Building Integrated Eligibility System (IES) Training Environments in the Cloud

Infosys began providing IES (Integrated Eligibility System) M&O (maintenance and operation) services to a state client in 2023 and was soon asked to put together a small team to add additional training environments for the same IES. Many states are issuing requests for maintenance and operations so building a training environment is one way to give developers deeper knowledge of the systems. Other states are looking to build or move to cloud-based systems, and since a training environment is very similar to a production system, this is a low-risk way to practice the process. We did this for our state client no additional cost to improve our overall knowledge of the system and to also get an idea of what it would take to move the entire production system to the cloud.

This blog outlines our project approach, results, challenges, and lessons learned for states looking to build their IES training environments in the cloud.

Project Goals: Secure and remotely accessible training environments

To meet their many training needs, our state client requested that we build additional training environment that could be accessed remotely. We leveraged two distinct approaches to create training environments in the cloud. The first was to copy the on-premise training system into AWS (Lift and Shift), and the second was to build the system from scratch (Build From Scratch) in AWS by deploying the components separately.

Approach: Moving training environments to the cloud

Our team began with creating the “Lift and Shift” environment. This was the easiest and fastest approach to gaining a new environment but would not allow for any improvement in the existing architecture. Only one new training environment was created this way. A copy was created in an AWS environment and then each interface was tested for functionality until all functionality was restored.

Infosys started the Build from Scratch approach six months after the start of Lift and Shift and planned three separate environments, UAT, STAGE and PROD. The team worked first to build the UAT environment and brought that to a successful smoke/SIT test. Meanwhile the team laid the groundwork on the other two environments but waited to deploy the key components until completion of UAT.

Results

The Lift and Shift environment was completed in two months, including a project pause due to firewall access delays. Validation, testing and troubleshooting lasted another two months. User Acceptance Testing was disrupted due to network errors. Although these issues were quickly resolved, a decision was made to set Lift and Shift aside and wait for the Build from Scratch environment.

The Build from Scratch infrastructure was complete in two months as well, and application deployment and debugging occurred over four months. Each of the three environments were handed off to the client for user acceptance testing.

Challenges in moving to the cloud

Our team faced several challenges once we began, some within our control and some beyond.

• Lack of system documentation for the on-premise code base set up slowed the program. Infosys began creating detailed documentation as part of this project, which can be used for future efforts.
• Unfamiliarity with the production system required a steep learning curve for the team. Infosys leveraged client resources’ knowledge when possible and also kept the same team throughout the project for continuity.
• Existing errors within the current production and training systems caused confusion during systems integration testing (SIT) and user acceptance testing. Infosys began to test the on premise training and production systems as part of its process to ensure our efforts were not the source of loss of functionality in the cloud-based training system.
• Different methods were used to access the on-premise system, AVD, VPN, onsite which complicated testing processes. Infosys began testing using all of the different means of access to ensure errors were eliminated for all users.
• Firewall requests to the client were delayed for many weeks by the client and then were only worked on a limited basis. Infosys began making firewall requests well in-advance to ensure they would be processed timely.

Lessons Learned:

• With a new team and when system documentation is lacking, stakeholders should expect elongated completion time frames.
• Ticket requests should be done for all aspects of the project, especially for firewall needs, persisting problems, and any other assistance needed from the client SMEs. Delays can be minimized when the issues are logged formally, and all the parties are aware of them.
• Experienced developers who know how to deploy and debug the applications should be dedicated to the implementation in order to streamline efforts to completion.

Conclusion:

Lift and Shift skipped the configuration and deployment procedure, so it was definitely a faster delivery method for building an Integrated Eligibility Systems (IES) training environment on cloud. The Build from Scratch project verified the configuration and deployment procedure detail and allowed Infosys to document the process for future use. Ultimately the client now has new environments for training which can be accessed when needed, free of charge. Infosys gained a deeper understanding of the system configuration and deployment procedures, and now has them documented. Despite many challenges this was a win-win for all parties involved and will lead to better processes and outcomes with future system enhancements and builds for Integrated Eligibility Systems.

Author Details

Cynthia Perkins

Ms. Perkins is a health and human services executive with over twenty years of IT enablement, IV&V, operations, product development and project management experience in the industry. She has worked with states on Integrated Eligibility M&O services, Medicaid Modernization and MMIS replacements, Third Party Liability Identification and Recovery improvements and Asset Verification implementations. Ms. Perkins also served as the Deputy Medicaid Director for the Maryland Department of Health.