2-Business Requirements Document 2025.10.02-IKC Accela.xlsx
XLSX spreadsheet 114 KB Posted
- Attached to
- Accela Cloud Migration Project Manager
- Solicitation number
- DS260621
- Issued by
- Yavapai County, Arizona
About this file
Business Requirements Document Summary
This is a Business Requirements Document (Attachment 1 - System Requirements) for RFP 23-28 Permitting and Plan Review System, prepared for the Town of Prescott Valley, Arizona. The document specifies comprehensive system requirements for the Accela Civic Platform cloud migration and implementation, addressing multiple operational modules including permitting, plan review, building safety, code compliance, planning and zoning, business licensing, inspections, GIS integration, and financial management. The requirements are structured across ten major categories with 500+ individual line items, where offerors must indicate whether each requirement is "Existing/Included out of box," "Can be Configured," "Available as an extension with partner," "Planned for next release," or "Not Available," with explanatory comments required for any gaps. The document includes a data conversion section addressing existing Accela data for code compliance, building permits, engineering, planning applications, and business licensing systems, as well as requirements for a robust public portal supporting online permit submission, inspection scheduling, complaint filing, fee estimation, and mobile accessibility. No specific response date, due date, or contract award date is indicated within this requirements document.
The document emphasizes technology requirements including SaaS deployment on Microsoft Azure with 99.9 percent uptime commitment, 1-hour Recovery Point Objective (RPO) and 4-hour Recovery Time Objective (RTO), data encryption at rest and in transit, FIPS compliance progression toward StateRAMP authority to operate, and enhanced reporting via the Enhanced Reporting Database with direct SQL access and Power BI integration. Financial system capabilities specified include configurable fee schedules with multiple effective dates, tiered rate structures, development impact fee credits, multi-payment type processing (cash, check, credit card, ACH, EFT), trust/escrow account management, and API integration with financial systems such as Tyler Munis and Central Square HTE. Support services include 24x7 online support, Monday-Friday telephone support (5 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mountain Standard Time), email support, remote assistance, and on-site support available at time-and-materials rates; software updates are provided every two months with a two-week advance notification period for scheduled maintenance windows. Pricing terms, incumbent contractor information, funding sources, and contract value are not detailed within this requirements document, as it functions as a specifications attachment rather than a pricing or award document.
View the file
Other files
| File | Type | Posted |
|---|---|---|
| 1-RFP - Accela Cloud Migration Project Manager.pdf | ||
| 3-Submission Instructions - DS260621.pdf |
On GovTribe
Work with this file
- Download the original file
- Contacts named in this file
- Similar government files
- Ask GovTribe AI about this file
Text version
Instructions
ATTACHMENT 1 – SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
RFP 23-28 Permitting and Plan Review System
1 - INSTRUCTIONS
| Submit Attachment 1 as an excel spread sheet. |
| Instructions: |
Offeror shall place a 'X' in the applicable column (e.g., Existing, Not Available, etc.) on each Requirement tab. If not provided in the out of the box solution, Offeror shall provide an explanation in the Comments column.
| LEGEND: | |
| Existing/Included out of the box | The requirement is available in the out of the box solution. |
| Can be configured | Requirement is available out of the box solution but will require configuration. Provide a brief description of how this may be achieved. |
| Available as an extension with a partner | Requirement may not be available out of the box however, a customized solution can be implemented to meet the requirement or the requirement can be met by another partner. |
| Planned for next release: | The requirement will be available upon the next version/release of the software solution. |
| Not Available: | Not provided by solution. |
| IKC Note: Many of the items are available with out of the box functionality, but we checked both that box AND the Can be configured boxes in many cases, because in order to make the out of the box functionality fully functional for the Town, some configuration may be required. Keeping in mind that the records already exist in the Civic Platform today, unless staff or manamgent is looking for updates or the addition of new functionality, there may or may not be additional configuration required. |
1.0 Systemwide Requirements
ATTACHMENT 1 - SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
1.0 Systemwide Requirements (Throughout Entire System)
| Requirement | Existing/ | ||||
| Included out of box | Can be Configured | Available as an extension with partner | Planned for next release | Not Available | Comments |
| 1.01 | Mutiple consoles that can be linked (Permitting, Planning, Licensing, Code Compliance etc.). | X | |||
| 1.02 | Provide configurable application forms and custom fields by type that can be modified by Town system administrator | X | |||
| 1.03 | Ability to validate EPlanSoft Plan document requirements (scout tool) | X | Configurable with Standard Choices and Scripting. | ||
| 1.04 | Auto-check submittal for completeness before submission. e.g. All required documents are uploaded per check list requirements, depending on application type | X | Assoicated document group would need to be configured to the Town requirements, and then system functionality allows those to be set as required. | ||
| 1.05 | Allow draft applications that have been started to be saved and submitted later. | X | |||
| 1.06 | Ability to auto-validate information from internal and external sources via intergrations (e.g. internal GIS; Arizona Registar of Contractors; e-planSoft, Tax License etc..) | X | Integration configuration with the secondary source would be required. | ||
| 1.07 | Ability to maintain a "Master" record repository – enter field data once, update across all records, modules, and departments. | X | Assume this is refering to Master Plans for repeat alike permits; Available via Modeling. | ||
| 1.08 | Ability to Customize data entry order with ability to hide fields not used depending on record type | X | Out of the box expressions would need to be created to apply rules specific to the Town. | ||
| 1.09 | Ability to provide an Audit Trail with user, date, time stamp throughout all modules and fields, data should be exportable. | X | |||
| 1.10 | Provide user security roles for various user levels to appropriately provide access to add, update, edit information in the system | X | |||
