CBR Ensures Road Safety by Modernizing Legacy Systems with Low-Code

For many, earning a driver’s license is a rite of passage. In the Netherlands, this milestone begins with passing exams administered by the Centraal Bureau Rijvaardigheidsbewijzen (CBR).

More than just a testing body, CBR upholds road safety, assessing the skills of future drivers, issuing licenses, and even overseeing taxi, pilot, and skipper exams.

In 2021, CBR faced a development roadblock: managing mountains of data in legacy systems while ensuring compliance with strict GDPR regulations. With day-to-day operations relying on these systems, risks mounted.

CBR began exploring low-code development platforms as a better way to deliver applications while simplifying their IT landscape.

Now, with 14 Mendix applications that centralize customer data and streamline employee workflows, CBR is well-equipped to maintain road safety with low-code.

Stalled by IT Challenges

For CBR, maintaining an IT landscape that met governmental standards for privacy, security, and data management requirements proved challenging – especially when trying to enhance traceability and connectivity.

Adding more platforms only complicated matters. It was equally resource-intensive to customize these solutions as it was to develop with traditional coding. The result was extended development timelines and unsustainable project costs.

CBR had an array of development tools and platforms at its disposal, including Oracle, .Net, Java, and a BPM system. Without any standardization, many applications would be reliant on the same data sources – such as their customer database in Oracle – but were disjointed from one another.

“We had too many different languages and not enough people. We had to come up with a strategy to eliminate most of the coding platforms and condense everything,” said Roland Van der Baan, Manager of Development & Operations at CBR.

To tackle these challenges and modernize their software delivery, CBR evaluated low-code platforms like OutSystems, Oracle APEX, Salesforce, Betty Blocks, and Mendix.

After a proof of concept between Mendix and OutSystems, the former stood out for its:

Collaborative features that align business and IT stakeholders.
Out-of-the-box capabilities for hosting, security, and maintenance.
Strong local support and community in the Netherlands.

“The Mendix platform’s interface is very easy to use,” Van der Baan shared. “For the modern coder, having a platform that creates reusable building blocks is very valuable, and the possibilities right out of the box are impressive.”

CIO Bob van Graft prioritized involving CBR’s business users in the low-code development lifecycle. “We started building a demand and supply organization where business analysts, product owners, and security experts began surfacing use cases,” he explained.

Therefore, CBR could leverage more experienced developers and collaborate with application users to have a mixture of perspectives throughout development.

One of those collaborators is Patrick Thiesen, a technical lead at CBR, who found Mendix to be all-encompassing. “It’s all graphical for the most part. The platform is also a total environment, covering all aspects of software development and maintenance,” he shared.

Low-code in the Driver’s Seat

With Mendix steering their digital transformation, CBR has launched innovative solutions that streamline their data and processes. This includes:

C-NIT: A set of modern trainer administration tools that streamlines internal processes.
Employee Portal: A hub for improving workflows and communication.
Trainers administration with Chamber of Commerce Integration – a lifeline for real-time data verification.

Streamlined Trainer Administration

All driving exam locations in the Netherlands must meet CBR’s requirements. Previously, updating school information and logging inquiries in the outdated system was cumbersome, leading to duplicate efforts.

Thiesen highlighted the need for real-time data access: “Once the exam locations are registered and approved, we often conduct verifications to ensure everything is adhering to our policies,” he explained.

In roughly 8 months, the team developed the first iteration of C-NIT, or CBR’s New Information Technology. C-NIT replaced their legacy RIT application and offers employees:

Faster data processing for reporting
An intuitive interface
Seamless connection to the Chamber of Commerce to verify registrations
Automatic processing of driving suitability

“We were able to create more valid search queries and made better use of the screens we had available,” Van der Baan shared.

Security by Design

Handling sensitive data is typical for government entities, and when it involves citizens’ personal information, compliance with GDPR is non-negotiable.

To remain compliant, CBR implemented role-based authorizations to restrict data visibility and inform citizens about data usage. For instance, search logs now omit unnecessary address details.

All CBR applications also utilize single sign-on and a uniform database integration to enhance security.

Implementing Low-Code Governance

CBR has placed a strong focus on low-code governance to avoid replicating its past challenges and maintain speed and standardization. To achieve this, CBR collaborated with experienced Mendix partners in the Netherlands to define their low-code architecture and development processes.

CBR has also created a Private Marketplace for components, layouts, and widgets, ensuring a consistent brand identity and quality across applications. A Mendix “starter app” serves as a foundation for new projects, streamlining the development process.

“It was also important that we used SIG’s QSM tool to oversee maintenance of our landscape and ensure high-quality, mature applications. Leveraging building blocks helps maintain that standard, too,” Van Graft added.

The QSM module makes it easy to follow up on maintainability scores, providing actionable insights for improvement.

“The agreement within the scrum teams is that the QSM score for each App must be between 3.5 and 4.5,” Van der Baan said. “Our Lead Developers ensure that this remains the case for maintainability. We have included two branches of each application in QSM, development and production, which allows us to see the impact of our changes during a sprint.”

To build a robust team, CBR has also invested in Mendix education for its developers. “We agreed that all people from CBR that will work in Mendix take the Rapid Certification course. By combining senior developers with advanced community members, we foster continuous learning and maximize the platform’s potential,” Van der Baan concluded.

The Value of a Mendix Community

The spirit of collaboration doesn’t stop at CBR itself. The organization actively engaged with other government organizations using Mendix, like the City of Rotterdam and Dutch Railways (NS), exchanging ideas and best practices.

These discussions have sparked the ideas for shared, standard building blocks and applications. “Some interfaces require a specific approach, like the DigiD or eHerkenning for example,” Van der Baan shared.

“Several government entities require that digital identity in the Netherlands to execute work. If one of our organizations certifies a Mendix-related tool, instead of all these organizations designing it on their own, we could share and rather focus on improvements or further innovation,” he added.

For example, a tender calendar application managed by the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA) first adopted by CBR, will now be passed on to the Dutch Chamber of Commerce.

This spirit of collaboration has transformed CBR’s internal culture, where Van der Baan’s team keeps the community informed with regular updates on new developments and hosts demos for users to test and experiment with the latest Mendix applications.

The Road to Excellence

Approximately 40% of CBR’s IT landscape has been successfully rebuilt in Mendix, with plans to complete the remaining 60% by 2028. Every 4 weeks, CBR launches new or enhanced features, functioning effectively as a supply and demand organization.

Next on the agenda is a mobile application for driving educators, which Van der Baan believes will further showcase Mendix’s true potential. “This will be a great opportunity to further show our community the real power of Mendix,” he shared.

Looking ahead, Thiesen highlighted CBR’s intention to leverage Mendix’s workflow engine for various applications. “We’re using that engine for some applications,” he said. “It’s not quite up to speed yet, but it’s coming which is very exciting for us.”

Determining project fit is also becoming a key priority as CBR seeks to maximize low-code’s impact across the organization.

“When building new applications at the CBR, there is also a decision that we must make. Do we build it in a Mendix environment, or do we buy a new application? This is not only looking in the old landscape and what we’re rebuilding, but also within the Mendix environment,” Van Graft explained.

CBR has not only improved software delivery, but also how they collaborate across teams and with their community. “I’m proud of how we’re transforming our applications and working together with the business to optimize our solutions,” Van der Baan said.

With a flexible and future-proof application landscape, CBR is well-positioned to support its community’s safety in the years to come.