Guidance

LA Welfare Direct 10/2020 Appendix C: CIS500 user instructions

Updated 11 December 2020

Product: CIS500

Version: 23.1

1. Revision history

Version: 1.0

Date: 10 August 2020

Section: All

Description: First Draft

2. Background

The CIS Data Guardian Team receives requests from a wide range of areas to apply updates to live CIS accounts. There are a number of forms in use to present these requests.

These forms are largely automated Excel spreadsheets that aim to assist the user in completion and save time for all parties. The CIS500 form is used to request general amendments to personal details on live accounts. This CIS500 version is intended for use by all CIS stakeholders requiring authorised amendments to CIS live data.

3. Introduction

The CIS500 form is distributed as a freestanding Microsoft Excel Workbook attached to an email. Please read the instructions before opening the email. This is an Excel Macro-Enabled (*.xlsm) document named ‘CIS500_v23.1.xlsm’. Templates can be created from the Master copy that can be used to submit CIS500 requests.

4. Save the workbook locally

When the email is received, you should save the attached workbook as follows:

• in MS Outlook, click the ‘File’ Tab
• click ‘Save Attachments’
• on the ‘Save All Attachments’ pop up box, click ‘OK’
• navigate to an approved location on your local network and click ‘Save’. (Do not alter the file name or ‘Save as type’ fields).

5. Submit a request

Open the workbook that you saved in Part 3.

Click ‘Enable Content’ if the yellow warning above is displayed.

When the form opens all request fields are automatically cleared down to prevent residual data inherited from previous requests from causing confusion or data corruption. However, the originator details (Part 1) and line manager details (Part 4) are left unchanged. This enables the user to create and reuse a form with pre-completed, originator details.

If you wish to save the form without sending, in order to complete the request later, click ‘Save Draft’. The standard Windows File Save As dialog box will enable you to navigate to a location of your choice. However, it is recommended that you do not alter the default location or filename.

5.1. Completing the form

There are six buttons in Part 1 indicating the types of change that the form accommodates.:Personal Details (Date of birth, Date of death, Nationality, Gender, Marital Status etc):

• name
• contact
• address
• relationships
• interests

Click the appropriate button for your request type. Any number of buttons can be clicked and each opens its respective request section on the form. Please note that these buttons do not accept textual input.

Fields highlighted in yellow are locked. These are automatically populated when the form is submitted.

Complete the ‘Existing’ Details section in Part 2. These are the details that are currently held on the system (change from) and not the new details (change to). This information helps the CIS team to be sure that they are applying requested changes to the correct account.

Complete each appropriate section in Part 3 with the new details that should be recorded.

Note that some fields will enable/disable according to the values in other fields. You should take care to use the correct Action Type, particularly in the Name/Address sections. There is a critical difference between ‘Update’ and ‘Correct’. Error messages are also produced if conflicting entries are entered. Please see our intranet site for guidance.

5.2. Validation

Once all request fields have been completed, the user will check the ‘Declaration’ check box and click ‘Submit’ in Part 4. The request details are validated to ensure that the request has been correctly completed. Once all entries are successfully validated, an email with the request form attached will be sent automatically to the CIS Data Guardian Team to process. Please do not attach saved requests to emails to the team. The automated send ensures that requests are properly validated prior to sending, which minimises the number of returns we make for clarification and ultimately reduces time and effort for all parties.

Error messages are produced advising of validation failures – for example, if a DoB change has been requested without advising what evidence has been seen to support the change. In these cases, you should review the request details and resubmit.

Once a form has been submitted, you can clear the form for reuse, using the ‘Clear Form’ button. This clears down all residual sensitive data from the previous request, but leaves the user details in Part 1, and re-enable the Submit functionality for the next request.

