Project Planning and

Management Plan

FIS ebtEDGE System

June 2012

Draft 1.0

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Copyr ight © 2013 FIS - Fidel i ty National I nformation

Services. Al l Rights Reserved. This document is

intended only for the use of FIS Corporation

customers in connection wi th the products and

services FIS Corporation has author ized. Any other

use is not author ized.

eFunds is a whol ly owned subsidiary of Fidel i ty

National I nformation Services, Inc.. Al l other marks

are the proper ty of thei r respective companies.

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Revision Log

Release/Updated

Date

Summary of Changes

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Table of Contents

Revision Log ___________________________________________________________4

State of Florida Project Planning and Management Plan ______________________6

Overview ______________________________________________________________ 6

Objective ______________________________________________________________ 6

Project Work Plan ______________________________________________________7

Scope/Change Management _______________________________________________8

Change Management _____________________________________________________ 8 Work Requests __________________________________________________________8 Change Reporting _______________________________________________________9 Change Recording ______________________________________________________ 10

Integration/Quality Management _________________________________________12

Quality Management Principles ____________________________________________ 12

Ensuring Project Requirements Are Met _____________________________________ 12

Methodology and Approach ______________________________________________ 12

Early Test Involvement __________________________________________________ 13

Secured Test Labs and Controlled Environments ______________________________ 13

Consistent Defect Reporting and Management ________________________________ 13

Continuous Improvement Retrospectives ____________________________________ 14

Communications Management ___________________________________________15

Project Management Reports ______________________________________________ 15 Project Implementation Reports ____________________________________________ 15 Project Status Report ____________________________________________________ 16

Issues Management _____________________________________________________18

Problem Tracking System ________________________________________________ 18

Severity Level Guidelines ________________________________________________ 18

Risk Management ______________________________________________________20

State-wide Implementation Plan __________________________________________21

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State of Florida Project Planning and Management Plan

Overview

This Project Planning and Management Plan is a description of the project management

techniques, controls, and reporting mechanisms FIS will use for the State of Florida EBT Project.

We have a flawless reputation of planning the implementation and conversion of all our projects

on time. Our very successful project management experience with single and multi-state

projects, allows us to offer the State an approach that incorporates proven methodologies,

processes, and automated project management tools. FIS’ project management approach

includes:

Detailed, phased approach to the entire project with all activities and anticipated timeframes,

and estimated completion dates clearly defined in a Project Work Plan.

Functional Requirements Document that provides specifications necessary for the batch and

administrative interfaces from the State’s System to the FIS ebtEDGE System, an overview

of the proposed webADMIN platform, and card and PIN issuance for State cardholders. This

document will be considered a working document until all of the requirements have been

satisfied and any outstanding items have been resolved.

Standardized procedures for system modifications and enhancements, change requests,

quality control, and other quantifiable processes.

Use of automated tools, such as Microsoft Project, for comprehensive project control and

reporting purposes.

Regular project status meetings between the State staff and the FIS Florida Project

Management Team. Team members responsible for the administration of the project and

services will review the Project Work Plan and subtasks to ensure tasks within their area are

completed and meet State requirements.

Regular communication between the Project Manager, senior management and members of

the Government Solutions Oversight Management Committee regarding the status of the

Project and any issues or concerns.

Quality assurance checkpoints will be conducted for all major project deliverables, including

planning documents, testing processes, and other required deliverables. Our Project Team

will work together to define the quality metrics, which can be used for each deliverable.

Objective

The goal of this plan is to accomplish a successful conversion of the State’s data and provide the

continuing operations throughout the life of the project. Effective project management requires

accurate and detailed work plans, and tasks that are well controlled and consistently monitored.

Our project management approach provides a responsive and easily accessible team for the

conversion of the State’s databases and the ongoing operations of your EBT Project.

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Project Work Plan

Based on industry standards and practices identified by the Project Management Institute®, our

proposed Project Work Plan outlines a phased approach to manage the State’s EBT Project,

including a timetable, activities, and deliverables, with minimal impact to the State and other

stakeholders. The Project Work Plan is a living document allowing data to be saved and reports

generated. The Project Work Plan identifies all transition activities, including EBT system

functionality development, interface development, retailer conversion, data conversion and

cutover, and other required tasks. Individual tasks and deliverables will be identified by project

phase.

