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Research Reveals Greater Visibility Would Combat Public Sector IT Problem
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92 per cent of Public Sector IT Departments Place Projects At Risk By Monitoring Them Ineffectively
London, 22nd November 2004 - A survey of 100 public sector IT directors, commissioned by Compuware Corporation (NASDAQ: CPWR), the software and services company, found that the entire sample are currently experiencing time and budgetary problems when delivering IT projects. This problem can be linked to the fact that 92 per cent of public sector bodies are ineffectively monitoring the health of their IT projects.
30 per cent of respondents said that projects fell behind schedule in 60 per cent of cases or more, with a further 28 per cent of respondents stating that projects fell behind schedule approximately 40 per cent of the time. Keeping within the set budget also appears to be an issue for public sector IT projects, with a third (33 per cent) of respondents admitting that projects went over budget 40 per cent of the time or more. 67 per cent of respondents stated that they went over budget 20 per cent of the time.
"The fact that all public sector IT projects are running over time and budget to some degree, is going to have a major impact on the government's IT strategy. It is easy to view IT deliverables as a secondary issue to policy, but IT is intrinsic to the delivery of public services and plays a central role in ensuring that upcoming policies like the Freedom of Information Act are successful," commented Mike Lucas, Regional Technology Manager, Compuware. "If public sector bodies continue to monitor IT projects ineffectively, they will be unable to act on the recommendations set out in the Gershon report, the first serious attempt to get a return on the government's IT investments in recent years, because they will have no idea about the status of IT projects and if they are on or behind target to meet original objectives. This lack of transparency and visibility is what causes budgets and timelines to spiral out of control."
The research also found that 95 per cent of IT directors working in the public sector believe that they would benefit from greater visibility into IT projects and how they are progressing. This is not surprising given that only 8 per cent are using real-time tools that alert them to potential and actual problems with the projects that they are undertaking. The research highlighted that the remaining 92 per cent were relying on a variety of reporting methods ranging from written and verbal reports through to ad-hoc alerts from staff when problems arise in IT projects. Essentially, IT directors find themselves in the position of having to take a reactive stance on projects that they are accountable for and are unable to track and manage these effectively in real-time.
"IT directors are accountable for their project's success or failure, so it is no wonder that they agree there should be increased visibility in IT. The current reporting methods are not, however, going to help them to achieve this objective. 85 per cent are relying on written or verbal reports in order to assess the status of IT projects. This does not provide them with a personal insight into the project's status. Each person working on the project will require a different view of the status in order to perform their role efficiently. For example, IT consultants/technicians will not need to know if the current project they are testing is infringing on people's rights under the data protection act, but an IT director will," continues Lucas. "A heavy reliance on reporting procedures that are not available in real-time completely disregards the dynamic and ever changing nature of IT. As soon as those reports have been filed, they are old news. You wouldn't operate on a patient without having the tools in place to alert you immediately if something goes wrong, so why take the same risk with your IT?"
The research was conducted by independent research company Vanson & Bourne, with 100 IT directors working in the public sector questioned.
About Compuware
Compuware Corporation (NASDAQ: CPWR) maximises the value IT brings to the business by helping CIOs more effectively manage the business of IT. Compuware solutions accelerate the development, improve the quality and enhance the performance of critical business systems while enabling CIOs to align and govern the entire IT portfolio, increasing efficiency, cost control and employee productivity throughout the IT organisation. Founded in 1973, Compuware serves the world's leading IT organisations, including more than 90 per cent of the Fortune 100 companies.
For more information visit: www.compuware.co.uk
Compuware is a registered trademark of Compuware Corporation. All other product and company names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.
Compuware is a member of The Prince's Trust Technology Leadership Group (TLG), a premier industry-networking forum for leaders within the IT industry, established in May 2002.
For Compuware Press Inquiries Contact:
Sophie Jarvis/Mark Walden
Spark Communications
020 7357 8612
mark@sparkcomms.co.uk
sophie@sparkcomms.co.uk
