The report, by the Institute for Government, says that despite some progress, government continues to “stumble” in its attempts to modernise its ICT systems. Speaking at its launch on Monday, Nelson accepted that the IfG has produced “a very fair and balanced report”.
In particular, the report says the government is unlikely to meet the strategy’s target of adopting flexible, ‘Agile’ delivery techniques for 50 per cent of its IT projects by April.
The strategy says a commitment to move to an Agile approach to running ICT projects, whereby projects are broken down into manageable chunks that can be revised or cancelled more easily than traditional programmes, should reduce failure rates.
But the IFG found that the “bulk” of ICT projects continue to be run in traditional ways, meaning that “vast cost overruns” are likely to result.
If this trend continues, the government’s April 2013 target will be “extremely difficult to achieve”, the report says.
“‘Big bang’ projects which try to define what’s needed upfront and unveil solutions years later end up costing more, and too often produce results that are outdated by the time they are delivered,” said Sir Ian Magee, an IfG senior fellow and the report’s co-author.
“Government should demonstrate its commitment to a better way of doing things by truly embracing new Agile practices. This will require new ways of working, not just in the ICT profession but among government procurement, policy and operational managers.”
The report also says it is too early to tell whether the strategy’s stated aim of £159.6 million in efficiency savings will be realised, and argues that these savings should not be made at the cost of degrading civil servants’ desktop computers.
The new Civil Service Reform Plan says that in 2012-13 “steps will be taken to improve IT to enable staff to do their jobs better”, citing support for flexible working, better laptops and a risk-based approach to security.