The plan is created and maintained in Microsoft Project. The Project Work Plan contains

milestones and key deliverables, as well as all tasks and subtasks needed for the transition to FIS.

Each task shows a planned start and planned finish date. In addition, the plan lists an actual

finish date and a percent complete, so that FIS and the State can clearly monitor the progress of

the project as we move through each phase. In the Resource Column, responsibilities are clearly

assigned to FIS, the incumbent contractor, the State, or FNS. The Plan presents separate

activities for each project task and includes:

Logical sequence of tasks

Clear definition of each task

Staff required for each task

Specific completion date for each task

Task relationships and dependencies

FIS will update the proposed Project Work Plan based on our Draft Project Work Plans included

with our proposal. We will submit the final Project Work Plans to the State within 45 days after

signing the contract. The Project Work Plan will be maintained throughout the life of the

project.

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Scope/Change Management

FIS has formal change management procedures in place today for all of our EBT projects to

manage changes that affect time, scope, and/or cost. We will implement any design changes or

corrective actions through this change order process. The mechanism to track requested changes

made to the FIS ebtEDGE System is described in detail below and identifies the State’s

opportunity to provide input on the prioritization of new features and enhancements. These

procedures include extensive testing of all changes prior to any change being introduced into the

production environment, and the application of hardware upgrades and patches, when necessary.

Change Management

Change management is concerned with managing the changes that occur or may be requested

during the various phases of the project life cycle. For the project to meet its objectives it is

important to understand the types of changes that might occur and then to have the necessary

policies, procedures and organizational constructs in place to control the change.

Underpinning the ability to control change is the concept of baselines. This concept is derived

from the fact that, for any project, there are many interdependent components. For example, a

requirements definition results in functional and test specifications that, in turn, result in system

specifications, tests, and test results. This combination constitutes a system baseline. Change

management is the process used for implementation of changes to the baseline.

Change management is an important part of the project discovery process. Some of the guiding

principles that will help with this process are:

FIS Project or Operations Manager will act as the change request manager.

Throughout the project, any team member/stakeholder may submit change requests.

Project or Operations Manager will assign change requests for analysis and cost estimates.

Change requests will be tracked and monitored to ensure resolution.

Change requests will be submitted for review and approval prior to the start of any work.

The change management process is concerned with the receipt, review and disposition of change

requests, plus the storage and maintenance of information relating to those requests.

Work Requests

Changes and enhancements are initiated in the Work Request database, internal to FIS. This

database is used to track the Work Request from project initiation through project closure. The

Work Request is part of FIS’ Project Management Methodology (ePM2). ePM

2 combines project

forms, a repository for project documents, and project processes into a cohesive project

management tool. ePM2 is used to manage the project life cycle, to internally communicate

project statuses, and to manage project documents. Using this proven methodology, while

working closely with the State, we can ensure that change requests will be handled in a logical

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and efficient manner. The ePM2 process allows the State to specifically request system

enhancements, system changes as a result of federal or state legislation, changes in procedures,

or changes to specific tasks associated with any aspect of the project.

Work requests become one of the following types of changes to the existing environment:

Customer Authorization (CA): When the State requests a change to an agreed-upon or

established system, the change is considered a Customer Authorization and is to be at the

expense of the State. Customer Authorizations are subject to State approval before resources

are assigned.

Product Enhancement (PE): When a change is initiated by FIS that affects the entire FIS

ebtEDGE System, the change is considered a Product Enhancement. In most cases, these

changes benefit the integrity and functionality of ebtEDGE and its ability to manage multiple

state systems and processes. Prior to installation, a formal Product Announcement is issued

in order for each State to review the changes being made, to assess the impact the change

may have, and to take any action that may be required by you to fully use the enhancement.

The proposed FIS Account Manager for the State, Shari Akin, will work with you to address

any questions or concerns you may have regarding any FIS-initiated change. All costs

associated with the type of change will be borne by FIS. Should the State decide to formalize

FIS-initiated changes or enhancements in a contract amendment, we will work with the State

to execute the contract amendment if necessary.

All product modification requirements and estimate requests undergo a multiphase approval

process from the time a change request is made until it is accepted and entered into production

status.

