In most public sector organizations, Information

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1 IM/IT governance framework Bryan Shane, Patricia Lafferty and Tim Beasley An effective IM/IT governance framework benefits organizations in many ways, including the everimportant cost savings. In most public sector organizations, Information Management/Information Technology (IM/IT) plays a vital role in delivering key programs and services. It does this by: providing the applications necessary to process transactions that are important to program and service delivery, including both program-specific and administrative functions; supplying the tools necessary to ensure the personal productivity of individual staff members; providing the means to ensure the effective collaboration and coordination of programs and services with other staff, clients and suppliers; permitting the development of business strategies and innovations by exploiting unique technological advantages; and furnishing the information necessary to make both strategic and operational decisions. Bryan Shane is a senior partner with BPC Management Consultants. For more than 20 years, he has provided consulting services in strategic management, information technology and performance measurement to a wide variety of public and private sector organizations. He has recently published a series of three articles on performance measurement in the public sector. Mr. Shane holds a MEd from the University of Ottawa. He has also completed extensive graduate studies in statistics and evaluation. The annual IM/IT budget usually consumes more than half of all capital expenditures in most public sector departments. This is in addition to the considerable amount spent on staff and operational IM/IT activities. A more effective IM/IT governance framework will strengthen the performance and expediency of decision making in the public sector and maximize the contribution of IM/IT in enhancing and enabling program delivery. Goal The goal of effective IM/IT governance is to ensure that all IM/IT initiatives have been managed from an Patricia Lafferty is a partner with BPC Management Consultants and possesses extensive experience as a senior professional manager. She has served as a senior consultant to both private industry and the federal government for more than 20 years. Her areas of specific expertise are strategic change management, facilitation, implementation planning and performance consulting. She holds a MEd (Administration) from the University of Ottawa. Tim Beasley has been providing management consulting services to clients in Canada and the United States since 1978, primarily in strategic information systems planning and project management. He is currently Vice President and Ottawa Branch Manager of Sierra Systems Consultants, Inc. Mr. Beasely holds a BA (Physics) from Dartmouth College and a MSc (Management) from the Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is a certified management consultant and a member of the Canadian Institute of Management Consultants. 30 Optimum, The Journal of Public Sector Management Vol. 29, Nos. 2/3 (30-35)

2 organization-wide perspective and that they contribute to the institution s strategic business goals. The framework must support existing IM/IT policies, standards and guidelines. Elements of an IM/IT governance framework A governance framework includes three elements: Governance principles the principles by which all IM/IT initiatives will be governed; Governance structure the roles and responsibilities of the major stakeholders in the IM/IT governance decision-making process, including committees and organizational elements at the branch level; and Governance process the various stages required to review, assess and approve or reject new IM/IT initiatives. Governance principles The IM/IT governance framework must adopt the following principles of operation at the branch level to ensure effectiveness: All IM/IT initiatives considered must support the department s long-term business goals and be based on its long-term IM/IT strategies. All new IM/IT proposals must be supported by a business case addressing the priorities established in the informatics strategic plans. IM/IT initiatives are subject to the governance process, including those related to application development, infrastructure modifications, major projects and/or purchases of hardware or software. (See Selection criteria later in the article.) The IM/IT governance process must be as simple and efficient as possible to ensure the maximum relevance and importance of informatics initiatives without unduly delaying initiation. The IM/IT governance process must interface effectively with departmental operational and strategicplanning processes. Governance structure The governance structure relies on branch committees and other organizational elements to oversee IM/IT matters. The two major committees are: Management Committee (MC), the executive committee of the program branch has ultimate responsibility for setting its business directions. It is the final decision-making authority on all branch IM/IT issues and approves the IM/IT strategic direction and priorities as well as the overall IM/IT budget and initiatives. Its responsibilities encompass the approval of specific IM/IT projects including funding and human resourcing. The Information Management Committee (IMC) includes representatives from the program branch including regions and the departmental informatics organization. Based on a thorough review of the business case, it recommends most major decisions related to IM/IT investments to the management committee. In addition to these committees, the governance structure centres on several key organizations within the branch. One of these, the Information Management Organization (IMO), is the unit charged with assessing branch IM/IT needs, completing and updating the IM/IT strategic operational plan and assessing and addressing associated risks. It monitors projects that are underway and resolves problems related to individual projects or multiproject priorities. It coordinates all IM/IT initiatives and provides status reports on the initiatives to the Management Committee on a quarterly basis. It also maintains, monitors and reports on the branch IM/IT budget and recommends allocation of funds to IMC. In addition to these standing committees and organizations, each IM/IT project has a steering committee. The steering committee s role is to oversee the work of the project team, ensure that the project remains on schedule and Optimum, The Journal of Public Sector Management Vol. 29, Nos. 2/3 31

