Planning & Organization

7.1.1. Define a strategic IT plan

IT has been identified as an integral tool in the in the achievement of the e-governance objectives. It is very essential to have definite strategic plan with the business goal of striking an optimum balance of information technology opportunities and IT business requirements as well as ensuring its further accomplishment.

A strategic planning process must be undertaken at regular intervals giving rise to long- term plans; the long term plans should periodically be translated into operational plans setting clear and concrete short-term goals. The Information Systems (IS) strategic plan involves the creation and maintenance of a technological infrastructure plan that sets and manages clear and realistic expectations of what technology can offer in terms of products, services and delivery.

The e-governance roadmap has been prepared for the department. It is very essential that this roadmap must be periodically reviewed in context of the changing priorities of the department. The operation plans for the IT implementation must be detailed keeping the e-governance Roadmap.

7.1.2. Define the IT organization, direction and relationships

IT has been identified as a integral tool in the in the achievement of the e-governance objectives The IT function therefore has to be positioned in the department to enable it to:

y Gain the same level of recognition as do other functions

y Influence the level of investment in infrastructure and human resources, and

y Provide a key partnership to the other organizational functions, so that the support provided by IT is appropriate.

The department has identified a senior level committed and experienced person as a nodal officer for eGovernance initiatives. In order to get the best from the services of the nodal officer, it is recommended that the nodal officer provides his / her services only in eGovernance initiatives. This would enable the nodal officer to focus his energies exclusively on eGovernance related matters. It is also recommended that the nodal officer remains the nodal officer for the entire project duration and transfers within the life cycle of the project are avoided.

It is recommended that the department creates a project eGovernance Mission Team (PeMT) which would be involved in taking decisions on various projects of the

department, monitor the progress of ongoing initiatives, interact and report the progress to State eGovernance Mission team (SeMT).

The department should create various internal teams (task force) under the PeMT to organize, execute, and monitor projects at field levels.

However, to manage the IT systems of the department, the department must constitute a separate IT function. This function would be responsible for the implementation of the IT policies, standards and procedures in the department.

The structure of the model IT function has been given below figure 5.

Figure 5

.

7.1.3. Define the IT Policies and Procedures

The department currently has no documented IT standards and policies. Documented policies should address the following areas:

• Information Security Policy

• Security and Usage – focusing on risk areas (including usage of company Internet, email and technology resources) and signed by all system users. This helps ensure that everyone understands what is expected of them,

• Internet and local area network security policy, and

• Privacy and Information Sharing

• Procurement and implementation of hardware and software;

• Hardware and software migration policy;

• Electronic document retention policy for email, file and data storage, access, update and archiving;

• Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity Planning.

• The recommended best practices for following are mentioned in annexure IV

• Security Policy

• Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity Planning

• Privacy policy

7.1.4. Define the Standards

Standards need to be established to translate the strategic options into practical and usable user rules. It is very essential that the department defines the standards for the following

• Software architecture

• Technology Infrastructure

• Database Design and Implementation

• Integration Technologies

• Security

The recommended best practices for the standards is given in Annexure IV

7.1.5. Manage IT Investments

For the proper utilization of funds for the IT projects it is very essential that the following activities are undertaken:

• Formal investment criteria are defined for decision making in a responsive approval process, adaptable to the type of project

• An investment decision-making process is defined and consider short and long term impacts, cross divisional impacts business justification, benefit realization, strategic contribution and compliance with the technology architecture and direction

• To allow for clear choices based in impacts, measurable benefits, time frames and feasibility, investment decisions need to be presented with options and alternatives

• IT budgets and investments are aligned with the IT strategy and business plans

• Budgets that cover end-to-end expenditures have identifiable and accountable owners and are timely and closely tracked in an automated manner

• Clear management accountabilities for realizing forecasted benefits and a process to track and report on benefits realization exist, eliminating cross-subsidies

7.1.6. Communicate the Management aims and direction

It is essential that policies established are communicated to the user community. Given the scale and pace of change which is expected in connection with the various initiatives/projects suggested in IT Strategy Plan, it is recommended that the department employ the service of a Change Management Consultant to ensure that the projects are successfully adopted within the department. The Change Management Consultant will have the following responsibilities:

• Providing an overall change management framework to the department as a whole;

• Co-coordinating all change related activities to ensure that a consistent approach is being followed to managing change;

• Providing advice about how to manage change within the department (what works and what might not);

• Preparing department-wide communication plans and stakeholder management activities;

• Controlling and managing all HR Migration activities;

• Providing a framework in which senior stakeholders can understand and commit to Change Management;

• Working closely with senior stakeholders to ensure commitment, ownership and buy-in;

• Maintaining formal and informal communication channels with senior stakeholders;

• Building a sense of team spirit and identity with the department’s Core team;

• Managing the process of identifying and providing training and support to the project;

• Providing a single point of contact for change and training related issues within the department’s IT Program;