Trustless autonomous project tracking
Abstract
The ability to use a trust less mechanism as facilitated by use of automated and regulated technology, compliant to the prescribed rules imposed as part of a transaction can aid in eliminating middle men and the problems associated with inclusion of middle men.
This article portrays the capability of using blockchain based solution in tracking business projects which by virtue of its operation can provide transparent, secure and auditable record maintenance needed for execution of project.
Problems
Inconsistency of records
The presence of multiple ledgers may sometime result in different data owing to malpractice or clerical errors. Refer (internal messaging system was bypassed and swift used)
Proxy representatives
Possibility of proxy accounts which can be created and used for siphoning money specifically intended for nefarious activities. Refer (proxy accounts created)
Trust based business governance
Representatives associated with facilitating certain process retort to fraudulent practices and deviate from the standard operating procedure. Refer (Artificial inflation in tender)
Lack of auditability and responsibility for actions made
Owing to fragmented records and diverse stakeholders who are responsible for a project, it becomes challenging and expensive to audit the undertaking of a project.
Proposed solution
Federated blockchain
A blockchain network which is in complete control of government/business organization and not external parties and which is purely managed and maintained by government/business organization IT support staff can be conceived; Which will then allow various departments , vendors and citizens/customers to be part of the network.
Selection of vendors
Registration of verified vendors
Vendors submit the pre-requisite documents needed for
- Identification of the firm which they represent
- Other details specific to the project
The information is e-signed by the vendor and can be encrypted and persisted in a Federated blockchain , which is in the control of the Government/Business organization. A representative from the Government/Business organization reviews the documents and e-signs
This ensures the documents and data supplied by vendors is auditable , also the act of the representative verifying is recorded.
Selection of vendors / Tender criteria
The tender or vendor selection process criteria/rules are composed as a “Smart contract” which acquires the verified details from the vendor and those details related to budget or quotes which cannot be observed by any individual; And as per the criteria , ranks the vendors, which is again persisted in blockchain and cannot be erased.
Post a certain date, the vendor quotes and ranked list of vendors as per criteria is made aware.
This completely prevents fraudulent practices associated with vendor selection.
Budget tracking
Budget allocation and distribution between departments
All required intra and inter department transactions , messages are communicated and recorded in blockchain. Additionally the act of sending a message or initiating a transaction and the act of receiving a message and acknowledgement of transactions are e-signed by respective professionals.
(Please note crypto tokens are not involved, only the sender , receiver and message or transaction details are recorded )
(Please note , existing user interface can exist , blockchain platform can augment with it , or the existing user interface may not be completely replaced )
The data which is persisted in blockchain can only be observed by participants or officials who have appropriate access and is not visible to all.
Workflow of communication between (or within) department(s)
Budget distribution to vendors / customers(citizen)
Budget allocation and distribution to vendors can be persisted in blockchain, also ensuring whether the vendor receiving the funds is a verified vendor who has been selected from the tender process.
Similarly the citizen or customer receiving funds can also be ensured to be verified (optionally with identity issuer like aadhaar)
Similar to the inter/intra department workflow, the receiver of the funds or communication e-signs acknowledgement.
This e-sign can be tied to bio-metric fingerprint, which ensures proof of reception , especially for customers/citizens .
Project tracking
Vendor budget expenditure
The budget expenditure done by the vendor can be tracked to ascertain fair use of the allocated budget.
Vendor can upload invoice received from other suppliers or vendors , as each invoice may contain a global identifier (GST) it can be cross-verified.
To further ascertain quality , departments can also ensure a selected set of suppliers should solely be responsible to deliver the needs of the vendors managing the project, these suppliers termed in the illustration as “Recognized partners” can directly interact with the blockchain platform.
It may be beneficial for the departments to enforce participation of “Recognized partners” as these partners can offer rebates. (Again the selection of partners is similar to the vendor selection process mentioned above )
Quality audit and verification
User feedback
Vendor provision of services to user can be ascertained by user feedback
- For those users who are capable of providing digital feedback, these users can do so by means of an application either mobile sms or app or web application
- For those users who are not digitally savy, their bio metric details can be used as proof of service acquisition
Inspection officer feedback
An alternative means of evaluating vendor quality can be envisioned for those cases where the aforementioned user based feedback is not economically or operationally feasible. This process here, involves the use of a department representative termed “Inspection officer” who is charged with the task of acquiring user feedbacks or surveying the efforts made by the vendor.
As the inspection officer has to vouch for the quality of service provided by the vendor, which is auditable, it may be considered difficult for the inspection officer to provide a false review.
Note: The concept was conceived for the Indian ecosystem , however the same can be applied to other regions outside India.
The main intention here is to expose the Government ledgers to the general public allowing any citizen to observe how the government are handling the tax payers contribution.