3 within budget and keep the project in sync with the business requirements it is meant to address. Governance process This governance framework proposes a seven-step process for launching new IM/IT initiatives in a branch. These steps are presented here in the order they would apply to a new candidate initiative. Project proposal development: In this initial step, anyone in any program branch may conceive an idea for a new IM/IT project. The first step is to enlist a senior manager (director or director general) willing to act as a project sponsor. The idea must be documented in a standard project proposal format, a twoto three-page document outlining the opportunity/ problem, the project s objectives and scope and the expected benefits. This proposal is then submitted to IMO which reviews the proposal against a number of criteria, including its alignment with the business and IM/IT directions of the branch/department. IMO forwards promising ideas to IMC for further consideration. Others may be returned to the project sponsor for refinement. Project proposal approval: IMC can either give the proposal the go-ahead to proceed to business case development or reject it with reasons. Rejected proposals may be amended and resubmitted. Business case development: The next major step is to develop a business case. The business case uses a standard format to provide the information necessary from a business and technological point of view. The business case presents a detailed examination of the opportunity/problem, the project s objectives and scope, and the estimated cost, benefits and risks. The project sponsor assigns a project manager to prepare the business case and, in some situations, a subject matter specialist to assist. The departmental informatics organization also assists by providing a preliminary determination of feasible technical solutions. Business case approval: Once the business case has been reviewed and approved by the project sponsor, it is submitted to IMC. Then IMC reviews it to ensure that it aligns with the business vision and strategic IM/IT priorities of the branch and department and that its overall budget and timing are reasonable. The proposals that meet these criteria are recommended to MC for approval. Such approval establishes the IM/IT initiative as an official project, with a budget for the initial stage only, that is, for user requirements/technical solution development. From this point on, budgets are approved on a stage-by-stage basis. The project management discipline is used as the primary engine in the governance process to ensure the relevance and success of the initiative. User requirements/technical solution development: A project team composed of a project manager from the program branch and a technical project manager from the departmental informatics organization is assembled. The user project manager documents all required functionality in a User Requirements Report. The technical project manager focuses on defining the best technical solution for the client, assessing the proposed solution against operational, support and maintenance implications and documenting the results in a Technical Solution Report. The technical project manager tries to ensure that the proposed solution uses standard and supported products according to approved usage. If the appropriate technical solution has serious implications for the department s IM/IT infrastructure, the technical project manager must obtain the necessary approvals from the departmental informatics organization. User requirements/technical solution approval: The first step in this stage is to obtain the project sponsor s approval of the user requirements and the departmental informatics organization s approval of the technical solution. Once obtained, the accompanying project plan/budget for the remaining stages (which includes class B estimates) goes to IMC for approval. IMC may accept, reject or insist on revisions to the plan and budget. After IMC approval, the project plan and budget is forwarded to MC, which also has the right to reject, approve or revise it. If MC s decision is positive, the project proceeds to the next stages. Project implementation: The remaining stages lead to project implementation and the deployment of the 32 Optimum, The Journal of Public Sector Management Vol. 29, Nos. 2/3

