So far, it's working, and that's a big relief.Before dawn Tuesday, Snohomish County went live with new software for police, firefighters, 911 centers and jail staff.The county's emergency dispatchers had paper and pens handy Tuesday, an old-school backup system in case of catastrophic failure. Mill Creek Police Chief Bob Crannell and Everett Fire Chief Murray Gordon were among the many monitoring live updates on the installation from a command post in Everett. Roughly $6.8 million of public money has been spent on the project.“The whole point of all of this is for everyone in Snohomish County, if you call 911, nothing is different today from yesterday,” sheriff's spokeswoman Shari Ireton said.Police and fire departments plugged into the new system, called New World, about 4 a.m. By 6:40 a.m., dispatchers had used the system to send responders to unincorporated Lynnwood, where a woman in labor needed help.Now, “we're plus one” on New World, joked Rich McQuade, operations coordinator at SNOPAC, the emergency dispatch center based in Everett. He's been working on the project for six years.The roll-out was designed to happen in phases, he said. His spreadsheet showed more than 100 steps over the past few days, with more to go. The launch “was pretty much seamless,” he said.The plan for Snohomish County to move to New World Systems software started around 2009. For years the project was plagued by delays and disputes. There even was discussion earlier this year of ditching New World altogether if a “lack of functionality,” as Gordon called it, continued.