Change Reporting

FIS will work closely with the State to ensure that any change is handled in a proficient manner

and that a proposed change is documented in writing. No FIS-initiated change affecting

Florida’s EBT System will be made without providing the State with a proposed development

and implementation schedule. The notification to the State will include known or anticipated

impacts that the change will have on your system’s functionality, file formats, screens, reporting,

performance, and any costs to the State. The timeframe for implementation of all non-remedial

changes will be coordinated with the State to ensure the availability and participation of State

program and technical staff.

Implementation of changes to the ebtEDGE System involves reliance on a defined change

control process that includes extensive testing to ensure that changes are compatible with the

existing hardware and software, and to maintain the integrity of the entire system. FIS uses the

same change control process for internally requested changes, as well as external customer

requests. We have regularly scheduled monthly installation dates for changes to be implemented

to the system. These established dates and times allow FIS to provide adequate support during

and after the implementation of the changes. The implementation dates and times are selected to

occur at a time when there is minimal transaction activity on the system.

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During regularly scheduled status meetings, FIS’ EBT Project or Operations Manager will

provide the State’s EBT Project Manager with a report of any proposed system changes. This

includes changes requested by other users that may impact the Florida EBT System and changes

impacting FIS’ EBT Gateway services. Product Announcements will be issued for any internal

system performance enhancements or product improvements initiated by FIS that may impact the

State. We will work with the State to include testing that ensures the FIS-initiated changes do

not unintentionally impact your functionality, file formats, screens, reporting, or performance.

Change Recording

FIS has a mechanism in place to track changes and modifications by software version, source,

and reason. A strict change process is in place for the implementation of all changes into

production. A change packet is initiated in development and is our means of relaying the change

information through the testing and installation service areas prior to implementation. The

change packet contains specific detail on the change, supporting authorization for the change, an

operational impact statement, and special installation considerations. No changes move into

production without a completed change packet.

The change packet provides the Quality Assurance (QA) Group with the results of the unit

testing performed by development. QA expands upon this initial testing during their independent

testing and regression testing of the packet. The results of the testing are retained in the change

packet document for the installation and support groups to review. Any additional installation

considerations are documented by the testers and included in the packet so that the installation

group do not incur issues at the time the changes move into the production environment.

Prior to installation, the Product Manager reviews the change packet to verify that the changes

described and tested meet the specifications of the customer’s CA, or internal PE change request,

and issues any necessary Product Announcements.

The change packet is also tied into our program code modification process. For code

management, FIS uses PVCS Version Manager (PVCS) for our PC code and Revision

Management System (RMS) for our HP NonStop code. These version control software

programs require the developer to identify each code change with the change packet tracking

number. The tracking number ensures that changed program code or objects can be reproduced

faithfully and exactly from their original sources. It also ensures that objects running in

production are exactly those that are expected to be in production.

Software movement is controlled through strict security that enforces version control.

Developers are allowed access to a limited set of software libraries, and several stages of

approvals are required to move the software into production libraries. This requirement helps

enforce and track all program and module changes throughout the Development, Transition, and

Operational phases.

An FIS Change Coordinator monitors all of the EBT changes entering the system and works with

the data center to ensure compliance to data center change procedures and system integrity. The

Change Coordinator reviews all changes for thoroughness, completion of supporting

documentation and testing, and necessary approvals. Once all criteria are met, the change is

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scheduled for production to allow for adequate certification and/or endpoint testing and

installation preparation. The lead times established have been proven to be effective for staging

changes, either alone, or in conjunction with others, to assure minimal system interruption.

The Change Coordinator also holds weekly meetings to review all forthcoming changes for all

EBT customers. Meeting attendees include developers, testing analysts, installation analysts,

Release and Change Control analysts, offline analysts, EBT support representatives, EBT

product and account managers, and data center change management. The meetings provide a

forum to discuss all the changes, their status within the queue, the impact to the system or its

users, and any issues that have been uncovered. By discussing the changes early in the process,

issues may be resolved in a timely fashion, prior to installation. Additionally, it ensures proper

and accurate information is communicated to the account management team.

This entire change control process is audited on a regular basis to assure that no unauthorized

change is introduced into the production environment. The processes and procedures of all

divisions within FIS are subject to regular FIS Software Development Life Cycle internal audits.

Auditors consistently give Government Solutions the highest ranking for our processes and

procedures with respect to change processing and the software development life cycle.

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Integration/Quality Management

Quality is a high priority for the FIS Team. Our project cannot be successful if the end products

we deliver are not high quality and in line with the requirements and expectations of the State.

