To further reduce the risk of failure, we have worked with departmental colleagues to embed portfolio management techniques and stronger governance and control measures into their own organisations. At departmental level, the process is used to reduce the risk of failure.
By the end of 2008/9 all central government departments were using recognisable portfolio management techniques. The OEP made specific recommendations which further embed our approach and we continue to work with OGC to ensure our joint guidance is aligned and coherent.
The vision is to ensure that all public-sector ICT-enabled business change programmes and projects successfully deliver consistently and drive out the maximum possible contribution to business goals at both the organisational and corporate (pan-government) level. We have developed Key Performance Indicators for Portfolio Management, Governance and Benefits Realisation and throughout this period will be assessing departmental performance against them.
To date, the focus has been on central government departments. A significant proportion of the largest ICT-enabled business change projects are delivered by other organisations and we will expand our coverage beyond central government departments to include Agencies, NDPBs and the wider public sector by 2012. Over this period we will also work closely with the CIOs, our Government IT Profession colleagues and the OGC to help match the skills of SROs, Programme and Project Directors/Managers to the complexity of the projects they lead.
We will build on this work to 2015, to further improve the success rate of projects and also embed compliance with overarching strategies and policies including the Government ICT Strategy and its components. We will work with the OGC to ensure that the Gateway Review process is strengthened to ensure compliance with our policies and strategies is tested at each stage in ICT-related programmes and projects. Where there is non-compliance, the programme/project will be stopped until there it is compliant. We will continue to develop and use KPIs to ensure departments continually test their projects for compliance through their internal portfolio, programme and project governance.
We will also continue to support ministerial oversight so that they can actively manage the overall ICT-enabled business change portfolio of government.
Once that strengthened management is established, by 2020, we will follow the lead of the Office of Management and Budget and public sector CIO community in the USA by publicising the objectives and progress of our major projects, including naming the leaders and the results of all external assurance reviews.
The last paragraph is very strange – in about ten years they plan to to publicise the objectives and progress of major projects. Is this really something that couldn’t be done in about ten days (or less)?
For real governance to be achieved it is essential that Gateway Reviews (and similar in other parts of the public sector) are published in full. Only in this way will there be genuine accountability for progress on projects. Continued secrecy will lead to continued fudging of issues, by both public servants, to protect their jobs, and by politicians, to protect their reputations.