3.25 The Department's staff planning arrangements provide a framework for identifying the skills required to operate the partnership with EDS effectively, for maintaining and developing individuals' skills to meet those requirements, and for drawing on external expertise, where necessary.
3.26 We endorse the Department's efforts to maintain independent information technology expertise at senior levels. This should help minimise the risk of the Department approving the development of new systems which do not offer value for money and assist the Department in identifying and evaluating options for future service delivery when the contract expires in 2004.
3.27 The heads of the Units responsible for managing the partnership demonstrated a clear appreciation of the competencies required in their Units, but these were not documented. This failure to capture the knowledge of managers, particularly in relation to specialist requirements, leaves the Department vulnerable to the departure of these key individuals.
Recommendation 10 | The Department should systematically analyse and document the skill sets required for all activities that support the management of the contract, including the award of new work, and the relationship with EDS. These analyses should then be used for monitoring the relevance of individuals' personal development plans and for the development of training programmes. |
3.28 The Information Technology Technical Consultancy Unit's increasing involvement in the detail of projects runs the risk of it being unable to devote sufficient attention to strategic information technology issues, which are fundamental to the achievement of long-term value for money.
Recommendation 11 | We recommend that the Department reviews the role of the Information Technology Technical Consultancy Unit. If some redefinition is required, the impact of this on staff numbers and skills should be quantified, and any gaps addressed. |