. This can be due to a lack of communication between the
project team responsible for the implementation and the political oversight, and internal and
external project teams, or insufficient preparatory work.
Why does it matter?
If the operational cross-agency complexity is not fully captured in the initial project, it becomes
very costly and difficult to make changes later on. At this stage it is often too late to make
fundamental changes.
2. Cost Explosion of the Single Window
Often it is only at this stage that the government and the SW operator realise the real costs of the
SW organisation and IT system, and the discovered real costs do not match the initial financial
planning. Few SW operators use a cost methodology that would capture the total costs.
3. Limited Scalability
Single Windows face difficulties to scale their services and to expand its user base. This may be
caused by
 weak cross-government support that inhibits the integration of additional or deepening of
existing services ;
 lack of a comprehensive business architecture view; and/or
 technology limitations
Why does it matter?
There is a risk for SWs to get stuck with a bad design and to try to tweak user habits and
regulations to fit them to the systems. This causes criticism by government and the trading
community, which leads to a lower acceptance of the SW and support for future investments.
4. Maintain Quality and Performance
SWs, like any other organisation, face the challenge to maintain and improve performance over
time.