50 IAC 26-18-3 Phase II system and integration demonstrations

Sec. 3. (a) As used in this section, "phase II testing" refers to the testing of the integrative functionality of the individual components of a property tax management system for certification under this article. (b) Property tax management systems subject to certification under section 1 of this rule that utilize assessment and tax and billing systems that have been software certified by the department must initially be tested and integration validated under this section. Only those systems that have been phase I certified during the same certification cycle may be eligible for phase II testing. The systems will be tested by the department or its designee on a stand-alone PC or a larger system. Combinations of vendors or data processing departments shall schedule a testing date with the department at least thirty (30) days before submitting the property tax management system for test. The department reserves the right to proactively coordinate testing dates per the department prescribed time frame allotted for phase II testing and reserves the right to conduct the testing session either in person or via a virtual environment (e.g., webinar). The test shall include, but will not be limited to, the following: (1) Validation that the system incorporates all general system requirements. (2) Generation of required reports. (3) Demonstration of the system's ability to perform the annual interface of gross assessed values, including the acceptance of state assessed utility and railroad values. (ii) A successful appeal determination and the subsequent recalculation of taxes from the change in value [sic]. (4) Demonstration of the system's ability to integrate applicable data from one (1) software to the other, including, but not limited to, property transfers, splits, combinations, annexations, homestead deduction application, and updated sales prices for ratio study purposes. (c) For each property tax management system, vendors or data processing departments whose assessments or tax and billing systems are included in the property tax management system shall provide a list of the software versions currently installed in each county. For any software versions older than the version used in the system and integration demonstration, the vendor or data processing department shall also include a workplan for upgrading to the tested version for each county using an older version. For any software versions newer than the version used in the system and integration demonstration, the vendor or data processing department shall provide the release notes associated with the newer version so the department can verify that updates to the software have not impacted the tested functionality. If the department determines that updates in the newer version have impacted tested functionality, the department may require that the system and integration demonstration be conducted on the newer version of the software as well. (d) The department or its designee shall observe the demonstration and document the tests and scenarios accomplished by the system. The department shall notify the vendors or data processing department of the results within thirty (30) days of the completion date of the initial phase II testing session, including the specific tests and scenarios achieved by the system and those that were not. Upon notice of failure, the vendors or data processing department may make the required correction or corrections and resubmit for certification, within thirty (30) days of the receipt of the results of the initial phase II testing session. The department or its designee shall finish the test and notify the vendors or data processing department of the results within thirty (30) days of the completion date of the subsequent phase II testing session. If the system fails the test, the department will inform the vendors or data processing department in writing of the reason or reasons for the failure. The vendors or data processing department may resubmit its system on an iterative basis for phase II certification until such time the department has determined all required tests have been successfully demonstrated as long as all phase II testing sessions are completed within the department provided time frame for phase II certification. (e) The department or its designee shall record the results from testing under subsection (b) and may publish them for public access on the department's website. Published results may include the following: (1) Vendors involved in demonstration. (2) Packages and package version used in demonstration. (3) Reports successfully generated by the system or systems. (4) Reports unsuccessfully generated by the system or systems. (5) Scenarios successfully demonstrated by the system or systems. (6) Scenarios unsuccessfully demonstrated by the system or systems. (f) Upon successful completion of testing under subsection (b), the department shall declare the system phase II certified.