System Error
- 1. System Error: Fixing the Flaws in Government IT Presentation to Agile on the Beach Jerrett Myers September 15th 2011
- 2. Government ICT is traditionally seen as a risk to be managed rather than an opportunity to be exploited Current situation • £16 billion a year spent on government IT • Large scale failures notorious • Huge challenges remain Potential is huge • Opening up government and increasing transparency • Delivering more efficient public services • Significant cost savings and faster delivery
- 3. System Error: Research Approach Taskforce -8 key members -Drawn from government & private CIOs; senior civil servants & leading thinkers Piloting a project Interviews - Home Office in partnership with Met - Whitehall, suppliers, SMEs - Provided real-time input & evidence - Journalists, leading thinkers Survey of Government CIOs Workshops - On ‘tight-loose’ balance - Agile in government - Agile enterprise wide
- 4. The challenge facing government IT IT is evolving • Fast paced industry • Constantly changing the world in unpredictable ways Government inertia • Slow procurement process – 77 weeks; project delays • Requirements obsolete; high cost of change • Over customisation; low user focus Policies are complex • Relationship between IT and policy has changed • No longer simply converting paper process to electronic ones • IT now asked to address complex and ‘wicked’ problems
- 5. Key recommendations Shared system wide approach to simplifying IT • Commoditisation Platform • Coordination • Common standards • Modularity • Iterative development Agile • Responsiveness to change • Putting users at the core
- 6. The Result How was System Error received? System Error recommendations Government ICT Strategy Stronger CIO Partially adopted Platform approach Adopted New governance structure Adopted Trial agile projects Adopted Agile centres of excellence Adopted Review project approval processes Partially adopted Review future supply contracts Partially adopted
- 7. Government ICT Strategy: Agile components Identify a pilot project within each department to prove and embed the agile approach March 2012 Identify and agree the common technology components that are needed to underpin agile development March 2012 Establish an approach and capabilities for agile delivery in government which can be replicated across departments March 2012 Create a ‘virtual’ centre of excellence across government and the private sector which can enable fast start-up and March 2013 mobilisation for agile projects Government will apply agile methods to ICT procurement Government Skunkworks to develop agile solutions
- 8. Moving forward: Key challenges for implementing agile in government Culture Skills Governance Commercial
- 9. Key questions for the Institute: Governance and accountability Who is responsible for each element of the ICT Strategy? Is there a clear success criteria they are responsible for? How are they being held to account for achieving the criteria? To review Strategic Implementation Plan (October)