CT HMIS System Slowness in Detail
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Table of Contents
How the Application is Accessed
Overview
The CT HMIS Visioning Session held on July 26, 2023 received feedback from participants that one area of frustration for users is HMIS system performance. This communication will discuss how the application is accessed, identify areas that we are able to monitor/improve upon (and the areas that are outside of our control), and some things that you can check/help us improve the application for everyone. We understand that the CT HMIS platform needs to work for you and your community and be as responsive as possible so your team can perform their work. At a very high level, there are several components in play when using the HMIS system (or any web based software), some of these are within our control (server hardware, efficient database functions), others are outside our control (agency workstation setup, endpoint protection restrictions/scanning, local internet options/traffic to the application servers).
How the Application is Accessed
The first item for all users to review is the entry point that is being used to access the web application. This is usually a laptop, desktop, or hand held device. If your device is connecting via a wifi connection (or cellular), this can impact the speed and response time when working with the HMIS system. Wifi internet speeds can be impacted by a variety of factors including too many devices connected, wireless signal range and signal penetration within your building. We recommend using a wired connection from your office or remote location whenever possible. If you are unsure how to confirm this, your agency IT provider can assist (and help check if there are internal issues with the internet connection and that your device is set up properly.) Please see the chart below for a visual representation of components within and outside our control.
Chart
Community Support
In order to better help our team, if you are experiencing delays the above variables don’t explain, please log a support ticket from CTHMIS.com. We have designed a form specifically for this use case titled: CT HMIS – Caseworthy is Slow / Will Not Load. This form will provide us with specific data to track what actions are being performed by you (or a team member) and during what time of day. These tickets are investigated by our system administrators to determine if there are any patterns and if the slow performance is related to a specific form, workflow, role, view or report in the database. If the issue can be fixed by our team, it will be added to their queue for bug fixes or an enhancement, otherwise we will work with Caseworthy to get it resolved.
Optimizing Performance
Lastly, the CT HMIS system is storing over ten years worth of data on a self-hosted environment with limited resources. There are many tasks being performed behind the curtain to optimize performance. Users’ actions in the HMIS system generate temporary files and new records that require cleanup and proper indexing. To enhance system performance, the database administrator regularly conducts tasks such as database indexing, log file reviews, and temporary file purges.
Conclusion
We hope this helps the community understand there are several variables that can impact HMIS system performance. Our team is continually monitoring the system and making improvements. In addition to regular monitoring and adjusting, we are also looking ahead to identify options to improve performance within the project budgets.
Please use the new support form so we can aggregate data and have better visibility on where users are seeing slowness based on use cases. We will continue to monitor system performance and prioritize items that we can control and expedite adjustments based upon data we receive from the support form.
We appreciate your feedback and will continue to work closely with the CT HMIS Steering Committee to review HMIS system performance and develop strategies to improve the system.
Reference Links
CTHMIS.com —> Support —> CT HMIS – Caseworthy is Slow / Will Not Load