| 1.11 | Ability to define fields that are confidential and limit access tied to specific user roles. Separate user roles may be tied to various confidential fields. | X | |||
| 1.12 | The system must provide role based access control & privilege access management | X | |||
| 1.13 | Ability to create collaborative workflows/notifications across departments based on events or other conditions | X | Out of the box scripting would need to be configured with the Town rules. | ||
| 1.14 | Ability to have User configurable menus, screens, dashboards etc.. (by role or individual) | X | |||
| 1.15 | Ability to flag a parcel or a record for various reasons e.g. hazardous conditions, vicious dog, etc. to include expiration date for flag. | X | |||
| 1.16 | Ability to track day to day activities like routine maintenance work or inspections conducted independent of cases or property (e.g. As-Built inspections) | X | |||
| 1.17 | Ability to track all activities per location such as invoices, permits, planning applications, etc.. | X | |||
| 1.18 | Ability for system to automatically generate user defined correspondence (paper and paperless) | X | |||
| 1.19 | Ability to track unlimited multiple contacts, contact types, addresses, phone or email addresses per case | X | |||
| 1.20 | Ability to electronically route system-generated letters for approval before printing or sending. | X | X | X | Could be out of the box workflow; if letters are required to be routed, could require some configuration; if an integratration with something like ePlanSoft or DocuSign, that would require an extension with partner. |
| 1.21 | System shall have ability to create correspondence templates including forms, employing MS-Word | X | Reports/Documents created in SSRS, and published to export to Word (or PDF, Excel, RTF, etc). | ||
| 1.22 | System shall have ability to modify templates/forms outside of standard fields to be input by users | X | Unlimited custom fileds can be created, based on Town needs. | ||
| 1.23 | System shall have ability to automatically generate correspondence (letter, envelope or label) by user action | X | |||
| 1.24 | Mobile app must allow for acces across multiple consoles, e.g. Building inspectors can check property for other types of code violations | X | |||
| 1.25 | Mobile app must be compatible with mobile devices such as iPad, phones and tablets | X | |||
| 1.26 | Mobile app must have offline capabilites e.g. inspectors can still result inspections offline and the system will sync when back in a service area | X | |||
| 1.27 | Ability to lock down historical fields as “read-only” such as district, original square footage, build date, etc. by user role | X | Using Supervisor and/or Expressions for Read Only, depending on need. | ||
| 1.28 | Ability for conditional alerts, such as notices, holds or locks on a parcel or record (e.g. place a lock on permit for issusance until general contrator is provided) | X | |||
| 1.29 | Ability to integrate with e-Plan Review software (e.g. when review is resulted in plan review software, the review is also auto updated in system, correction letters generated in e-plan review would be auto pushed to permit system etc.) | X | Integration scripts and configuration necessary, but several agencies current have this type of integration. | ||
| 1.30 | Ability to route applications and documents to external non-Town reviewers, e.g. outside agencies, etc. for comments and markup | X | You can add licensed and non-licensed (can not login) users to the Civic Platform for assignmnet. For ability to login would require an assigned license. | ||
| 1.31 | Ability to search by County Parcel Number, site address, or point/line location or ID. | X | Either via direct Address, Parcel, Owner data, or an integrated external source (like GIS). | ||
| 1.32 | Ability to send automatic email notifications (e.g. Expiration notice, zoning actions). | X | Requires a batch script setup based on Town rules and logic. | ||
| 1.33 | Ability to warn/flag when a duplicate record is created. | X | Can be configured with Scripting. | ||
| 1.34 | Built in SOP or wiki within the system | X | Online help available for both Users and Administrators. | ||
| 1.35 | Ability to provide FAQ or online help such as AI or Chatbot within the system. | X | Online applications allow Watermark and Help text to be configured for every page, section and even down to each field. | ||
| 1.36 | Ability for system to “auto detect” or similar action for “per sheet” charged fees when client submits plans | X | Would require an integration with Plan Review software that could pass a page count and/or the customer would need to enter the page count. | ||
| 1.36a | Ability to auto detect per sheet charges per reviewer when reviewed by multiple departments/review staff | X | Would require an integration with Plan Review software that could pass a page count and/or the reviewer would need to enter the page count. | ||
| 1.37 | Ability to look up meter numbers, meter sizes, meter addresses & physical addresses. Synced with GIS - ArcSDE | X | Would require the module for Asset Management to be setup and integrated with GIS (which would need to have the feature available) and/or a GIS proximity script to pull the data back into a custom field. | ||
| 1.38 | Ability to filter, by date, by customer account, type of the revenue, for specific accounts | X | All data can be searched and/or a report can be created to pull data in a specific format. | ||
| 1.39 | Ability to define fields that can be accessed and modified and when they can be modified for both internal and external users | X | |||
| 1.40 | Ability to track missing required information in submittal process; stop issuance until all requirements are met. | X | |||
| 1.41 | Ability to cross-reference plan numbers, County Parcel Numbers, addresses, or other common data affiliated with a single parcel | X | |||
| 1.42 | Ability to view project hierarchy and link: Projects, sub-projects, activities, land use actions, permits, etc. (parent-child relationship) | X | |||
| 1.43 | Ability to manage and track complex development projects - commercial or residential, multiple addresses per parcel, plans, documentation, multiple parcels, split parcels, roads, etc. | X | |||
| 1.44 | Ability to search projects, permits, addresses and/or parcels by Occupancy Classification | X | As long as a field has been configured; all custom and/or system fields can be searched with a standard search screen. | ||
| 1.45 | Ability to auto-assign inspections to appropriate user based on subdivison via GIS integration | X | |||
| 1.46 | Ability to track staff time to apply fees, broken out by departments/disciplines and corresponding GL codes. | X | |||
| 1.47 | Ability to link related accounts by address, maps, application, accounts etc. | X | |||
| 1.48 | Ability to populate certain fields into templated documents (letters, Permits, notices etc...) | X | |||
| 1.49 | Provide configurable automated generated templates and ability to modify all templates | X | |||