Our quality management methodology enables us to provide consistent, premier services to our

customers with an emphasis on prevention through quality support systems and building

effective relationships.

Quality Management Principles

FIS will use our principles and practices of Total Quality Management (TQM) and Continuous

Quality Improvement (CQI) in servicing and supporting the Florida EBT Project and all of its

stakeholders.

Ensuring Project Requirements Are Met

FIS’ ability to consistently meet or exceed project requirements in all of our EBT projects

represents a significant benefit to the Florida EBT Project. We use a combination of

sophisticated tools, reports, and procedures to accurately measure system and staff performance.

We also use an enterprise-wide project management system to track all of our contract

obligations by work requests and customer authorizations. For large, complex projects,

Microsoft Project is used to develop the project-specific detailed Project Work Plan. This

automated tool, in conjunction with our project tracking databases, allows us to determine tasks,

duration, resource analysis, critical paths, and milestones–the necessary elements to report and

track project performance. By including task-level activities within this system, the State can be

certain that all development activities will be monitored and reported. Biweekly, senior-level

project steering committee meetings are held to review, in detail, the status of key projects such

as the Florida EBT Project. In addition, FIS will hold weekly project status meetings with the

State to verify that performance is meeting the requirements of the contract.

Methodology and Approach

FIS uses a quality assurance methodology comprised of multiple, well-integrated best practices

and test disciplines to achieve high-quality, consistent results. Our test process consists of the

preparation of test scenarios and data, test coverage review, test acceptance/entry criteria, first-

pass execution and finally regression phase execution. The same disciplines and quality

measures are adhered to whether the test is of a single line item during a functional test, a

collection of enhancements for a release during a system test, or a ground up development effort.

This process ensures the quality of the code deliverable and maintains customer satisfaction.

Our approach is outlined below and results in a solid, repeatable process which consistently

yields solid, repeated success.

Early test involvement

Secured test labs and controlled environments

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Consistent defect reporting and management

Continuous improvement retrospectives

Skills transfer

Causal analysis reviews

Early Test Involvement

FIS’ Quality Assurance (QA) team is involved early on in the planning stages of every

deliverable, and engaged throughout the development and delivery cycle. This end-to-end

interaction has proven successful, making it a key best practice. Having QA involved as early as

possible enables the team to gain an understanding of the system being developed and allows

them to create test scenarios prior to code delivery. This ties in nicely with other parts of our

process such as test coverage reviews. QA plays an active role in planning sessions, offering

information and suggestions about a particular area based on their test plans or prior knowledge

about an area of the product. Early test involvement also allows ample time for any special test

that needs to be identified, such as equipment, software licenses, and resource requirements.

Secured Test Labs and Controlled Environments

QA environments are planned and built to represent customer environments in order to achieve

the proper level of testing and coverage. That being said, it is of the greatest importance for

these environments to be maintained and controlled by QA staff only. This practice ensures the

integrity of the test environment. The QA test labs are access-controlled in a secured area. No

changes (hardware or software related) are permitted to these environments without QA

approval. The defect tracking procedure and build process also ensures that our ”customer-like”

test environments are not compromised by random, untraceable, code patches. This strategy

provides confidence that code deliverables deployed to the field match the levels used in our

testing in the QA labs.

Consistent Defect Reporting and Management

A reliable defect tracking system is an integral part of any development organization. The

recording of issues and management of them to closure is equally important. All functional areas

within FIS follow a standard issue reporting policy. This includes key environment, customer

information, and detailed descriptions of the issue being reported, recreate steps if known,

frequency of problem, and related documentation such as files and/or screen captures. The

defect tracking system provides a structure for logging key data into searchable, reportable fields

in addition to the freeform areas that allow the finer details to be documented. Managing issues

in this fashion creates a self-maintaining information repository that is used by the organization.

Reported issues follow a well-defined life cycle to ensure that they are addressed and resolved

quickly and efficiently.

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Continuous Improvement Retrospectives

FIS recognizes the importance of revisiting and refining processes to achieve continuous

improvement. Team retrospectives are conducted regularly to reflect on the prior deliverables

and assess ‘what worked’ and ‘what needs improvement.’ Sessions such as this are often the

foundation for growing best practices. These sessions are documented and followed to

completion by the Project Manager.

