The Probation Service is already reaping the benefits of the
Government's Gateway Review process for managing major IT projects,
according to Robin Pape, head of IT at the National Probation
Service.
The process was implemented last March when the Probation Service
was procuring the initial stage of the controversial Standard
Technical Environment for Probation Services (Steps). A recently
leaked report commissioned by the Probation Boards Association
expressed concern about the way the contract with supplier Integris
to upgrade the service's IT had been managed.
However, Pape said the Gateway Review has been used to good effect.
He explained, "It helped us deliver the Steps 1 project on time and
significantly under budget." He was unable to specify the exact
cost saving that has been made.
Launched last year, the Gateway Reviews are expected to shave £500m
off the cost of government procurement on a range of major projects
by 2003.
Pape said, "The Gateway Review is about managing risks and
timescales." It looks at your project management and examines
whether you have a firm structure, the right skills and the right
roles in place, he added.
The Probation Service has been dogged by inadequate IT and poor
project management in recent times. Last year a National Audit
Office report highlighted the fact that Steps' predecessor, the
National Probation Service Information Systems Strategy, employed
seven different programme directors between 1993 and 2000, of whom
only two had significant experience of managing IT projects.
Pape, who took over as head of IT at the National Probation
Directorate in January last year, believes the service is now
resolving its long-standing IT problems. "The Steps procurement
process is a building block, we had to get that contract in place
to deliver better IT for the Probation Service," he said.
The contract, which covers support and maintenance of the Probation
Service's IT infrastructure, desktops and case management systems
was signed with IT
supplier Integris last year. Integris was recently taken over by
systems integrator Steria.
Pape acknowledges that the Probation Service faces a tough task in
trying to instil confidence in the new IT strategy among users. Its
problematic Crams case management system, for example, was
described by probation officers as "a dangerous and farcical waste
of money".
"There is a job to do in persuading everybody that things are
different, but we are putting the building blocks in place and the
Gateway Reviews demonstrate that we are delivering what we say we
will," he said.
Pape also expects the Probation Service's technology overhaul to
result in a recruitment drive over the coming year. "I am probably
looking for around 12 permanent IT staff over the next 12 months,"
he said.
What is a Gateway Review?
The Gateway Process examines
a public sector project at critical stages in its lifecycle to
provide assurance that it can progress successfully to the next
stage. It is designed to be applied to schemes that procure
services, property, IT-enabled business change projects and
procurements using framework contracts.