The Office of Government Commerce (OGC) and industry association Intellect have launched a package of measures aimed at raising the success rate of public sector IT projects
There are three main elements of the package, it was announced on 8 December 2003.
- Firstly, Intellect will offer a service titled Concept Viability which will enable the public sector to check the technical feasibility of an idea at an early stage. It will help organisations to assess the potential technological risks in a project before making a full scale commitment. The service will be free of charge to the public sector.
- Secondly, the bodies are issuing guidance for public sector organisations and suppliers that decide to implement a project through a partnership arrangement. This has been developed by government and industry members of the Senior IT Forum, and is aimed at cultivating strong working relationships between the two sides.
- Thirdly, Intellect has drawn up a code of best practice for the IT industry in its dealings with the public sector. In consists of 10 commitments, split evenly between actions before and after the signing of a contract. They cover issues such as understanding requirements, programme management, risk management and supply chain management.
Commenting on the whole package, he said: "The IT industry recognises its role as an enabler of effective e-government. It is therefore committed to the adoption of these new measures, to the cultivation of modern relationships with its public sector customers, and to the ongoing process of reform."
OGC chief executive Peter Gershon said: "These new measures get to the heart of some of the key issues which have inhibited success and, together with improvements already being implemented by clients, offers the real potential to drive up the success rates to the benefit of both taxpayers and suppliers."
Quelle: Kablenet, 08.12.2003
