§ Mr. Gordon MarsdenTo ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what steps she has taken to ensure that the findings of the review by her Department of major Government IT projects will be taken into account in negotiations to which they may be relevant. [103627]
§ Mr. Ian McCartneyOne of the main strands of the work currently under-way is to examine pending and on-going IT projects to ensure that lessons are learned from our past problems and our successes. The review team is working closely with Departments to ensure that this happens.
Particular attention is being paid to areas of weakness in past projects, to make sure that the pillars that support successful IT projects are in place before new contracts are signed. The team's early work has shown that these include:
Making full assessment of the risks involved in a project, and having clear plans for managing them.
Having strong contingency plans.
Keeping the scale of the project manageable.
Making sure that both the supplier and the purchaser clearly understand the aims of the project, and their respective responsibilities.