I have been asked to pass on the following to the list by Duncan Brown the
LBS Online project Manager
Martin Newman
SMR Forum List Owner
LATEST NEWS ON LISTED BUILDINGS ONLINE
Where have we got to with the project?
The project is now moving towards completion as set out in the timetable
below. We are sorry for any inconvenience delays have caused.
When can users expect Listed Buildings Online to be available?
We now expect the Listed Buildings Online Website to go live in late August.
When are Local Authorities likely to receive CDs of data?
We now expect CDs of data to be distributed in Autumn this year.
Why have there been further delays?
There are a number of causes of further delays to the project. Principal
among these are the following:
1. Additional work has been required to the Listed Building System
(LBS) and Listing Management System (LMS), which has taken longer than
expected.
* This work will allow English Heritage to provide DCMS with access to
both LBS and LMS, which will assist in streamlining processes and delivering
outcomes from the Designation Review (currently ongoing).
* This work is also necessary in 2003-04 to future-proof our internal
systems pending an operating system upgrade.
1. Unforeseen delays from testing the Listed Buildings Online Website
and XML.
* Final testing of the prototype website indicated that two
significant faults still remained to be fixed. One of these has now been
resolved, but the other has proved more intractable, and our contractors are
still working on rebuilding this section of the site.
* Production of XML test data has been held up in part by work to LBS
and has had to be rescheduled. This has resulted in a delay to the
initiation of the XML working party that is currently looking at production
of accompanying documentation to explain how the most can be gained from the
extract of data provided.
What happened to the prototype website?
The prototype website was due to have been launched already, with data taken
from LBS in December 2002. However, faults with some search screens emerged
during final testing which will be fixed before we thoroughly retest the
whole site. This does not allow time for assessment of the prototype before
the full version of the website is due to roll out. It now seems sensible
to roll out the full Listed Buildings Online website fully tested and using
current data from the LBS, in late August.
What has English Heritage's in-house LBS got to do with it?
The Listed Building System (LBS) is the core to all digital records of
listings.
* Until work to our upgraded version of LBS is completed, we will not
be able to transfer records into the new system.
* Software applications to produce data files for CDs and to provide
updates for our website are also reliant on the upgraded version of LBS, so
neither are available until the work to LBS is completed.
* The new version will also include additional data in new or adjusted
fields, which will allow us to upgrade the data held in LBS from a number of
complementary sources (grid references, etc). We think this information will
be important to local authorities.
What effect will shut-down of LMS have on us?
Our listing casework system (LMS) will be temporarily withdrawn in July to
enable upgrades to the system to be implemented. As a consequence of this
our ability to process listing applications will be severely limited, and we
shall be working on very urgent cases only. This will lead to some delay in
the processing of non-urgent listing applications, but we will try to keep
this to a minimum.
THE CURRENT TIMETABLE
In June we will:
* Prepare documentation to accompany the data files on CD;
* Circulate information about the technical requirements of using the
data on the CDs to interested local authorities;
* Negotiate export/import formats with principal local authority
software suppliers (eg exeGesIS SDM and CAPS Uniform).
In July:
* Our internal database (LBS) and designation workflow system (LMS)
will be temporarily shut down for new input;
* Data contained on LBS will be compiled by our contractors; and
* An upgraded LBS/LMS will be installed by our own IS Development
Centre with support from our Facilities Management contractors.
In August, LBS and LMS will be rolled out to English Heritage staff. This
will allow us to:
* Start producing data files for export from LBS for all local
authority areas;
* Start burning data files and supporting documents to CD;
* Roll out the Listed Buildings Online website.
*
* In Autumn we will:
* Start making regular updates to the Listed Buildings Online website
as an up-to-date version of the statutory lists;
* Deliver CDs of listed buildings data to local authorities;
* Provide advice to other third party software suppliers on the means
to get the most out of the data on the CDs.
In the meantime, we will continue to keep you informed of progress.
Duncan Brown
LBS Online Project Manager
National Monuments Record
English Heritage
Kemble Drive
Swindon SN2 2GZ
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