Govt ICT - getting there at last?

Joe Harley, CIO of the Department of Work and Pensions, and recently appointed Government CIO, has admitted there have been problems with government ICT projects in the past- but has insisted lessons are now being learnt.

Harley was speaking at a Public Administration Select Committee (PASC) hearing this week about the effective use of government ICT.

He confessed while some things, "We could have done better with for sure," Harley argued the central government departments "really are learning the lessons now".

"We have a very comprehensive 'Lessons learned' database which we share with the projects and professional community," he said. "We share that database and those lessons of what's worked and what hasn't with new projects when they emerge. We've strengthened our governance - I think that's a key element - through our investment and change committees. We assess our key projects against the NAO's common causes of failure, and we constantly keep abreast of that."

He cited two projects completed by DWP he regarded as successes, and argued "With the Employment and Support Allowance and the State Pension Reform, we're starting to see an emerging track record of delivery."

Prior to questions pertaining to the Universal Credit project currently underway at DWP, Harley explained how government ICT projects are changing, and outlined how the development teams are re-using as much existing ICT assets as possible, "rather than develop things from scratch".

"We are also using a different methodology called the Agile Methodology for Projects and Programmes, and this is a recommendation from the recent Institute for Government report, which recommended Agile as a development methodology," explained Harley. "We're using that; we're trying to be innovative and creative; reusing what we already have a new way to deliver things quickly and de-risking it.

He went on to defend the development of Universal Credit to date, and commented it has 'got off to a great start': "We have the team in place; we have the executive sponsorship; we have strong governance; we have steering groups for the IT component, the policy component and the overall delivery. We [also] have shared governance arrangements with HMRC."

Harley's evidence to the PASC came after an earlier session involving the Head of Policy at Socitm, Martin Ferguson, who called for greater cooperation between local and central government to deliver successful government ICT projects and strategies.