The government's chequered history with IT projects came under fire again in September as a new report argued its Transformational Government agenda to deliver more integrated IT systems across the public sector was being jeopardised by many civil servants "gung-ho" attitude to IT projects.
Entitled Where Next for Transformational Government, the report from not-for-profit think-tank the Work Foundation involved interviews with 500 frontline public-sector staff and 25 senior managers. It argued that, contrary to stereotype, public-sector managers often have a "reckless streak" that has resulted in them frequently embarking on over complex technology projects that have been insufficiently piloted.
Alexandra Jones, associate director at The Work Foundation and co-author of the report, argued in a statement that the high proportion of failed public-sector IT projects is often due to civil servants being "dazzled by the potential of the technology and losing sight of what is practically deliverable ".
"Government should not be about cutting edge innovation – it should be about serving citizens well and efficiently," she added. "If someone gets their benefit late due to computer failure, it matters in a way that it simply doesn’t when private-sector ICT projects fail. The private sector can afford the luxuries of innovating; in the public sector, ICT needs to work."
The report recommended public-sector IT chiefs should look to deploy simpler IT systems; insist on more comprehensive pilot projects; resist revisions to project parameters that lead to "scope creep"; work closer with those who will use new IT products; and invest more in the process changes that accompany new systems.
Ian Cockerill, practice manager for government at Adobe Systems, which sponsored the research, suggested public-sector IT chiefs should also look to exploit existing IT assets more effectively rather than embark on major new investments. "IT Directors should really asses the goals of the project coupled with the current systems that they have that are working," he added. "Often it will be easier to join the existing systems together rather then starting from scratch."
However, Alan Rodger of analyst Butler Group argued that while there may have been "over enthusiasm" amongst some public-sector IT managers, much of the blame for government IT failures also has to lie with the politicians who develop the initial strategy. "Public-sector managers haven’t made these [IT project] decisions off their own back," he commented. "A lot of them have been foisted on managers by government."
The recommendations come just weeks after reports revealed the government is looking to simplify its controversial ID card programme, which has been repeatedly criticised for being too ambitious. According to reports in IT Week's sister publication Computing, the Home Office is undertaking proof of concept studies to see if it could use existing systems, such as Department for Work and Pensions databases, to underpin the new ID card technology.
