MINUTES
COURT TECHNOLOGY COMMITTEE August 27, 2008
Members Participating Dale Sandstrom, Chair Becky Absey Lee Ann Barnhardt William Herauf Sally Holewa Doug Mattson Joel Medd Penny Miller Daniel Narum Frank Racek Donna Wunderlich
Guests Brandi Fagerland, Large Project Oversight Analyst for ITD Jim Gienger, Project Manager for UCIS Replacement Project Rod Olson, Member of the Operations Oversight Group Allen Schmalenberger, Chair of the Operations Oversight Group
Staff Jerrold Arneson, Interim Director of Technology
The chair was called to order by Chair Sandstrom.
Approval of minutes Minutes from June 27, 2008 were reviewed. Jerrold Arneson moved/Judge Medd seconded that the
minutes be approved. Motion carried.
Unified Court Information System Replacement Project Judge Schmalenberger notified the committee that the Operations Oversight Group has prepared a
recommendation for a new CMS. The Group is recommending that the court pursue a contract with
Tyler Technologies for their Odyssey System. He reviewed the process the Operations Oversight
Group used to reach this conclusion.
Jerrold Arneson, Interim Director of Technology, advised the committee that the IT staff had done
extensive research and interviewing of both finalists and were satisfied that either product would be
a good technological fit for North Dakota. However, due to the time constraints of this project and
the clerk's preference for Tyler, the IT staff recommends that the court choose the Tyler system.
Justice Sandstrom said that the Tyler system is a finished product, whereas the other finalist was not
a complete project. He said that aside from the risk of purchasing a product that isn't complete, there
is the issue of determining what the actual cost of the product would be because of difficulties
separating customization from development.
Brandi Fagerland said that the process to reach the recommendation was very thorough, and she was
comfortable that the court had done its due diligence and made the best decision possible. Jim
Gienger reiterated that the process was very thorough and inclusive.
Becky Absey raised a concern about the Tyler system's lack of in-court processing. Judge Mattson
questioned the need for Tyler to be Citrix certified and suggested that we incorporate that into the
contract terms. Judge Racek commented that he has been to Minnesota to review their use of the
Tyler system. He believes that there is untapped potential already built into the product, and he is
satisfied with the Operations Oversight recommendation.
Sally Holewa reviewed the three options available to the Court Technology Committee: (1) Reject
the recommendation and pursue a new RFP next biennium; (2) Reject the recommendation to pursue
Tyler and go back to the initial RFP responses to look for another vendor; or (3) Approve the
recommendation to contract with Tyler. She stated that the Operations Oversight Group was
unanimous in its belief that the Tyler system would fit our needs.
Judge Mattson moved/Judge Medd Seconded that the Court Technology Committee recommend to
the Supreme Court that we move forward with a Notice of Intent to Award a contract to Tyler
Technologies. Motion carried.
Lee Ann Barnhardt asked about the need for additional staffing associated with the new CMS
system. Sally Holewa will bring a proposal for additional staffing before the Administrative Council
at its September 10, 2008 meeting.
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned.
The next meeting of the Court Technology Committee is scheduled for September 26, 2008 at 9:00
a.m. in the front conference room at the Supreme Court.