16 September 2002

IT Success Stories in the Public Sector

By Andrew Fraser

Bad news stories on eGovernment projects are two a penny. Yet, the public sector needs information technology to interact with citizens in a meaningful way.

Many eGovernment projects are brilliantly conceived, designed and implemented yet they do not receive coverage by the press. So, whilst there are high-profile horror stories, there are many successes out there.

The main feature of the previous industrial revolution was learning from failures and successes over time. The general perception in the IT revolution is that failures dominate discussion. It is important to review successful projects and determine what makes them successful.

The Government has to some extent done its part by articulating the high level vision required by committing significant funds to modernise public services with IT as the key catalyst for change. Government is also aware of the risk of failures in IT related innovation. Indeed, both the Pathfinder and Invest to Save (or Invest to Serve) schemes accept there will be some outstanding successes and some failures.

The use of the new electronic channel to deliver ever-improving public services is a challenge for service providers and the industry.

There are seven key issues which can lead to failure in projects:

	a.	The IT industry has a reputation for over selling untried and untested concepts, backed up by consultants, that belong in the never-never land. This has resulted in a lack of trust between the public sector and the IT industry.
	b.	Suppliers have long complained that the procurement process is expensive and takes too long. Many projects go out to tender just to follow the archaic rules which just adds to cost and time. This discourages smaller, innovative IT companies from bidding and yet these companies are the lifeblood of the industry and probably provide better value for money. New innovative solutions appear on the market faster than the procurement process - so the best/latest technology is not utilised.
	c.	Public Sector managers attempt to minimise risks to near 'Zero' so everybody starts to protect his or her back. This is a barrier to partnership working - which is essential in delivering ever improving services.
	d.	Public Sector managers need to understand that good management involves an element of risk taking. Risk-averse attitude results in poor leadership of the project.
	e.	Too many standards - the IT industry is littered with standards - managers hide behind standards that are too prescriptive and stifle innovation. Again the industry moves faster than the standards can be agreed. Standards delay the inevitable shift in technology and larger IT organisations use the standards industry to protect their market share - some positively perpetuate poor standards to protect their products from competition.
	f.	There is a lack of transparency in the assessment of concepts and ideas that go forward - and in particular value for money.
	g.	Dispute resolution is by way of litigation which is completely at odds with partnership working.

These issues have been a thorn in the industry since the very beginning. Several attempts to overcome these problem have not really come up with a workable solution. The latest attempt by Andrew Smith, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, was to launch the joint government industry group.

This group has suggested a new approach:

	.	New framework for leadership
	.	Value for Money
	.	Partnership Approach
	.	Sharing experience - learning from successes and failures
	.	Input into supplier code of conduct.

How does this approach stack up against successful projects?

Early evidence on both Pathfinder and Invest to Save projects indicates a high success rate for smaller well defined solutions. These projects have required an investment of around £300,000 or less. These projects represent acorns that have the potential to make a significant impact on daily lives of our citizens. The projects at Wandsworth (Planning), City of York (Trading Standards) and Stirling (Abandoned dogs project) represent good value, but more importantly the usage and satisfaction levels are high.

The key success factors have been:

	.	Success from a true partnership working - no blame culture
	.	Leadership - a senior service manager heads the project
	.	Ownership - staff providing the service 'own' the project and make valuable contribution
	.	Project objectives are clearly defined and measured. Objectives are focused on what citizens want
	.	IT - the role of IT staff is to act as enablers and advisors.

Evidence is now clear, that IT projects are more likely to be successful if there is clear leadership form the public bodies, a partnership approach, well-defined boundaries and a no 'blame' culture.

Failing projects are a symptom of failure in leadership and poor project management. Projects miss critical dates and are bogged down in bureaucratic procedural and contractual arguments. There are many examples and all have received extensive press coverage.

Ever growing demand for more success in e-Government and faster delivery requires service managers supported by flexible project management methodology. Too many projects are led by IT professionals, which has resulted in the Sinclair C5 syndrome - great idea, great design, fantastic product but nobody wants to use it.

Andrew Fraser is CEO of i-documentsystems group plc, an innovative, eGovernment software and information provider, continuously developing its products to enable councils to turn information into intelligence.

http://www.i-documentsystems.com