Standardization of STAC Features

Wlad led a discussion regarding the push toward more standardized workflows and configurations within STAC. He explained that over the years, agencies have heavily customized screens, fields, and workflows, which has created long-term support and maintenance challenges.

Examples were discussed where fields had been renamed or repurposed over time without documentation, causing confusion for new staff, IT directors, or administrators inheriting the system. Wlad noted that this often results in agencies using the same field for completely different purposes, making troubleshooting and support more difficult.

He acknowledged that STAC administrators are often balancing requests from end users, management, and development, all with competing priorities. The goal of standardization is not to remove flexibility, but to improve long-term system stability, supportability, and consistency across agencies.

Reporting and Data Quality

Wlad also discussed concerns surrounding agency-created reports and the impact they can have on both data accuracy and overall system performance.

Historically, agencies have maintained many of their own reports, which has led to inconsistencies in logic, inaccurate counts, and reports breaking after database or system changes. He explained that CIP is moving toward a more centralized reporting model where reports are built, tested, and maintained internally to ensure they remain accurate and compatible with the current database structure.

Examples were shared of poorly optimized reports causing significant server load, including situations where users experienced slowdowns or issues adding/searching records due to report performance.

The intent moving forward is for CIP to maintain validated, standardized reports so agencies can rely on consistent results while reducing the maintenance burden on local staff during upgrades or schema changes.

AI Readiness and Data Consistency

Wlad discussed how future AI functionality within STAC depends heavily on data consistency and standardized workflows.

He explained that AI tools require large amounts of reliable, structured, and comparable data in order to function effectively. Because many agencies currently use different workflows, naming conventions, and field usage, it creates challenges when trying to develop AI tools that work consistently across all circuits.

The conversation included examples of potential future AI features, such as automated reminders, discovery assistance, and workflow notifications. Wlad emphasized that CIP’s goal is to build AI functionality specifically tailored to the needs of Florida legal agencies, rather than relying on generic AI solutions.

A major takeaway from the discussion was that data uniformity and standardized practices are necessary foundational steps before more advanced AI tools can be implemented successfully.

STAC 3 User Interface Improvements

Wlad reviewed several STAC 3 interface enhancements focused on improving usability and user customization.