| 1.50 | Adhoc Reporting by all data points in the system | X | |||
| 1.51 | Ability to send an email from the system with attachments | X | |||
| 1.52 | Reminder Notifications for follow up across departments e.g. Plan Review due dates | X | |||
| 1.53 | Ability to customize web portal with additional questions or changes to FAQ material etc. | X | |||
| 1.54 | Ability to send automated emails upon certain actions (when a inspection is resulted, when a Permit expires etc.) | X | |||
| 1.55 | Ability to Sort and Filter all data in the system | X | |||
| 1.56 | Ability to configure specific workflows per application type | X | |||
| 1.57 | Standard Data Storage allocation (how much storage do we get?) | X | This answer would be based on your contract with Accela, based on record count to determine storage necessary. | ||
| 1.58 | Interactive map, pindrop location to view all activity on the parcel | X | GIS Integration required. |
&P
2.0 Technology Requirements
ATTACHMENT 1 - SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
2.0 Technology (Throughout Entire System)
| Requirement | Existing/ | ||
| Included out of box | Can be Configured | Available as an extension with partner | Planned for |
| next release | Not Available | Comments | |
| IT Review Comments |
2.01 Provide application architecture diagram and current product roadmap X The Accela solutions are deployed in a three-tier model consisting of the database tier (MSSQL), Business Services/Application tier (J2EE web application leveraging web services for data exchange), and Presentation/Public Web tier (predominantly Java and .NET). The foundation of the solution is the Database Tier, which contains a data schema specifically designed for government-focused key business data, activities, and processes. The Business Services/Application Tier contains all Accela business logic and consists of Enterprise Java Beans. This layer offers a scalable solution to meet the changing and future needs of growing agency requirements and easily integrates with external/third-party systems. The Presentation/Public Web Tier provides a next-generation end-user experience, utilizing a screen-based UI framework. This translates into a work environment where end-users easily and quickly perform key business tasks using role-based consoles tailored to their job function.
Accela maintains a high-level product roadmap that provides strategic direction for all aspects of our solutions. The roadmap is shaped in large part through customer feedback, and priorities may shift over time to meet demands of changing needs and regulatory environments. Due to this, the roadmap may change at any time at Accela’s sole discretion, and we make no assurances as to if and when specific functionality will be provided beyond that which is available at the time of contract signing. Accela provides customers with product updates every two months. This frequency allows for continuous enhancements which often increase functionality, security, performance, and usability for customers as soon as possible.
We have provided a separate attachment that includes Accela's architecture diagrams and full product roadmap.
| 2.02 | Software has a mobile application (IOS & Android) | X | |||||
| 2.03 | Are both IOS & Android apps full featured | X | |||||
| 2.04 | Application is compatible with latest versions of Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Firefox, Safari and Edge | X | |||||
| 2.05 | Supports SSL encryption in transit | X | |||||
| 2.06 | Supports encryption for data at rest (database/file) | X | |||||
| 2.07 | Is FIPS (Federal Information Processing Standard) 140-2 Compliant | ||||||
| - If YES, which level (e.g., 1, 2 , 3. or 4)? | X | Accela's data is encrypted at rest and in transit using strong, industry standard cryptographic protocols that align with the requirements of established compliance frameworks, including SOC 2, HIPAA, PCI DSS, and StateRAMP (GovRAMP) Progressing. | |||||
| 2.08 | System is FEDRAMP compliant/certified | X | Accela is currently working towards obtaining its StateRAMP authority to operate (ATO) and is currently enrolled in the StateRAMP (GovRAMP) Progressing Program. Accela solution is hosted on the Microsoft Azure cloud, which is FedRAMP compliant. | ||||
| 2.09 | Communicates via TCP/IP network protocol | X | |||||
| 2.10 | Database has the ability to archive data | X | |||||
| 2.11 | Database has the ability to restore archived data | X | |||||
| 2.12 | What frequency is the data archived? | X | Database backups follow a standard weekly full/nightly incremental schedule. Accela SaaS offers a committed 1-hour Recovery Point Objective (RPO) and a 4-hour Recovery Time Objective (RTO). | ||||
| 2.13 | What is the retention for archived data? | X | Our backup strategies and fully redundant disaster recovery site are designed to prevent the need for a complete system rebuild of data. At a minimum, 15 days’ worth of backups are maintained, with database backups occurring nightly and data replication occurring in near-real-time across geographically distinct locations. The SaaS solution provides data replication intra- and inter-regionally, with the following backup retention policies: |
Daily backups retained for six weeks with an RPO (Recovery Point Objective) of 1 hour A weekly full backup is stored for three months A monthly full backup for 12 months A yearly full backup exists for 10 years
| 2.14 | Database has the ability to query archived data | X | |
| 2.15 | Database provides encryption of data at rest | X | |
| 2.16 | A data dictionary with clear definitions down to the column level, and entity-relationship diagrams available | X | This is available via our Enhanced Reporting Database (ERD). |
| 2.17 | Describe the reporting tools (e.g., SSRS, SQL, Business Intelligence) delivered with your software, e.g. ad hoc, standard reporting tool, executive dashboard and level of integration with all modules | Accela has created the Enhanced Reporting Database (ERD) option for our cloud customers. This gives the Town direct, secure access to your raw Accela data within Microsoft Azure. |
The Enhanced Reporting Database is a full replication of the Accela cloud-based transaction database providing near real-time syncing (seconds, not minutes) between the transaction database and the read-only reporting database. Customers access the Enhanced Reporting Database directly through an ODBC connector.
The system is designed for one-way copying of data — with no data synchronization or mirroring capabilities — to ensure high system performance is always maintained.
This offering is SQL Server-based, and available in Accela’s Azure cloud environment.
The Town can leverage ERD to write live SQL queries against your Accela data, use it to back up your data locally, connect to a data warehouse or connect to a third-party reporting tool such as Power BI, Tableau, ArcGIS online, SSRS, Crystal, Cognos, and many more.
