August 29, 2005
(Computerworld)
Some 40% of all IT projects undertaken by the provincial government of Ontario fail to meet goals in some way, according to a report issued last month by a task force of government and academic officials.
The province's IT projects are missing targets in a variety of ways, including cost overruns, the inability to achieve expected benefits, and the loss of support and momentum, the study found. In many cases, the "results [are] well short of hoped-for outcomes," the report said.
The report has already prompted the government to adopt a portfolio management approach on all major IT projects, said Government Services Minister Gerry Phillips in a statement. In addition, plans are under way to create a scorecard-based system to assess risks and ensure that projects are in line with priorities.
The task force was commissioned in September 2004 by the province's Ministry of Government Services.
The report, titled "On the Management of Large-Scale Information & Information Technology Projects," was commissioned in part because of the perceived shortcomings of the Social Delivery Model Technology welfare system created by Accenture, according to an agency spokesman.
Among the recommendations of the task force was that the Ontario government "significantly increase the strength of its governance of major operational transformations."