Slim administratiesysteem voor de gemeente Utrecht

The IT challenge
of VTH

Vergunningen, Toezicht en Handhaving (VTH) is a crucial department within the municipality of Utrecht, responsible for granting permits and conducting inspections, among other tasks. VTH is legally required to maintain comprehensive records. For example, the Public Records Act mandates municipalities to keep a record of all processes and their associated retention periods. And the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) requires VTH to register the processing of personal data.

The administration was managed using various Excel documents with countless fields, resulting in insufficient alignment and time-consuming maintenance. The lack of coherence among different registries in the past had led to errors.

The solution

Using the Betty Blocks platform, House of low-code developed an application named Shuri, which combines the recording of processes (Public Records Act) and data processing (GDPR). The application distinguishes between general data applicable to both laws and specific data. With just one click, the main features of a process or data processing are displayed, making it much more convenient than working with lengthy Excel spreadsheets. Smart process flows enable users to input data more easily through individual tabs. Additionally, the application now allows users to quickly identify any missing data processing in a process.

Our approach

Understanding complex matters is our expertise. In just a few sessions, our business analyst thoroughly assessed VTH's challenges, leading to the functional design of the application. The agile development process commenced, and within an impressively short span of three months, we successfully delivered a fully functional application. "The progress was swift," says Bart Kempe, an information and process advisor at the Municipality of Utrecht. "An average development project in our organization typically takes much longer."

The result

The administration application is used daily by the record manager and the decentralized information security officer (DISO). Additionally, around 25 colleagues have access to the application. "For instance, an advisor or project leader can easily review which processes are being carried out within a team and whether they involve any special personal data," explains Kempe. "This provides an immediate understanding of potential risks." In summary, VTH now operates more efficiently with better overview.

Kempe highlights several concrete benefits of Shuri:

Approximately 5% total time saved.
A 25% reduction in the size of the data processing register.
A significantly lower error rate.

Let’s move forward together

Kempe and his colleagues deliberately opted for a tailor-made low-code application. "Standard software was also an option, but that would involve paying for numerous features that we didn't need and being locked into a complicated subscription model." The municipality already had an agreement with Betty Blocks from a previous project. "Betty Blocks is a trusted supplier with a cloud-based platform, which allowed us to quickly get started."

"The application makes administration tasks much easier and less time-consuming. Other departments within the municipality of Utrecht also see the added value. I hope that other departments will decide to use Shuri, so we can eventually implement this tool throughout the municipality."
Bart Kempeinformation and process advisormunicipality of Utrecht

About the collaboration

Kempe speaks highly of the collaboration with House of low-code. "The Public Records Act and GDPR can be quite complicated, especially if you don't deal with them daily. Yet, the business analyst and developers quickly familiarized themselves with the subject matter. I was impressed. And that doesn't happen often." The honest and direct communication style was also appreciated. "They are all skilled and enthusiastic professionals who are not afraid to voice their opinions."

According to Kempe, this project has delivered significant value to VTH. "Low-code enhances our digital agility. It is the way to rapidly develop excellent software products. Other departments within the municipality also recognize the added value of this new application. That is a great compliment to House of low-code."