ERD comes with a Power BI connector that provides an opportunity for agencies to leverage their Power BI enterprise license and deploy dashboards within Accela with third-party data leveraging our security framework and report manager interface.
| 2.18 | Will the Town have direct sql access to the application database (e.g., ETL, reporting, data quality tools) | X | This is available via ERD. | ||
| 2.19 | Explain how solution will support Data Warehousing | We would need additional information as to the scope of data necessary. Via the ERD, the Town would have read access to all data within Accela, and can create linked tables and/or pull data into a central repository, if desired. | |||
| 2.20 | Application offers a full featured API (Application Programming Interface) | ||||
| *If yes, provide documentation | X | https://developer.accela.com/ | |||
| 2.21 | Other than an API, application has the capability to be configured, modified, or extended via Component Object Model interfaces, a vendor-supplied scripting language, or other such means acceptable to the Town | X | |||
| 2.22 | Vendor shall be required to apply all security and critical updates for all components of the proposed solution within 90 days of release | X | |||
| 2.23 | Application shall be compatible with Microsoft Active Directory for single sign-on or LDAP | X | |||
| 2.24 | Vendor shall supply all pertinent documentation in both printed and electronic forms for end-users, administrators, and information technology support personnel | X | |||
| 2.25 | If any installations or configurations are required on staff desktop or tablet computers to support this software, such installation or configuration must be compatible with management through Microsoft Configuration Manager | X | Accela's Civic Platform Back-Office and Citizen Access portal Systems require no local desktop computer installations or configuation. Accela Mobile, a mobile extension of the Accela Civic Platform, is available for iOS, Windows, and Android-based mobile devices. | ||
| 2.26 | Provide three (3) environments DEV,TEST and PROD | With a SaaS subscription, customers receive four environments: PROD (Production), two Non-Production, and Staging. | |||
| SaaS ( Software as a Service) | |||||
| 2.27 | Town staff can access database outside of the application (e.g., ETL, reporting, data quality tools) | X | The database access is available through the Enhanced Reporting Database. Accela has created the Enhanced Reporting Database (ERD) option for our cloud customers. This gives direct, secure access to your raw Accela data within Microsoft Azure. |
The Enhanced Reporting Database is a full replication of the Accela cloud-based transaction database providing near real-time syncing (seconds, not minutes) between the transaction database and the read-only reporting database. Customers access the Enhanced Reporting Database directly through an ODBC connector.
| 2.28 | Which hosting service will be used (Ex. Azure/AWS) | Azure | |
| 2.29 | Will Town data be stored outside of the United States? | No. All data centers are in the US for US customers. | |
| 2.30 | Town owns all data | X | |
| 2.31 | Describe the process and timing for the Town to retrieve a full copy of its data. | If this Agreement expires or is terminated for any reason: (i) within thirty (30) calendar days following the end of Customer’s final Subscription Period, upon Customer’s request Accela provided Customer Data and associated documents in a database dump file; provided that Customer pays (a) all costs of and associated with such copying, as calculated at Accela’s then-current time-and-materials rates, and (b) any and all unpaid amounts due to Accela. |
Please see full details in our SaaS Agreement: https://www.accela.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Accela-Subscription-Services-Agreement-20201023.pdf
| 2.32 | Will Town data be hosted on a multitenant environment? If so, how is the data logically separated from the other tenants? | Data segregation is achieved in a multi-tenant environment via logical or application-level segregation. In the Civic Platform SaaS, each customer has a dedicated database. Accela leverages Azure Storage, which uses logical isolation to segregate each customer’s data from that of others. This provides the scale and economic benefits of multitenant services while rigorously preventing customers from accessing one another’s data. | |
| 2.33 | Describe the process and timing for the Town to retrieve a full copy of its data. | Please see response to 2.31 above. | |
| 2.34 | Provides encryption of data at rest | X | |
| 2.35 | What is your Incident Response Plan in the event of a data breech? | Accela’s breach/incident response process is reviewed annually as part of our SSAE 18 SOC 2 Type II, HIPAA HITECH, and CCPA compliance standards but details are not shared externally. Accela exhausts every effort to prevent security breaches from occurring in the cloud. In the event of such an occasion, we will follow a series of standard procedures to detect and solve the problem: Verification of Breach, Information Gathering Phase, Capture Phase, Severity Assessment, Customer/Law Enforcement Notification, and Isolation of Affected Component(s). Customers will be notified of breaches impacting customer data within 24 hours via customer support channels including email and phone calls as appropriate. | |
| 2.36 | What is your Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Plan? | Disaster recovery is an integral part of maintaining business continuity should a catastrophic outage occur. Accela is committed to giving our cloud customers access to their respective data and sites in a timely fashion should such an unlikely outage occur. Accela maintains a third-party audited Business Continuity (BR) and Disaster Recovery (DR) policy which is certified as documented and tested at least annually as part of SOC 2 certification. |
The SaaS production database is replicated locally and mirrored to a geographically distinct failover site. Great care, planning, and expense has been taken to ensure that no single points of failure occur within the cloud environment itself. All network and I/O paths are redundant, and all services are available via load-balanced environments. Accela employs virtualization that allows for the dynamic migration of any failed virtual guests to another live host the moment an outage is detected. This ensures the continuity of business services should a single server go offline.
A two-node database cluster provides high availability for the key production databases. This cluster allows for both dynamic and manual relocation of key services insomuch that the associated web and business services can always connect to a live node.
Database backups follow a standard weekly full/nightly incremental schedule. Accela SaaS offers a committed 1-hour Recovery Point Objective (RPO) and a 4-hour Recovery Time Objective (RTO).