4 resulting solutions. This may involve augmenting the project team. Throughout the project, IMO and the project sponsor review and assess functional and technical progress and adherence to budget on a monthly basis and at the completion of each remaining stage of the project. If they detect lack of progress or significant deviations from the project plan, they may recommend corrective action to IMC and/or MC. See the Appendix for a graphic illustration of the governance process (pp. 34 and 35). Selection criteria Clear criteria are required to determine when the governance process should be applied. In general, it should apply to IM/IT initiatives arising from within the branch that meet the following criteria: The initiative is not included in the department or branch business plan and is not funded (the assumption being that those initiatives that have made it onto the departmental plan have already been approved through the annual governance and planning cycle). The initiative is not included in departmental IM/IT plans and strategies. The cost of the initiative exceeds a specified value such as $30K based upon a class B estimate. The project is national in scope and/or involves at least two regions. The project will impact on corporate information/data administration. The project does not employ departmental standard and supported products according to approved usages. The project is likely to have either an appreciable impact on the department s IM/IT infrastructure, operations support or maintenance. IM/IT initiatives, which are stand-alone in nature, do not involve the sharing of data and are used as operational tools that are not subject to the IM/IT governance process. Benefits An effective IM/IT governance framework provides many benefits: It provides an appropriate process to discuss and resolve issues related to specific IM/IT initiatives both at headquarters and in the regions. It streamlines the process for defining IM/IT requirements, obtaining approvals and developing and implementing effective solutions for IT projects (for example, application development, major procurements, infrastructure modifications, etc.). It facilitates identification of business opportunities, benefits, risks and impacts for the employment of new IM/IT applications or initiatives in the organization. It identifies gaps, duplications and overlaps in IM/IT initiatives across the organization. Specifically, it eliminates duplication of effort in developing applications or other IM/IT solutions which are needed by all core business lines. The effective implementation of this process can save 10 to 20 percent in both the capital and operational IM/IT budget. In large departments where millions of dollars are expended in this area, the result could be considerable cost savings or cost avoidance. The savings realized by combining or eliminating overlapping IM/IT projects can be applied to other important organizational needs. It establishes IM/IT standards, policies and guidelines for program branches that conform to those of the department. It helps to ensure that the change process associated with the implementation of new IM/IT initiatives is managed in a way that ensures a smooth transition in terms of policy, staff productivity, procedural changes, effective support and technology infrastructure. Optimum, The Journal of Public Sector Management Vol. 29, Nos. 2/3 33

5 Appendix IM/IT Governance Process Project Proposal Development/Approval Project proposals are developed for new IM/IT initiatives with support of project sponsor using a standard format Project Proposal Development IMO collects project proposals and reviews them Project proposals are developed for new IM/IT initiatives with support of project sponsor using a standard format Project Proposal Approval IMO IMO recommends or rejects project proposals to IMC for business case development Project Proposal Approval IMC IMC reviews, approves or rejects project proposal for business case development Business Case Development/Approval Business Case Development Project sponsor/project manager develops the business case using a standard format Informatics organization provides assistance in developing the business case Business Case Approval IMC IMC reviews the business case including a budget for the user requirements/technical solution development (UR/TS) stage and recommends approval or rejection to MC Business Case Approval MC MC approves or rejects the business case and budget for the UR/TS stage only 34 Optimum, The Journal of Public Sector Management Vol. 29, Nos. 2/3

6 User Requirements/Technical Solution Development/Approval User requirements and technical solution development Project team develops user requirements/technical solution User requirements approval by project sponsor Reviews/approves user requirements Technical solutions approval by informatics organization Reviews/approves technical solution Project plan/ budget approval by IMC IMC reviews project plan and budget (class B estimate) for remaining stages and recommends approval or rejection to MC Project plan/ budget approval by MC Review/revise, approve or reject project plan and budget (class B estimate) funding for remaining stages Project implementation At the completion of each stage of the project, progress is reviewed by Project Steering Committee and IMO; where major problems exist, corrective actions will be recommended to IMC and MC Optimum, The Journal of Public Sector Management Vol. 29, Nos. 2/3 35