Sender
Address Line 1
Address Line 2
City, State Zip
Date
Addressee
Address Line 1
Address Line 2
City, State Zip
Dear Addressee,
The E-Filing Process Models subcommittee of the OASIS/LegalXML Electronic Court Filing Technical Committee is tasked with collecting a set of process flow diagrams with supporting textual descriptions that document existing and potential conceptual models for the electronic filing of documents with courts and for the courts to respond to those filings. The collected process models will be evaluated for commonalities and differences and, where possible, reduced into a common set of high level models.
To complete an electronic filing, multiple users, applications and/or application components are required. Such an “e-filing model” can be decomposed and described as a series of individual processes that, taken together, constitute the Process Model underlying a particular implementation of electronic filing. Individual implementations of e-filing may vary depending on legislation, local rules and security concerns, but all models will begin with a “filer” who files a document with the court and will generally end by communicating to the filer the status of the submitted filing. There are, of course, several individual processes that an e-filing system might support to accomplish this overall objective, such as querying the case management system for information or allowing the filer to view documents previously filed on a case.
The EFiling Process Models subcommittee respectfully requests that you use the attached template to describe the individual processes that comprise your existing or envisioned e-filing model. In doing so, we ask that you focus on the “success scenarios.” That is, we ask that you assume that all required data is correctly supplied and every step within each process is performed successfully. There is no need to document error handling, since the success scenarios adequately describe the process.
The Template has three parts: 1) the process name; 2) a graphical representation of the process; 3) a table in which to document the individual steps of the process; and 4) a glossary of terms.
The Process Name is a short description of the process that indicates what is accomplished when the process executes successfully.
The Graphical Representation is a diagram that ?????
The main body of the template is a table in which the individual steps of the process are listed in sequential order and described. The content and purpose of the individual columns of the are described in the following table.
Column / DescriptionStep / This column is used to sequentially number the individual actions that together comprise the process being described. It indicates the sequence in which the actions are performed.
Step Name / This column contains a short designation that provides a meaningful term that can be used as a label for the step. It should succinctly express the main feature of the action being performed in the step.
Step Description / This column contains a description of the action that is performed in the step. When describing a step, it is better to provide “too much” information rather than too little.
Data Exchanged / Lists the data that is exchanged, input, created or updated in the performance of the step.
Primary Actor / The actor that initiates or controls the action. This will most often be a human who interacts with the system, a module within the system that interacts with another module, or an external system that interacts with the system.
Primary System / The main system or module that performs the action.
Secondary Actor(s) / Any actor(s) that are additionally involved in the action.
Secondary System(s) / Any system(s) or module(s) that are additionally involved in the action.
Functional Requirement Addressed / This column is intended to record any functional requirements that the step is intended to address. The text of the requirement and its source should be provided.
Utilized XML Specification / If a specific XML specification is being followed when performing the step, it should be recorded here.
Finally, we ask that you define any key or implementation specific terms used in describing the processes in a Glossary of Terms. This will help us map the various terms employed in different models to one another and assist us in the process of looking for commonalities and differences.
In addition to the template itself, we have provided an example description of an individual process. The example is provided to help illustrate the usage of the template. It is not intended to dictate how the particular process described in the example “should” or “must” be done.
We ask that you complete the template by ???DATE??? and return your process description to:
Recipient
Address Line 1
Address Line 2
City, State Zip
Thank you in advance for your cooperation and assistance. It is greatly appreciated.
Sincerely,
Dwight R. Daniels, Chair, E-Filing Process Models Subcommittee
John Greacen, Co-Chair, OASIS/LegalXML Electronic Court Filing Technical Committee
Mary McQueen, Co-Chair, OASIS/LegalXML Electronic Court Filing Technical Committee
Process Name:
Place diagram here
Process:
Step / Step Name / Step Description / Data Exchanged / Primary Actor / Primary System / Secondary Actor(s) / Secondary System(s) / Functional Requirement Addressed / Utilized XML Specification1
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Glossary of Terms
Term / DefinitionProcess:Filer Assembles and Transmits Filing to Court
Step / Step Name / Step Description / Data Exchanged / Primary Actor / Primary System / Secondary Actor(s) / Secondary System(s) / Functional Requirement Addressed / Utilized XML Specification1 / Credentialing / Filer provides filing credentials to the system / Filer’s userid and password / Filer / FilingAssembly
2 / Provide Filing Information / Filer provides filing data and documents to the system. System allows filers to specify filing data through a combination of direct data entry and a case query system. / Filing data and document / Filer / FilingAssembly / Court Adaptor / CourtFiling 1.1 - Filing
Query Response
3 / Filing Verification / Filer verifies that the system has correctly received the filing data and documents and indicates that they are ready to be transmitted to the court. The system converts the filer’s documents into a PDF format. The filer is able to review the converted documents and filing data entry before transmitting them to the court. / Filing data and document / Filer / FilingAssembly
4 / Transmission / The system transmits filing data and documents to the court.
4a / Data Validation / The system validates the filing data and documents with respect to the court’s technical standards. Most of the filing data validation occurs “field by field” as the filer provides the data to the system. The system maintains a local copy of the court’s filing policies updated manually or through integration with court systems. / Filing data and document / System / FilingAssembly
4b / Transmission Queuing / The system places the filing data and documents into a “received” queue of filings for the court to process. The FilingAssembly and FilingReview systems interact directly and do not use LegalXML protocols. When interacting with an external FilingReview system, the system interacts with an “integration system” that is able to implement whatever protocol is necessary, including LegalXML. / Filing data and document / System / FilingAssembly / Review Clerk / FilingReview / CourtFiling 1.1 - Filing
5 / Receipt Confirmation / The system notifies the filer that the filing has been received by the court. Filers are notified of the time at which the filing was received by the court. At this point, the filer is assured that the court has received the filing and will act upon it. / Court timestamp / System / FilingAssembly / CourtFiling 1.1 - Confirmation
Glossary of Terms
Term / DefinitionFiler / The user who composes the data and documents comprising a filing transaction to be processed by the court.
Review Clerk / The user who reviews a filing transaction and determines if it is to be accepted or rejected.
FilingAssembly / Assists the Filer with assembling and transmitting filing transactions with the Court(s). Also may assist Filer with review of Court records.
FilingReview / Assists the Court with receiving, reviewing, accepting, docketing, or rejecting electronic filings. Also may assist Court with review of Court records.
CourtAdaptor / A system that provides a standard interface for remotely interacting with the court’s case record.