In any scenario involving data loss, multiple opportunities are available to recover the data. If a site-wide outage occurs that is projected to be sustained and lasting but the data itself within the data center is retrievable, Accela employees will transfer any outstanding archive logs to the standby site and activate the standby site as the primary cloud facility. External DNS entries will then be updated to reflect the failover site.
| 2.37 | Provide latest SOCII Report | We can provide our SOC 2 report under a signed NDA. We can also provide a copy of our SOC 3 report without an NDA. |
| 2.38 | Does hosting party require a VPN connection | Not applicable with Accela SaaS. Accela Civic Platform does not require or support a VPN or other direct connection between the agency and Accela's SaaS service. |
| 2.39 | Does hosting party require a firewall? | Not applicable with Accela SaaS. Accela leverages Azure’s security conventions (e.g. Azure Firewall), along with CloudFlare for DDOS, External DNS and web access firewall (WAF). No agency-side requirement for a firewall. |
| Hardware & Network Specifications | ||
| 2.40 | Attach Server/Workstation/Mobile Device Hardware/Network Specifications | Not applicable with Accela SaaS. |
| Support | ||
| 2.41 | Provide the software deployment model | Subscription as a Service (SaaS) |
| 2.42 | Provide support 24 x7, 365 days a year and attach SLA Maintenance Contract | See attached Software Services SaaS Policy. |
| 2.43 | Vendor shall supply all pertinent documentation in both printed and electronic forms for end-users, administrators, and information technology support personnel | Throughout the life cycle of the Town’s implementation, Accela will maintain all implementation documents. After go-live, the Town owns the documents and they are available to maintain or use as the Town sees fit. Accela maintains and updates Civic Platform product documentation (Release Notes, Admin Guides, etc.) via Accela Success Community. |
Accela will provide the Town with the one soft copy in portable document file (.pdf) format, of all documentation necessary for the Accela solutions acquired under the proposed contract. The Town will have the right of reproduction so that as many copies can be made of the documentation as necessary for training or subsequent purposes.
| 2.44 | Provide a description of on-going product support and maintenance program(s). | As per our standard agreement, Accela's yearly subscription comprises the following services: |
| Telephone Support – Accela’s Customer Support Department, a live technical support facility, is available in English to identified Authorized Customer Contacts from 5 a.m. until 7 p.m. Mountain Standard Time Monday through Friday, excluding Accela’s observed holidays. | ||
| Online Support – Accela provides a 24x7 online support portal. To submit cases, log in to https://success.accela.com, navigate to "Submit a case," and click "Submit.” | ||
| Email Support – Accela provides one or more email addresses to which a customer may submit routine or non-critical support requests 24 hours a day, which Accela will address during our regular business hours. | ||
| Community Support – Accela’s online, searchable knowledge base is available 24/7 and provides information on our supported products and solutions. We likewise host a robust online community that is supported by our customers, partners, and Accela personnel. | ||
| Remote Support – Accela provides remote assistance via a mutually acceptable remote communication method when required to resolve a maintenance request properly. | ||
| Accela Chatbot – Get the answers you need 24x7 from Accela Knowledge resources using AI technology. | ||
| On-Site Support – On-site assistance can be requested at Accela’s current time and materials rates. Additional charges for airfare, lodging, transportation, meals, and incidental expenses will be billed as accrued. | ||
| Software Updates – Accela provides revisions of and enhancements to software products as such updates are generally released. | ||
| 2.45 | Describe the process for the Town to request future product enhancements | We develop and maintain a single code line for the base Accela system. This in no way precludes an agency from securing improvements or enhancements to our solutions, but Accela Product Management has a responsibility to ensure that the requested improvements or enhancements do not negatively affect the use of the system for other clients. We maintain an internal product roadmap, and enhancements developed based on this roadmap are released to the entire customer base with each release. By using system switches, customers can enable or disable certain functionality to meet their needs. |
If a product enhancement is needed to meet a requirement, Accela follows a well-delineated process for assessing and designing new features for our existing Accela solutions. If the requirement is contractual or based on legislative mandates, Accela’s Professional Services team assigned to the project will collect requirements in the context of the project at hand and then work with Product Management to document the requirements and the proposed product enhancement. The requirements and delivery of enhancements will be reviewed with the customer for accuracy before development begins.
At our discretion, Accela may require the customer to pay for the enhancement and will present the customer with any associated costs as a part of the submission of the functional requirements for signoff. Once the requirements are agreed upon, we will make the enhancement a candidate for the next regular release. In certain circumstances where functionality may be needed more rapidly, some enhancements may be able to be delivered in a release or service pack pending the extent of the development effort and developer availability.
Any customization performed by Accela is reviewed with the agency to ascertain that the existing features and functionality of the system cannot accomplish the need. Many times, we are able to present workable approaches that resolve the need. In the case that customization is ultimately selected as the appropriate path, Accela performs the work on the system after the agency has approved the work and its respective costs. There are no known constraints as Accela will enable completion of the customization without any deleterious effort on downstream releases.
Anytime Accela enhances its product either for what may be deemed a single customer at the time or for the benefit of all, it is a company policy to make the enhancement available to all of our customers through a scheduled upgrade. Under this approach, the Accela source code is not “customized” – rather updates to the source code become part of our supported product for all customers moving forward. The benefit of this approach is clear—neither Accela nor its customers have a string of code that is not generally supported. Instead, Accela’s engineering team confirms that the Accela solutions are wholly supported and align with the original product specifications throughout its lifetime. Under this design, Accela does not build any product “enhancement” that does not map to the product direction and overall company approach.
2.46 Describe the technology to communicate standard and unplanned downtimes to the application users and administrators All updates to the solution for Accela SaaS customers are performed by Accela staff. We will communicate details of all planned upgrades by email, Accela Success Community, and the Accela Trust page.
