Canberra's IT chief spruiks success stories
The Australian government's new chief information officer says government IT projects are "not well understood" by the wider community and their implementers deserve recognition.
Notwithstanding several documented IT stuff-ups in state and government agencies over the past decade, including Victoria's CenITex and Queensland's payroll debacle, Australia's recently installed CIO, Glenn Archer, said "IT departments or sections within departments" were the quiet achievers in delivering services in a sector that spends over $6 billion a year in technology.
"There is a great deal of interest in those IT projects that don't go quite according to plan but those that quietly function and deliver major business benefit often never get much mention," Mr Archer said, while acknowledging there were problem projects.
He maintained that the bulk of projects were "in fact delivering exactly to expectations and achieve the outcome that both the government and stakeholders - being businesses, citizens, community organisations, schools - expect".
Mr Archer cites the national Telepresence system that has 37 operational video conferencing sites across the country for the public service and ministers to use as one successful example. "There have, to date, been nearly 2500 meetings held through that system," he said.
"The calculated cost of holding those meetings including airfare and travel costs, had they occurred in person, would have been around $44 million.
"There has also been over 8500 tonnes of CO2 avoided that would have been attributable to holding those meetings."
Another win was the Australian Bureau of Statistics eCensus in 2011, in which more than 2.7 million households, or one in three, submitted their information online, up from 10 per cent previously, he said.
"That is a radical change and that represents not just an
easier way for citizens to comply with their obligations to do a census return but also an incredible outcome for the ABS
in terms of reduced cost in capturing that data and in greater reliability and accuracy of the data," Mr Archer said.
Other success stories included the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations website refresh, the Department of Defence's migration of its data centre from Canberra to Sydney and the Centrelink Refresh project started in 2004.
"It is easy for us to forget how quickly things change but in mid-2002 Centerlink effectively had no online authenticated systems, none at all.
"So here we are 10 years later and there are hundreds available through DHS's website. The key reason for raising that is the work or investment by government then and a pretty well-executed project has actually created the foundation for the integration of the Department of Human Services that exists today."
The Australian Government ICT Awards Program is analysing 2013 entries [http://agimo.gov.au/collaboration-services-skills/australian-government-ict-awards-program/]. Introduced in 2006, it is one of few celebrations of IT successes in government.
Previous winners include the Bureau of Meteorology for its Next Generation Forecast and Warning System and the National Library of Australia's Trove website.
Frequently Asked Questions about this Article…
Glenn Archer, the newly installed Australian government CIO, says many government IT projects are “not well understood” by the wider community. He highlights that IT departments are often the quiet achievers—most projects deliver to expectations and provide real benefits, even if a few high-profile projects have problems.
The article notes the public sector spends over $6 billion a year on technology, which underscores why the performance of government IT projects matters for taxpayers and service delivery.
Examples cited include the national Telepresence video-conferencing system (37 sites, nearly 2,500 meetings), the ABS eCensus in 2011 (more than 2.7 million households submitted online), the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations website refresh, the Department of Defence’s data‑centre migration from Canberra to Sydney, and the Centrelink Refresh project that enabled many online authenticated services.
Yes. The article acknowledges several documented IT stuff‑ups over the past decade, specifically mentioning Victoria’s CenITex and Queensland’s payroll debacle, while also stressing that many other projects quietly deliver expected outcomes.
According to the CIO, nearly 2,500 meetings have been held using Telepresence. Had those meetings occurred in person, the calculated travel and airfare cost would have been around $44 million, and the system also avoided more than 8,500 tonnes of CO2.
The 2011 eCensus saw more than 2.7 million households — about one in three — submit their census information online, up from 10% previously. The CIO described this as a radical change that made compliance easier and improved cost, reliability and accuracy of the data for the ABS.
Introduced in 2006, the Australian Government ICT Awards Program celebrates IT successes in government. The program was analysing 2013 entries at the time of the article. Past winners include the Bureau of Meteorology for its Next Generation Forecast and Warning System and the National Library of Australia for its Trove website.
Everyday investors may care because government IT projects involve large public spending (over $6 billion a year) and can deliver measurable cost savings, better services and environmental benefits. Successful projects (like Telepresence and the eCensus) can improve efficiency and create foundations for integrated services, while failures can become costly and draw public scrutiny.
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