Last year, one of my North Carolina clients asked me to analyze the US Government’s Digital Projects. The objective was to make recommendations for reducing failure rates in Government Digital Projects. The analysis findings are relevant for government jurisdictions anywhere in the world. Failure rates in government digital projects are common in most jurisdictions. I have witnessed failure in the UK and India and heard of the challenges of implementing government digital projects in Australia, too.
Texas’s Child Support Enforcement System (CSD) project had to be abandoned in 2019. The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) initiated this system in 2007 and spent $367.5 million. The project aimed to deliver a secure web-based system to automate manual functions, streamline daily operations, and enable staff to manage case information online. Multiple platforms for parents to communicate with the Child Support Division (CSD) were to be built.
CSD employed two contractors. Deloitte was required to undertake a business process re-engineering. Accenture built the application and then automated the new business processes.
Government Digital Projects – an example of a failed project
Accenture blamed Deloitte for creating inaccurate business processes that led to application failure. At the end of the exercise, all parties to the project, the client, the BPR consultant, and the application development consultant—were unhappy.
A lack of coordination between the CSD project Management team and the contractors led to this costly failure. The project had political support, and the Agency was probably keen, too, but still, the project failed.
Why do Government Digital Projects fail
Transformation is undertaken within the parameters laid down by the Constitution, regulation, and the socio-political environment in government. In this context, the government digital strategist plans how best to use technology to improve citizen services. Digital transformation drives change by optimizing business processes to enhance the citizen’s experience.
Government digital projects are complex, have a diversified user base, and impact the lives of a broad segment of people. Therefore, projects and policies in the public sector should be conceptualized and discussed with all stakeholders before beginning any project/policy implementation. The consultation helps policymakers and project implementation agencies better understand the public’s expectations.
Government Digital Projects need vigorous testing
Digital projects in the private and public sectors are regularly tested before implementation. Governments are very conscious that the failure rates in digital government projects are uncomfortably high. Project management guidelines from both State and Federal IT agencies require all government projects to follow a standard protocol. The protocol requires agencies to test a project in a real-life environment before any roll-out is begun.
Prototypes are built and field-tested for feasibility. They can be paper prototypes or coded versions reflecting the required functionality. The size of prototypes and the extensiveness of field testing vary with a project’s complexity. Full-scale implementation should be undertaken only when the pilots are successful, and all bugs are rectified.
Testing followed by pilots is the best practice that good implementation agencies in government follow routinely. Testing and pilot projects of successful government projects undertake detailed testing with stakeholders, including citizens and internal agency staff. Feedback received is used to fine-tune the pilot. Tests and pilots are great tools for building citizen-centric digital products.
Successful projects involve and engage with citizens
When the project concept is prepared, active consultation with citizens, academics, other external stakeholders, and internal agency staff should begin. Citizen-centric states and agencies continue this interaction throughout the project’s lifecycle. Sustained engagement with stakeholders results in high success rates in the best-ranked jurisdictions.
A successful citizen experience focuses on identifying, understanding, and mastering the customer journey from beginning to end. To access a government service, a citizen may start by researching available options and determining the optimal solution before accessing an available government healthcare service. This engagement could last days, with the citizen undertaking offline and online consultation.
A citizen’s experience will become more satisfying when the government platform helps him secure all the information he needs to decide to access a service from a single window. Most agencies focused on serving citizens typically think about the individual transactions through which citizens interact with the agency and its offerings. Citizens will not find these projects particularly useful. Citizens often want to access information that could lie with other agencies or the private sector. Citizens do not find such projects helpful.
Government platforms will become popular only when designed for easy access. Agency content must be written in a language understandable to a spectrum of government customers, from poorly educated to erudite scholars. Customer-centric designs, easy access, and jargon-free content written in a simple language are three features of successful government projects.
A good digital strategy is agile, project-oriented, and user-focused. It assists all internal and external stakeholders in adapting to new technology, culture, and goals.
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