5.3. Personal details

If Date of Birth fields are used, then a Verification level is set according to the evidence selected. The evidence seen is mandatory, but if none is available, then select ‘Other’ and clarify in the ‘Other’ box. The evidence list is not exhaustive, so if the document seen is not listed, then again, use ‘Other’ and clarify in the ‘Other’ box. Neither of these scenarios necessarily mean that we cannot apply the change. It is merely to ascertain that appropriate evidence has been seen.

The same rules that apply to Date of Birth above, also apply to Date of Death.

Changes to Sex can only be applied if the original entry was applied in error. Where issues of Gender Reassignment/Recognition are encountered, the changes must go through Special Section D who will take the appropriate action and apply account sensitivity.

The Additional Needs section is not mandatory and any of the boxes can be used. There is no validation on any of the entries.

Post Office is no longer required. The field is not mandatory.

Disability, PV (Potentially Violent), NIFU, Marital Status, IND Interest and Nationality fields should be completed as required and are not mandatory. There is no validation on those fields.

5.4. Name

Changes to Name will usually be applied to Name 1 only. Legitimate use of Name 2 and Requested Name are very rare (see our intranet site for guidance).

You should take care to use the correct Action Type. Update and Correct are not the same. Again, see our intranet site for guidance. Where Updates to existing data are required, a start date (the effective date of the change is required). For Corrections, where data was incorrectly recorded in the first place, the old entry will be ‘greyed-out’ and later deleted from the database. The start data of the new record will be inherited automatically from that on the incorrect entry. A current Name 1 must always be present and the only action types available are Update and Correct.

5.5. Contact

Four action types are available on Contact: ‘Add’, ‘Update’, ‘Correct’, ‘End’. Please see our intranet site for guidance and be sure to use the correct type. Input fields are enabled/disabled according to the Action Type.

We can only record one contact line for any given contact type. One contact type can be assigned the Preferred Method of Contact (PMC) by checking the button alongside the entry. It is not mandatory to hold a PMC.

5.6. Address

Two types of Address are available: ‘Residential’ (where the customer actually lives) and ‘Correspondence’ (an alternative address for mail if this is not required at the Residential Address. A live Residential Address must always be present. Please see our intranet site for guidance.

Again, please be sure to select the correct Action Type. The same principle applies as with Name. Please see our intranet site for guidance.

5.7. Relationships

The only two Action Types available on Relationships are ‘Delete’ and ‘End’. These are self-explanatory. The Relationship Type and Benefit type must be provided along with the ‘Target’ nino. This is the Nino of the person at the other end of the Relationship (ie. Appointee), not the person in the CIS500.

5.8. Interests

There are three Action Types available on Interests: ‘Insert’, ‘Transfer’ and ‘End’. These are self-explanatory. Input fields are enabled/disabled according to the Action Type.

6. Request completion

Once CIS have processed your request, an automated mail will be returned to the originator with a ‘completion type’ (‘Completed’ or ‘Further Action Required’ or ‘Already Done’) and any appropriate comments. The completion type is indicated in the Email title. The request workbook is attached automatically, and there may be additional

7. Limitations

7.1. Constraints

Numerous suggestions have been raised to enhance User experience and every effort is made by the CIS FLS developers to accommodate requests arising from feedback. However, the CIS500 tool is nothing more than an Excel spreadsheet and as such we are constrained by the functionality available within Excel.

7.2. Compatibility

The tool has been developed using Microsoft Excel 2016. Earlier versions of the form have been prone to compatibility issues. This has now been resolved and the form will operate on any hardware/software configuration. Please contact us if you experience any problems.

7.3. Jumping buttons

Occasionally, you may see buttons resize and move out of position for no reason. This is a problem that other Excel developers have reported and seems to be a problem with Excel itself. A workaround has been developed that minimises the problem although does not fully eradicate it. It resets buttons to their correct size and position automatically.

When this problem occurs, the buttons are still functional and will work as normal. They will restore their position and size if used. If you experience buttons moving out of position, please take the following action:

• double click into any input field on the form.
• single click on any other field.

This will trigger the procedure that resets buttons to their correct positions and sizes.