Establishing the Baseline - Government-Wide Summary and Analysis of IT Project Practices![,](/web/20061204033743im_/http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/cioscripts/images/line450x1.gif)
1. Introduction
This section is an introduction to the Enhanced Framework initiative within the federal
government and how it will be used to implement and promote best practices in the
management and delivery of Information Technology (IT) projects
The government is committed to delivering its programs and services more efficiently
and effectively through the use of IT.
Reviews of government IT projects conducted by the
Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS)
and the Office of the Auditor General (OAG)
have identified issues with the government's management and delivery of IT projects.
To address these issues and enhance the framework for managing and delivering IT
projects, a TBS Project Management Office (PMO) was formed.
The purpose of the PMO is to
provide guidance and support to departments, helping them ensure that the
government's IT projects:
- Satisfy the requirements of the program functions or services they are designed to support;
- Deliver all expected benefits; and
- Are completed on time and within budget.
In May 1996, the PMO, in conjunction with operating departments, published a document
of guiding principles and best practices that address project management issues
experienced within the federal government. The resulting document, An Enhanced
Framework for the Management of Information Technology Projects,1 provides guidance for improvements to IT project
management practices.
One of the directions to be embraced includes the promotion and implementation of
industry best practices in areas relevant to the Enhanced Framework. Currently promoted
practices are detailed in the Enhanced Framework II: Solutions: Putting the Principles
to Work,2 which is available through the
PMO and on the Internet (www.tbs-sct.gc.ca). In order to expand and enhance this initial set of solutions and further assist
departments in their improvement efforts, the PMO had a requirement to establish a
baseline of project-related practices.
The purpose of this document is to present the results from a series of workshops that
examined the federal government's existing practices in managing and delivering IT
projects. Summary results from a government-wide perspective are presented in this
document. Individual department results are presented in separate documents.
Sustainable improvements in IT project success rates can only be achieved through a
clear understanding of an organization's project results and the practices that led
to those results.
Deficiencies associated with the management and delivery of IT projects in the federal
government have been documented.3 However,
minimal information has been available about either the presence or absence of practices
that led to these inadequate results. In order to better direct and guide improvement
initiatives, a baseline that addresses practice strengths as well as deficiencies had to
be established. A clear understanding of gaps or weaknesses would then enable departments
to relate results to practices and thereby improve their ability to successfully manage
and deliver IT projects. A continued lack of understanding of these practices and how they
affect project results would likely lead to inefficient or inappropriate investments in
implementing best practices, and delay improved returns on IT investments.
Finally, there was a need to develop a baseline across the government in order to
provide a meaningful reference point for all departments. Currently available practice
databases often have few occurrences of public sector organizations and may not reflect
the "true environment" of the Canadian public service. This is the first time
that this type of baseline has been produced for the federal government.
The resulting baseline has two key components. The first component is the individual
departmental baseline. The second is this government-wide summary and analysis of the
overall results. Within this context, the different uses of the baseline results are
numerous. The departmental baseline will enable those responsible in departments to:
- Identify strengths and areas for improvement;
- Identify investment priorities for improvement;
- Measure progress in implementing best practices; and
- Compare results with others in various categories.
The TBS will use both components of the baseline to:
- Query submissions based on results;
- Identify investment priorities for improvement;
- Promote departmental improvement activities; and
- Monitor progress.
The baseline is a useful tool that sets the stage for significant improvement and
provides a benchmark against which to measure progress.
Although many will have an interest in the baseline, it is targeted at two primary
audiences within departments:
- The "supplier" of IT services and/or products who will benefit from a better
understanding of the strengths and limitations of its organization as well as the possible
areas for improvement; and
- The "acquirer" of the IT services and/or products who will benefit from a
better understanding of the capabilities of its supplier as well as the range of practices
required to manage and deliver IT projects.
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