Accela’s Trust Page allows Accela administrators to access on-demand status of Accela's hosted services. Administrators can subscribe to real time updates via email, SMS, and RSS, on any Production incidents that impact your Accela hosted service in your region. This site provides administrators one source of truth with the details around current issues, their impact and scope, current status, as well as details following the incident regarding root causes and corrective actions for any severe incidents.
| 2.47 | How will the Town be notified of an upcoming upgrade? | Standard notification is sent via email and posted to Success Community two weeks prior to any scheduled downtime of the hosted production environment. Accela provides a Trust page that provides real-time updates on environment maintenance activities so that customers are always aware of the status of their environments.All servers are kept up to date with the latest operating system and firmware patches as they become available based on criticality and need. | ||
| 2.48 | How much notice will the Town be given of an upcoming upgrade? | Two weeks. | ||
| 2.49 | What is the frequency and timing of standard maintenance windows? | Customers in Accela’s SaaS offering are always on the latest, updated version. Release windows are typically four to six hours on Tuesday or Thursday nights every other month, with minimal downtime. Accela provides early release access through the Staging environment to help customers prepare for an upcoming release. Staging is updated two week before Non-Production and Production. | ||
| 2.50 | Describe the frequency and types of Software Upgrades included in Ongoing Maintenance | Accela’s release cycle includes a significant software release every two months, monthly service packs, and hotfixes as needed. Full infrastructure patching occurs at least monthly. | ||
| 2.51 | Describe how upgrades will be applied to Town’s environment by Contractor staff. | All updates to the solution for Accela SaaS customers are performed by Accela staff. We will communicate details of all planned upgrades by email, Accela Success Community, and the Accela Trust page. | ||
| 2.52 | Describe level of effort required by Town staff for upgrades applied by Contractor staff. | Accela handles upgrades for SaaS customers. The agency should review release notes and third-party software versions for compatibility with the new Accela release. | ||
| 2.53 | System should be highly available and functional. Vendor to provide 5x9 availability | Our cloud model offers an uptime commitment of 99.9 percent each calendar month (subject to scheduled and emergency maintenance and certain other SLA limitations). This uptime commitment ensures that the system is accessible and operational for users. | ||
| 2.54 | ||||
| SaaS solution shall meet the Town's Recovery Point Objective (RPO) of 2 hours. | Accela SaaS offers a committed 1-hour Recovery Point Objective (RPO). |
2.55 SaaS solution shall meet the Town's Recovery Time Objective (RTO) of 8 hours Accela SaaS offers a committed 4-hour Recovery Time Objective (RTO).
| 2.56 | Vendor will be required to participate in annual incident response & COOP/BCP/DR exercises | Accela's Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery are tested annually as audited in our SOC-II | |
| SSO ( Single Sign On) | |||
| 2.57 | Does this solution support SSO? | ( If Yes answer below questions) | |
| 2.58 | SSO Type | ||
| 2.59 | Manual Metadata Updates (when certificates/keys are replaced): | The SSO solution integrates seamlessly with your SAML identity provider (IdP). It allows residents to log into Citizen Access with the same credentials they use for other websites in the same jurisdiction. | |
| 2.6 | Identity Provider: | Accela back-office system supports SSO using Microsoft Azure Active Directory and Okta. | |
| 2.61 | Are SSO settings self-managed through the UI? (Vendor support is not required to fully configure SSO) | Yes, Agency SSO configurations are managed through the application. |
Page &P
Yes No
LDAPS
OIDC
SAML 2.0
Yes No
AD
ADFS
AZURE AD
OKTA
Yes No https://protect.checkpoint.com/v2/r01/___https:/developer.accela.com/___.YzJ1OmF6Y3JwdG93bnByZXNjb3R0dmFsbGV5OmM6bzo1YWIzYTI3ZjQ2Y2RmODNkY2I2ZDYzNWY3MzhiNzE3NDo3Ojc3MGE6NmU0OWViZWJlY2ZkZmU5MThkNDY4Mjg1YmI3MDM2MzNkYmVkMWQ1MDY1MGE4M2NhZDBlMWE4N2M2OTM3MWI4MzpwOlQ6Rg
3.0 GIS Tools
| ATTACHMENT 1 - SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS | ||||||||
| 3.0 GIS: Integration & Mapping/Spatial Analysis Tools | GIS: Integration & Mapping/Spatial Analysis Tools | GIS: Integration & Mapping/Spatial Analysis Tools | GIS: Integration & Mapping/Spatial Analysis Tools | GIS: Integration & Mapping/Spatial Analysis Tools | GIS: Integration & Mapping/Spatial Analysis Tools | GIS: Integration & Mapping/Spatial Analysis Tools | ||
| GIS: Integration & Mapping/Spatial Analysis Tools | GIS: Integration & Mapping/Spatial Analysis Tools | GIS: Integration & Mapping/Spatial Analysis Tools | GIS: Integration & Mapping/Spatial Analysis Tools | GIS: Integration & Mapping/Spatial Analysis Tools | GIS: Integration & Mapping/Spatial Analysis Tools | GIS: Integration & Mapping/Spatial Analysis Tools | ||
| Requirement | Existing/ | |||||||
| Included out of box | Can be Configured | Available as an extension with partner | Planned for | |||||
| next release | Not Available | Comments |
| 3.01 | Software has ArcGIS Integration & Mapping functionality | ||||
| If yes, please describe. | X | ||||
| 3.02 | Provide the latest version ESRI ArcGIS Server supported. Minimum 11.5 | Accela supports 11.1.X | |||
| 3.03 | Software has the ability to consume ArcGIS recourses and web services | X | |||
| 3.04 | Software has Spatial Analysis Tools | X | Spatial analaysis tools include advanced search for records in different statuses, inspections. Dynamic themes can be created. | ||
| 3.05 | Software can directly read from ESRI Enterprise Geodatabases | X | |||
| 3.06 | Software will integrate with the Town’s Master Address database within ArcSDE (containing all parcel/property information) to validate address information. | X | |||
| 3.07 | Ability to track permits, activities, projects by map location. | X | |||
| 3.08 | Ability to link/consume GIS data to get address, location, zoning, subdivision, development & land use information, council district, inspection area, FEMA flood zone, etc. Preference is via REST services. | X | |||
| 3.09 | Ability to integrate with ESRI ArcGIS and ArcGIS Enterprise maps and services, if yes please describe | X | It is a standard integration | ||
| 3.10 | Software has ability to publish ArcGIS web service(s) and consume GIS services provided by the Town. | X | |||
