Newsbyte: City Of Boston Improves Services And Engages Directly With Citizens Using SAP® Solutions For Enterprise Performance Management

BOSTON, Dec. 4, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --  SAP AG (NYSE: SAP) today announced the successful launch of the Performance Management Scorecard for the new Boston About Results (BAR) program. The project with the City of Boston is a premier example of how, through the SAP® Urban Matters program, the company is engaging with cities all over the world to help them leverage technology to innovate, transform and run better. The BAR program's goal is to help ensure that residents receive the best possible services and to increase the accountability of city officials by sharing detailed performance information. Aligning strategic goals, metrics and initiatives with clear accountability and ownership enables city officials to continuously evaluate services and improve quality of life for all Bostonians.

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"Providing these tools to city officials enables them to continuously evaluate services and ensure we're all doing our part to improve quality of life in Boston," said Thomas Menino, mayor of Boston. "I'm proud that Boston is leading the way in using innovative technology to better serve our residents."

The Performance Management Scorecard gives city officials and residents the ability to find out what city agencies are doing, how well they are doing it and where they can improve. Collecting, sharing and analyzing the data helps city agencies understand what programs are working. It also enables the city to determine the root cause of problems and take proactive action to help ensure progress on strategic policy goals. The cornerstone of BAR is a Web-based system for collecting and tracking performance data for all city departments. The data collected are tied to strategic goals and serve as the backbone for performance analysis. The scorecard is based on the SAP® Strategy Management application and the CitizenInsight mobile app delivers information to mobile devices.

The scorecards tell the story of Boston's efforts to deliver consistently improved services to residents. For example, the Public Works Department scorecard shows that the percentage of pothole complaints resolved in two days or less has increased from 48 percent in early 2011 to 96 percent currently. Using the scorecard to track pothole repair performance citywide, the department can focus their workforce and deliver faster, better services. Other efforts tracked by BAR include streamlining the permitting process to allow new businesses to open faster, limiting employee absenteeism to maximize productivity and expanding community policing "walk-and-talks" to improve neighborhood quality of life.

"SAP Urban Matters is dedicated to helping cities run better and it's amazing how we can improve the lives of citizens through our solutions," said Geraldine McBride, president, SAP North America. "We share this vision with Mayor Menino and are working with the City of Boston to reach the community with mobile performance tracking."

Boston rolled the solution out internally to 45 departments in May 2012. SAP Strategy Management replaced its outdated and cumbersome performance software and now enables culture change within city hall. Boston was looking to vastly improve data collection and have an easy-to-use application with a standard software interface with no need for complex coding. The city also wanted a flexible, configurable solution that could coexist with its existing environment. SAP met all of these requirements.

For more information, visit the SAP Urban Matters page on sap.com and the SAP Newsroom. Follow SAP on Twitter at @sapnews and @SAPUrban.

Media Contact: Kate McNeel, [phone], [e-mail], CST

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