Government CIO John Suffolk and his colleagues are preparing plans for the publication of IT-related documents that have always been secret and difficult to obtain even under the Freedom of Information Act.
The plans include the publication of:
- Project reports of all types
- Risk registers
- Minutes of project meetings
- Health Check reports
The Cabinet Office and Office of Government Commerce have contacted senior officials including permanent secretaries to say they'll to let them know of the approach when the plans are completed.
The Cabinet Office will issue guidance on where "redactions" - removal of information - should apply.
It's an important step forward for government IT-led reform. Publication of the documents will allow the public, MPs and the media - and all those on the project, including suppliers - to see how work on major IT-related is progressing or not.
Publication will make it less likely that doomed projects will labour on indefinitely. As Ian Watmore, then the Government CIO, said: projects should fail early and cheaply.
Links:
Tory manifesto - what about the plan to publish gateway reviews? - IT Projects Blog
Something must be done to stop the cycle of IT failure - my comment in The Times
Home Office refuses to publish ID Cards Risk Register under FOI - NO2ID
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