| 3.11 | Ability to query, view, and export proposed system database for integration with Town's GIS database. | X | Accela's Enhanced Reporting Datbase (optional product) is needed to export in real time querry. if not real time, then an export can be provided quarterly by providing a support ticket | ||
| 3.12 | Ability to identify and utilize all unit addresses (e.g. Unit, suite, apartment, etc.) and parcel level detail. | X | |||
| 3.13 | Are there any GIS export capabilities not described above? | none |
&P
4.0 Data Conversion
ATTACHMENT 1 - SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
4.0 Data Conversion
| Source System | Business Groups | Background | |
| Comments |
| 4.01 | Accela | Code Compliance | Currently the case information is processed and maintained within Accela. This project must migrate the historical data from the current system to the new system with the ability to report and see the historical case information per property. Subset of all data points will be identified – approx. 1 to 12 fields per property. | Data would remain within Accela; No conversion required. |
| 4.02 | Building Safety | This project must migrate the historical data for Permit & Projects to the new system, including status, issue dates, expiration dates, inspection data, and attached documents | Data would remain within Accela; No conversion required. | |
| 4.03 | Engineering | Migrate existing Engineering Data (Permit Review, Dry Utility Process, Inspections) , Bond, Insurance, Plans Documents, Daily Reports | Data would remain within Accela; No conversion required. | |
| 4.04 | Planning | This project must migrate the historical data for Planning Projects: include review, comments and supporting documents (narratives, site plans, stamped ordinances, approval notices etc.) to the new system | Data would remain within Accela; No conversion required. | |
| 4.06 | ClearGov | Business Licensing | Business Licensing data from ClearGov must be migrated to capture Business Information, Payments, Invoices, Inspections, contacts, submittals (attachments), all dates (applied for, approved by departments, issued, closed, etc.), history, license details etc. | Potentially switching to a Business Registration model; Business Licenses can be migrated to Accela, with a data conversion. |
5.0 Public Portal
ATTACHMENT 1 - SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
5.0 Public Portal
| Requirement | Existing/ | ||
| Included out of box | Can be Configured | Available as an extension with partner | Planned for |
| next release | Not Available | Comments |
| 5.01 | Provide citizens the ability to submit various applications as well as plans, supporting documents, etc. online via Town website or link to portal on Town website | X | ||||
| 5.02 | Ability for customer to be associated with multiple records/applications within the system | X | ||||
| 5.03 | Ability for customer to submit general requests via the portal (zoning verification requests, permit extension request, etc..) | X | ||||
| 5.04 | Ability for the citizen to request information from specific disciplines regarding their application via portal | X | ||||
| 5.05 | Ability for the citizen to submit a complaint via portal to include supporting documents, photos with location pindrop selection via map | X | ||||
| 5.06 | Ability for citizen to submit a complaint, permit app, planning app etc.. via portal with location pindrop selection via map | X | Map features (such as address, parcel, assets, etc) are available for selection in the Citizen Portal, but we will need to defer answer to Accela to determine if a pindrop is possible. | Accela comments: dropping a pin is available as a custom map component. This map functionality is defined to a particular record type | ||
| 5.07 | Ability for customer to generate their own fee estimates by calculating all fees (flat and calculated), prior to submitting application, to include water meter fee estimates | X | ||||
| 5.08 | Ability to pay all fees online (permits, plan review, business license, etc.) | X | Requires Town to have a Merchant Account that integrates with the Civic Platform (like PayPal, Forte, or other custom adapters can be configured). | |||
| 5.09 | Web portal access to identify parcel location using maps | X | ||||
| 5.10 | Ability to request inspections online | X | ||||
| 5.11 | Ability to subscribe to alerts online | X | ||||
| 5.12 | Ability for citizens to access portal via mobile app on phone, tablet, etc. | X | Current enhancments in process for the Citizen Portal, to enhance the experience on the Web and via Mobile devices. | |||
| 5.13 | Provide citizen visibility of all projects currently being built, projects going through entitlement process or scheduled for Public Hearing using maps, with ability to sync to Town transparency dashboard on website | X | X | Links to any Town website link available to be configured on any page. | ||
| 5.14 | Citizen ability to provide either address or parcel # with lookup option to obtain records, submit an application etc. | X | ||||
| 5.15 | Citizen access to Public Records for building, code violations, business licenses, planning applications etc. | X | ||||
| 5.16 | Ability to display specific custom fields depending on record type | X | ||||
| 5.17 | Public search for issued permits and status tracking. | X | ||||
| 5.18 | Send automated notifications (email/SMS) for status changes, required actions, and approvals. | X | X | Email notifications need to be configured based on Town configuration and requirements; SMS would require additional configuration and an SMS configured service or integration. | ||
| 5.19 | Allow two-way messaging between staff and applicants within the system. | X | Emails can be sent directly from within any record, from any configured Town email address, which a customer can reply to. | |||
| 5.20 | Provide applicant with visibilty of inspector location or ETA "en route" status | X | Would require shared location via the inspectors Town phone; System does allow for notification via the Mobile product, as long as there is a service or connectivty for the device. If no service or working off-line, notification could not be delivered. | |||
| 5.21 | Ability for citizen to upload a photo of the issue/concern for violation submittals | X |
&P
6.0 Case Management
ATTACHMENT 1 - SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
6.0 Case Management
| Requirement | Existing/ | ||
| Included out of box | Can be Configured | Available as an extension with partner | Planned for |
| next release | Not Available | Comments |
| Code Compliance Specific Requirements | |||||
| 6.01 | Ability to create one open case per location at a time and track case management data | X | |||
| 6.02 | Ability to have multiple violations in one case assigned to a single property. | X | |||