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Communications Management

During the Design Phase of the Florida EBT Project, FIS will review with the State our plan for

project communication requirements and project information that is distributed to and received

by Florida project stakeholders. It will detail the frequency and method of communicating with

project participants, such as project status reports and meetings, as well as escalation procedures.

Project Management Reports

FIS will produce for the State of Florida, a weekly Project Status Report containing a summary

by task of major completed project design/development activities during the reporting period.

The report will include problem identification, required corrective action, and timeframe for

resolution. It will also include tasks required by Federal and State agencies, as well as report of

delayed tasks, reasons and revised completion dates and a place to record the scheduled activities

for the next reporting period. An updated work plan will also be provided with the status report,

identifying those tasks updated since the last report. A sample of this report is included in Figure

1.

Figure 1 Project Status Report

Project Implementation Reports

A summary of major tasks and scheduled activities completed during the reporting period for

conversion activities will also be reported to the State of Florida on the same weekly Project

Status report (Figure 1) as the Project Design. The Project Status report will contain a summary

Michigan EBT Project Status

For Week Ending mm/dd/yy

Work Plan Milestones/Tasks Completed Since Last Report: ACTIVITY DATE COMPLETED

Item Mm/dd/yy

Item Mm/dd/yy

Current Activities: ACTIVITY STATUS

Item Text

Item Text

Planned Activities: ACTIVITY STATUS

Item Text

Item Text

Critical Issues/Corrective Action Plan/Revisions: ISSUE ACTION PLAN

Item Text

Item Text

Assignments/Timeframes: ASSIGNMENT TIMEFRAME

Item Text

Item Text

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of major tasks and scheduled activities completed during the reporting period for Project

Implementation activities. It will include problem identification, required corrective action,

timeframe for resolution, tasks required by Federal and State agencies, reports of delayed tasks,

reasons, revised completion date(s) and their status, and scheduled activities for the next

reporting period for POS device deployment and installation, training (State, county, clients, and

retailers), card issuance, and retailer and TPP agreements.

As part of the weekly Project Status report during Project Design, Development, Testing, and

Implementation phases, FIS will provide additional information on POS equipment deployment

and installation and Retailer agreements.

The sample report shown in Figure 2 is an excerpt from a multipage report that shows all current

Active/Live EBT-only locations and the numbers of terminals assigned to each location. There

are grand totals at the end of the report.

10/15/xx

Equipment

Counts for

Program Id Rollout Id Status Date FNS # - Location Name – Location ID 3200 Grand Total

XXXXX 200x/08/12 7427xxx-7-ELEVEN #2306-15755-A667767 1 1

200x/08/18 7419xxx-7-ELEVEN #2306-19648-a667438 1 1

200x/09/03 6999xxx-MOTT’S FRESH FRUIT-SULTAN-A664826 1 1

200x/09/09 6756xxx-BRIER GROCERY-A663823 1 1

200x/09/18 6136xxx-ASIAN KHEMERA MARKET-A663496 1 1

200x/09/23 6895xxx-WONDER HOSTESS #9818-A664404 1 1

200x/09/23 6899xxx-WONDER HOSTESS #9070-A664424 1 1

200x/09/26 6877xxx-EVERETT AVE GROCERY-A664037 1 1

200x/10/01 6900xxx-ALDERWOOD FOOD STORE & DELI-A664464 1 1

Phase 5 Total 9 9

Total 9 9

Grand Total 9 9

Figure 2 Inventory Report (Sample) The report shows the numbers of EBT-only terminals assigned to individual retailer location.

Project Status Report

Once the project becomes operational the FIS EBT Project Manager for the State of Florida, will

prepare and review with you a monthly project status report called a Report Card summarizing

significant events, accomplishments, outstanding issues, problems, and status of pending

enhancements requests and system change orders. A sample Report Card for the State is shown

in Figure 3.

The Project Manager will also coordinate monthly status meetings, provide other reports, and

arrange meetings requested by the State. The Report Card will include a summary of monthly

host availability, including monthly downtime by category, and will document the performance

of the ebtEDGE System over the last month. This performance information will include: central

computer availability, transaction switch availability, total EBT system availability, and

information on transaction accuracy and benefit authorization updates.

The report will include the State’s specific performance standards and detail the performance of

the system against the processing requirements as specified in 7 CFR 274.12.

