Public Sector IT projects

1
Public Sector IT projects

• An inherent risk of failure?

2
The issues with public sector IT

• Large-scale and highly publicised failures to
  meet targets for expected benefits and
  timescales.
• Are these failures a direct result of the nature
  of public sector activity?
• How much do we include in the public sector?
• Just government departments?
• Any activity funded from government?

3
Examples of relevant systems failures

• Oct 1992 - London Ambulance Service
  Computer-aided Despatch system implemented,
  overwhelmed with data and switched off. 1m
  spent.
• 1993 Taurus (computerised trading at London
  Stock Exchange) project abandoned. New system
  succeeded with Bank of England driving the
  project.

4

• 1998 National Insurance system (NIRS 2) 170m,
  2 years late, 1.5 million claims had to be based
  on old data in 1997-8.
• August 2000 Scottish Qualifications Authority
  failed to release accurate exam results. Enquiry
  found problems with the management of data and of
  changes to processes.
• Nov 2001 - report on CAPSA (Cambridge University
  accounting system) 5 years and 9m spent on an
  application that couldnt produce quarterly
  financial reports.

5
The significance of public sector IT

• Public sector spend set to grow faster than
  private sector spend.
• Information Society agenda being driven hard at
  all levels to
• improve effectiveness of services.
• promote inclusiveness.
• Affects services used by almost all citizens

6
Issues raised with respect to IT projects public
and private

• Nature and stability of requirements definitions.
• Effectiveness of project management.
• Availability of resources (especially personnel)
• Relationships between stakeholders
• potential users and systems designers.
• contractors and clients.

7
Some implications for public sector projects

• Requirements often enshrined in law but
• may be more complex than first thought.
• may be subject to change with government
  priorities.
• Performance measures may also change with the
  political agenda.
• Ability to learn from similar projects may be
  limited scale is larger than for
  non-governmental projects.

8
Issues for public sector management

• Scope for strategic thinking?
• Is there enough management (and of the right
  sort)
• to analyse reqruirements and processes?
• to handle relations with contractors?
• Are there enough potential users with the
  necessary skills?
• Do short term pressures lead to corner-cutting?

9
Dirigiste or neo-liberal policies

• Important to develop strategic relationships with
  major suppliers?
• Can government have an effective strategy in a
  fast-changing environment?
• Is government an effective participant in a
  market relationship, as in the outsourcing of IT,
  or can it only work in hierarchies?