| 6.03 | Associate property address, complaint information, complainant information, owner information with each open case | X | |||
| 6.04 | Ability to assign/reassign inspector to a case | X | |||
| 6.05 | Ability to create multiple inspections for one open case per location | X | |||
| 6.06 | Ability to maintain a history of citations/violations by property as well as person (tenant or owner) including case timeline (e.g. opening, closing, case type) | X | |||
| 6.07 | Ability to prevent closure of a case until all violations are resolved/passed | X | |||
| 6.08 | Ability to open multiple cases on the same property, while other cases may be in the open status. | X | |||
| 6.09 | Upload of photos into the system with date stamp directly from our mobile devices. | X | |||
| 6.10 | Accessibility to view other departments permits and building cases. | X | |||
| 6.11 | Accessibility from both IOS and Windows platforms. | X | |||
| 6.12 | Connectivity to all programs. | X | |||
| 6.13 | Mapping of properties. | ||||
| 6.14 | Ability to change ownership for parcels when correct information can be validated. | X | |||
| 6.15 | Use of hotspot use-phone or IPAD | X | |||
| 6.16 | Reportability- Citizen or employee reporting of potential code issues. | X | X | Report would be configured based on Town requirements. | |
| 6.17 | Data-Case reports and manager review of data. | X | X | Report/View would be configured based on Town requirements. | |
| 6.18 | Tools shed- system to keep track of our equipment. | X | X | Record would be configured based on Town requirements. | |
| 6.19 | Ability to track complainant history by complaint type | X | X | Report would be configured based on Town requirements. | |
| 6.20 | Ability to create case for Unlicensed Business based on canvassing or research effort and assign it to a specialist | X | |||
| 6.21 | Ability to add findings from canvassing and/or research effort to the case and attach the evidence using various files/documents in formats such as pdf,jpg,video files etc. | X | |||
| 6.22 | Ability to add notes, activities, communications with business owner to each unlicensed business case | X | |||
| 6.23 | Ability to generate letter/email to business owner for businesses without license per case, track the date sent and recipient | X | |||
| 6.24 | Ability to notify the specialists of unresponsive businesses so that additional letters can be mailed after the initial compliance period. | X | |||
| 6.25 | Ability to add notes to the case when an owner calls about the letter and close the case after they obtain a business license or if it is determined that business license is not needed. | X | |||
| 6.26 | Ability to close case with appropriate case closing reasons | X | |||
| 6.27 | Ability to create and manage a request for Land Development Administrative Process | X | |||
| 6.28 | Track list of letters needed from Town per project and route the request to Engineering | X | |||
| 6.29 | Ability to generate and edit templated letters and provide it to the applicant | X | X | Report would be configured based on Town requirements. | |
| 6.30 | Ability to designate property as Unsafe to Occupy or Condemned, and place a hold on all permitting activity, and flag the address, parcel, owner. | X | |||
| 6.31 | Ability to automatically notify applicant/property owner when a property is designated unsafe to occupy or condemned. | X | X | Notification/Report would be configured based on Town requirements. | |
| 6.32 | Ability to submit a planning request/case and completed pre application and upload supporting documents through portal | X | |||
| 6.33 | Ability to assign/reassign Planner to a case | X | |||
| 6.34 | Ability to associate a Case to the resulting Preapplication and/or Application | X | |||
| 6.35 | The case/ initial request and preapplication should have the same unique ID until its submitted, once there is formal submittal must result in its own unique Project Number | X | X | Pre-Application would be a separate record; when complete, a script could create appropriate Project and copy all necessary information and contacts. | |
| 6.36 | Ability to provide review comments or request for payments on completed pre applications and design reviews applications | X | |||
| 6.37 | Ability to schedule a Pre Application and Public Hearing meetings | X | |||
| 6.38 | Ability to route the case/request and documents to other departments with due dates for review comments | X | |||
| 6.39 | Reminder notifications as follow up for review comments if comments not provided within the due dates for pre application and or design reviews | X | X | Notifications could be configured based on Town requirements. | |
| 6.40 | Ability to organize and arrange all comments, supporting documents into a templated format for Pre application meeting | X | X | Report would combine information contained within Accela, as defined by Town requirements. | |
| 6.41 | Ability to approve the request and generate templated Final Letter, Design Review Approval Letter, Checklists | X | |||
| 6.42 | Ability to request the applicant to fill in Design and Pre Hearing Applications | X | |||
| 6.43 | Ability to associate the initial case to Design and Pre Hearing Applications as parent child | X | |||
| 6.44 | Ability to track and maintain Public Hearing information - like minutes for public, resolution and ordinances, approval letters | X | All documents can be uploaded to the configured EDMS system for any record, parcel or person. | ||
| 6.45 | Customizable dashboard to show case summary | X | X | X | Internal to Accela, Insights can provide dashboard data. Additional reporting functionality within Accela is in the current product enhancement path for future. |
| 6.46 | Provide notifications or dashboards for Planner, providing a task list ( Daily, Weekly, Monthly) for upcoming hearing due dates and requirements | X | Standard My Tasks page or Task Management page. |
7.0 Inspections
ATTACHMENT 1 - SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
7.0 Inspections
| Requirement | Existing/ | ||
| Included out of box | Can be Configured | Available as an extension with partner | Planned for |
| next release | Not Available | Comments |
| 7.01 | Ability to request multiple inspections on same or different projects in a single transaction through web portal with supporting documents/pictures | X | X | Accela can be configured with inspection groups; Integration Partners offer other solutions that allow multiple, but require separate contracts and maintenance. | |
| 7.02 | Ability for user(s) to determine inspector workload by area and displayed visually on a map | X | With proper GIS integration and Address Point layer. |
This is the start of the file's text. The full file is on GovTribe.
File details come from the government source that posted it. Updated .