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Figure 3 Monthly Report Card (Sample for the State of Florida)

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Issues Management

FIS will maintain an issues log for the Florida EBT Project to identify, track, report, and resolve

problems that surface throughout the project life cycle. Our systems include ongoing monitoring

for problem prevention and identification, tracking problems that arise, assigning responsibility

to specific personnel, escalation procedures, projected time for resolution, and final outcome

recording.

The use of timely and accurate data, in combination with timely and effective communication,

strongly reinforces a problem-prevention focus. This experience is one of the greatest benefits to

the State in selecting FIS as your EBT provider. Our operational environment is prepared with

several key tools to support problem resolution. The following systems and guidelines are used

for problem management at FIS.

Problem Tracking System

Problems are tracked using the Case Management System (CMS), a problem-tracking database

used within the FIS data center. CMS provides the Network Operations and System Operations

groups a shared tool that details all of the necessary information needed for quick issue

resolution. Some of the information contained in this database includes customer-specific data,

unique customer requirements, and all active processes associated to that customer’s system.

CMS, a Windows-based application, uses pull-down menus and prompts for data center staff to

identify the impacted customer and effectively describe the issue. CMS can also be used as a

historical tracking tool to search against specified criteria for all previous entries and issues

involving a particular customer. This allows FIS to note any trends or recurring issues for a

particular customer. If it is determined that a problem requires support from other organizations

within or outside of FIS, the FIS data center will continue to use CMS for tracking.

Severity Level Guidelines

The problem-tracking component uses a severity code that is assigned to each problem to

appropriately escalate requests for additional technical and/or management resources to ensure

timely resolution. If a system or network component becomes unavailable, the exact amount of

downtime is recorded within CMS. CMS produces reports that clearly identify week-to-date,

month-to-date, and year-to-date availability and reliability.

All state-identified problems can be reported to FIS’ State Support Services or directly to your

Account Manager by telephone or email. State Support Services provides Help Desk support to

the State during ongoing operations. The FIS Account Manager regularly reviews issues to

ensure the appropriate severity ranking has been assigned. The severity ranking and the parallel

escalation processes are associated with the prioritization and subsequent timeframe needed to

resolve the issue. FIS uses the guidelines in Table 1 to determine the appropriate severity of an

issue within the tracking tool.

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Table 1 FIS Severity Guidelines

Severity Level Description

1

Problem:

A major system (or network) segment is out of service.

An essential system function or product has been lost.

The system is experiencing major operational difficulties.

The financial integrity of the system or customer is being compromised.

State Support Services enters the problem in CMS and immediately notifies ASG. ASG immediately assigns it to a staff member. The assigned staff member is responsible for updating CMS, including customer impact. The goal is to resolve the problem within 24 hours. ASG staff will work around-the-clock troubleshooting the problem until it is resolved.

2

Problem:

The system (or network) has suffered significant, but not essential, functional loss.

The system is experiencing significant operational difficulties.

The system is experiencing transaction servicing integrity problems.

The majority of transactions are successfully processed, but there is a significant impact to the business relationship between FIS and the customer, or between the customer and their customer.

State Support Services enters the problem in CMS and notifies ASG the same day. ASG assigns it to a staff member the same day. The assigned staff member is responsible for updating CMS at least once a day. The goal is to resolve the problem within 3 business days. ASG staff will work extended business hours troubleshooting the problem until it is resolved.

3

Problem:

The system (or network) has suffered some significant, but not essential, functional loss.

The system is experiencing significant operational difficulties.

The system is experiencing occasional transaction servicing integrity problems.

The majority of transactions are successfully processed.

State Support Services enters the problem in CMS and notifies ASG within one business day. ASG assigns it to a staff member within one business day. The assigned staff member is responsible for updating CMS at least once every 3 days. The goal is to resolve the problem within 5 business days. ASG staff will work normal business hours troubleshooting the problem until it is resolved.

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Table 1 FIS Severity Guidelines

Severity Level Description

4

Problem:

A functional or operational problem requires correction, however, for the most part the system/network continues to perform normally.

No apparent major service interruption.

State Support Services enters the problem in CMS and notifies ASG within one business day. ASG assigns it to a staff member within one business day. The assigned staff member is responsible for updating CMS at least once a week. The goal is to resolve the problem based on timing priorities between FIS and the State. ASG staff will work normal business hours troubleshooting the problem until it is resolved.

