DiPSy
How a Small Team Digitalized Czech High School Admissions in Six Months
The Challenge
In late 2023, the Czech Republic faced a critical deadline: digitalize the entire high school admission process for the nation, or face potential governmental crisis. The existing procurement process had failed, leaving no traditional path to deliver the system on time.
The system needed to handle applications for 1,355 high schools across the Czech Republic, serve approximately 135,000 families and 5,000 school staff members, and integrate with national identity systems - all while maintaining zero tolerance for critical errors.
Our Approach
When conventional solutions proved impossible within the timeframe, CERMAT director Miroslav Krejčí made an unprecedented decision: build an internal development team capable of delivering what seemed impossible.
Snowit joined this mission, bringing the technical expertise and execution speed needed to make it happen. We operated under extreme pressure with a small, highly focused team - some members working over 300 hours per month during critical periods.
Extreme Agile
Features completed in the morning were used by tens of thousands that afternoon. We built what was needed next, not what was perfect.
Small Team
Deliberately minimal headcount meant every person was critical. If anyone underperformed, the project would fail.
Zero Margin
National headlines, political pressure, and thousands of families counting on us. Failure wasn't an option.
What We Built
DiPSy (Digital Application System) is a comprehensive platform that revolutionized the high school admission process through four interconnected applications.
For Schools
School administrators can publish available programs, manage applications, coordinate unified entrance exams, and assign student placements across multiple admission rounds.
For Families
Parents authenticate via national banking identity (Bank ID), have personal data pre-filled from government registers, apply to multiple schools with prioritized preferences, upload required documents, and receive secure electronic notifications throughout the process.
For System Administrators
Platform administrators configure school years and admission rounds, handle data imports/exports with the national CERTIS system, set up testing locations and classrooms, monitor student applications, manage school administrator accounts, and maintain the platform infrastructure that keeps the entire system running.
System Integration
Full integration with Czech government systems for identity verification, automated data retrieval from national registries, and secure electronic communication infrastructure.
The Impact
Time Savings
The system saved families over 1 million hours that would have been lost in the previous paper-based process. Conservative economic calculations estimate the annual economic benefit at €13.5 million - on a system that cost several hundred thousand euros to build.
Better Student Outcomes
Several thousand students who would have been forced to attend any available school under the old system could instead study at schools matching their interests and abilities.
First-Time Data Insights
For the first time in Czech history, the government has precise data on prioritized student interest by region and program, enabling future optimization of educational offerings.
"This is how I imagine digitalization in the public sector!"
- Jiří Černý, Board member at Tesco Central Europe
What People Said
From the first interaction with the system to sending applications to three high schools, it took about 30 minutes. This included verification via Bank ID, pre-filling personal data from basic registers, uploading attachments, and selecting three high schools. All wrapped in an understandable user interface... this is how I imagine digitalization in the public sector!
I have been teaching IT for many years and therefore have some idea about the complexity of the implemented system... The system simply worked. I think that no 'state' information project in the past has been this successful... If every IT project turned out at least like this, our country would be 20 years ahead.
Login through national banking identity absolutely smooth. 💪 There's information gathered together that I would have trouble finding elsewhere... And when I consider that the whole thing was managed in 4 months, I applaud and say THANK YOU! 👏
The Takeaway
DiPSy demonstrates what becomes possible when exceptional competence meets unwavering commitment. It required a leader willing to risk his career on an unconventional approach, a team willing to operate under extreme pressure, and the technical capability to execute flawlessly when failure wasn't an option.
This isn't a template for every project. But it proves that with the right people, the right motivation, and public support, even seemingly impossible deadlines can be met - and exceeded.