Peter Gershon, former chief executive of the Office of
Government Commerce, has been questioned by MPs about a speech in
which he said that project planning in government is sometimes
"little better than something on the back of a cigarette
packet".
Gershon's speech could help to explain why central government has a
notorious history of failure in delivering major IT projects.
Speaking to civil servants who practise programme and project
management, Gershon said the discovery about poor planning was made
during Gateway reviews, in which experts conduct independent
assessments of risky government IT and construction projects.
Gershon said in his speech, "There are still far too many projects
reviewed by Gateway teams where, frankly, project planning is
little better than something on the back of a cigarette packet."
The remarks were made last year and went unnoticed until followed
up by Richard Bacon, an MP on the House of Commons Public Accounts
Committee. Bacon highlighted the speech when Gershon appeared
before the committee last month.
Gershon gave no specific answer on the topic of planning projects
on the back of a cigarette packet.
A spokesman for the Office of Government Commerce said that when
Gershon made his speech mentioning the back of a cigarette packet
he was "referring to the state of certain projects which Gateway
review teams had encountered up to that time".
The spokesman declined to say whether, since the speech, Gateway
review teams have continued to encounter projects that have
reinforced Gershon's concerns.
"The evidence is that government project performance is improving,"
said the spokesman.