e-State exam

Project Description

Teched Ltd was responsible for executing the "e-State Exam" project for the Ministry of Justice, Administration, and Digital Transformation of the Republic of Croatia (hereinafter referred to as "the Client"). During the project, Teched provided services including system design, software development, implementation, testing, user training and support, as well as multi-year maintenance with upgrades after the implementation of the system in the production environment.

Description of the e-State Exam System
The "e-State Exam" project was implemented as an IT system that enables the complete digitalisation of business processes related to the State Exam, i.e. the digitalization of the process of development, application, organization and implementation of the State Exam. As part of the project, a web-based system of taking state exams was developed and established, which provides a more objective, appropriate and valid way of testing candidates' knowledge through a standardized written examination.

The primary users of the e-State Exam system are candidates — civil servants taking the state exam — and their exam coordinators, responsible for administrative procedures, for candidate registration, tracking deadlines and communication between candidates and the Client's State Examination Service. Additional active users are members of expert working groups who are in charge of creating and refining exam materials, conducting professional reviews, and proofreading. The permission to create, change and delete data in the e-State Examination system, as well as the right to access the data for the purpose of creating reports, is given to users who have been authorised by the Client.

The "e-State Exam" system is designed to enable the electronic registration of candidates for the state exam, the organization and implementation of the exam, the supervision of the implementation of the exam and taking the state exam. It should be emphasized that this enables taking the state exam electronically from any place in the Republic of Croatia where the appropriate computer classroom infrastructure has been established.

The system enables the creation and refinement of confidential exam materials, their review and proofreading, and the generation of statistical reports related to exam development, administration, and results. Exam materials are created in accordance with predefined methodologies and criteria, ensuring standardised and objective assessments under uniform conditions for all candidates. Additionally, the system supports the creation of supplementary questionnaires for candidates who sit the state exam. These questionnaires may include various types of questions regarding the candidates' exam preparation or the administration process. Questionnaire results are used to improve candidate preparation and examination procedures.

The e-State Exam system is integrated with external systems and data sources utilised in daily public administration operations via the Government Service Bus (GSB), ensuring interoperability. Key integrations include the National Identification and Authentication System (NIAS) and the Public Sector Employee Registry (RegZap). These integrations enable user authentication for electronic exam applications, retrieval of essential data for exam administration, and the sending of feedback on completed exams back to RegZap. Additionally, the system is linked to the Client's document management services, facilitating the automated handling of all documents entering or leaving the e-State Exam system.

The new system ensures continuous monitoring of the examination process, enhances transparency and consistency in exam procedures, optimises the overall process, and provides statistical data processing and analysis. Dynamic reports generated by the system enable timely updates, improvements, and adjustments to exam specifications and materials.

Key Project Outcomes

• Enables electronic candidate applications for state exams through both self-submissions by candidates and applications created by exam coordinators within public authorities.
• Allows exam coordinators to actively operate within the system, including postponements, submission of additional documents, and sending notifications to the Client.
• Facilitates the receipt of documents and notifications from the Client (e.g., exam scheduling).
• Enables tracking of candidate and exam statuses, as well as the submission of candidate appeals regarding exam administration or task scoring.
• Provides a fully digitalised process for processing received candidate applications, reviewed by system administrators (Client staff).
• Simplifies tracking individual application cycles using various application statuses (e.g., returned for revision, approved, rejected, dismissed, or halted).
• Allows digital creation and modification of resolutions and other documents in accordance with defined templates, and their delivery to relevant public authorities.
• Supports automated creation and sending of examination records, submission of appeals, uploading of related documents, creation and signing of final decisions, and exchange of appeal-related communications.
• Facilitates exam organisation, including scheduling sessions, defining locations and capacities, and assigning candidates to sessions.
• Monitors candidate status changes during exam sessions (e.g., postponements, interruptions, final exam statuses/scores).
• Generates and retrieves candidate lists for each session for publication on the Client's website.
• Allows exam supervisors and administrators to oversee sessions, start/interrupt exams, record logs, and manage results.
• Enables candidates to take the exam; generates unique versions and supplementary questionnaires at the time of the exam.
• Automates task scoring and displays candidate results post-exam; results are accessible via the application.
• Automatically generates an Official Record logging all candidate data from application to certificate issuance.
• Issues electronically signed State Exam Certificates as official documents.
• Supports the creation/modification of exam materials (specifications, tasks, subject versions).
• Encrypts sensitive exam materials automatically to ensure confidentiality and security.
• Tracks the development lifecycle of exam materials through all revisions and reviews.
• Maintains a comprehensive database of candidate, application, administration, and results data.
• Updates database with all information related to exam material lifecycle.
• Dynamically generates reports on application, exam administration, performance, and candidate feedback.

Additional information

• Official State Exam web page (in Croatian only)

Sector field

• Public administration