Risk Management

Effectively managing risk means identifying problems that might occur early on, and proactively

designing and implementing countermeasures to eliminate the risk. In addition to successfully

managing various aspects of 25 EBT projects during the past 20 years, FIS is one of the largest

third-party processors of EFT transactions and is the provider of the world’s largest debit

database. Our extensive EFT and EBT experiences have provided us with the expertise to

anticipate numerous potential problems before they present true risks to the integrity of our EBT

systems and services. FIS understands risk factors associated with system development, system

conversion and implementation, and system operations.

FIS will provide the State a Risk Management Plan identifying several potential EBT project risks

and our developed approach that effectively provides the solution to each. These identified risks

include the possibilities of loss of personnel, security risks, project scheduling errors, risks during

changes or enhancements, processing capacity issues, communication issues, customer service issues,

delays in financial settlement, and delays in ACH payment. We will also supply a Risk Matrix

and Issue log as part of our project control deliverables. Throughout our years of EBT experience,

we have addressed each of these risk factors and can confidently assess and resolve the many

risks involved in EBT project management.

Our Risk Management Plan will address several key components, including:

Risk Identification: determining and documenting what risks have the potential for

impacting the project

Risk Qualification and Quantification: determining the probability and impact to calculate a

risk rating score

Risk Mitigation (deciding how to address the risk):

Avoid (change something so that the risk is no longer valid)

Transfer (apply the risk to another entity)

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Mitigate (determine solutions to address the risk and minimize the negative impact and

maximize the positive impact)

Ignore (keep moving forward but take no action).

FIS will conduct an initial risk analysis with the State. We will then provide an overall Risk

Assessment Report identifying and qualifying all known risk impacts associated with the Florida

EBT Project.

State-wide Implementation Plan

In the transition from your current contracto to FIS, several conversion activities must be

performed. These activities will be clearly defined and the process described in the Transition

Plan. These activities include:

Recontracting with current EBT-only retailers and TPPs. FIS will begin this process as soon

as the retailer agreement is approved by the State.

Installing EBT-only retailer equipment and training retailers

Communicating conversion schedule with TPPs to coordinate routing cutover to FIS for the

State BIN

Certifying and testing conversion programs

Performing production dry-run tests to benchmark timeframes and verify data

Converting the cardholder database, including transaction history, recipient card and

demographic data, benefit files, account aging information, and expungement dates

Verifying settlement and funds movement activities

Training staff

Documenting settlement procedures

Using our knowledge and experience, FIS will prepare and deliver a draft Transition Plan to the

State according to the timeframe specified in the approved Project Work Plan. It is important to

note that an integral component to the Transition Plan is the Project Work Plan. The tasks and

timelines associated with the responsibilities detailed in the Transition Plan are incorporated into

the overall State of Florida Project Work Plan included in this section.

In addition, our proposed transition plan objectives include:

Establish a Transition Task Force (TTF). The TTF will contain representatives from FIS, the

State, assigned State staff, and the current contractor. FIS will provide and place experienced

staff on the conversion/consolidation team. The TTF will interface with the current

contractors and coordinate all conversion and implementation activities.

Provide effective and timely communications of all program conversion activities through

status reporting, the Project Work Plan, conference calls, and face-to-face meetings.

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Ensure client access to the IVR and a client Customer Service Center with fully trained staff.

Coordinate installation of retailer POS devices and associated telecommunications hardware

and software.

Prepare and provide training materials about the ebtEDGE System to State staff.

Plan and coordinate activities so that key State officials are active decision makers in the

conversion tasks. Communications from and to FIS via our Project Manager, regular status

meetings, reports, and formal work plans are relayed to the project teams.

Test the data conversion to the EBT system databases thoroughly prior to the conversion.

Database conversion activities will not occur until development activities and transition

testing are completed and sign-off has been received from the State. This testing will assure

that when the residual balances are actually converted from the current system to the FIS

ebtEDGE System, it is be done accurately, efficiently, and within the designated window

with minimal interruption to benefit availability and accessibility.

Convert the State’s data with minimal disruption to your EBT clients, retailers, and staff. In

addition, ensure that payments to the current retailers participating in the State EBT programs

are neither interrupted nor delayed by working closely with the current contractors. All

conversion activities, as documented in the Transition Plan, will be performed with minimal

disruption to the stakeholders.

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P.O. Box 245025

Milwaukee, WI 53224-9525

(800)EFT-8901(USA)/(414)341-5000

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