16 The circumstances which led to the crisis at the Agency were complex. Nonetheless, the following general lessons can be drawn from this case, which apply also to other departments and agencies delivering services to the public. They are calculated to assist public bodies in managing risks effectively.
Ten lessons to be learned: i Public bodies offering a demand-led public service should be aware of capacity constraints, and have contingency plans in place to cope with any likely surge in demand, taking full account of reasonable public expectations of service standards, the likely cost and the level of risk. ii Public bodies providing demand-led services should ensure that their forecasting techniques, though necessarily imprecise, are nonetheless sufficiently robust to enable them to manage their business efficiently, for example to enable them to plan their capacity needs. iii The business case drawn up to justify any new computer system should test the likely financial cost of different options on a sufficiently wide range of business volumes, and allow an informed judgement, taking account of the impact of any likely changes in policy. iv Public bodies should undertake a formal risk analysis before introducing new computer systems and have realistic plans to maintain services to the public if things go wrong. v Project managers should plan for adequate testing of the new system before committing to live operation, in particular for staff to learn and work the system. vi Pilot tests of any new system which is critical to business performance should be on a limited scale so that any shortcomings do not have a major impact on service delivery. Where pilots need to be on a large scale to test operations at high volumes, the risks should be identified and addressed in contingency plans. vii Organisations should pay special attention to the interaction between the new system and those expected to use it, and take into account users' views on the practicability and usability of the new system. viii Agencies should make a realistic assessment of whether they have the capacity to deal with potential problems and be prepared to seek early assistance from their parent departments and elsewhere if necessary. ix When service delivery is threatened, public bodies should have the capability to keep the public well informed, so as to avoid unnecessary anxiety and relieve pressure on services. |
x Public bodies should have adequate systems for recording performance, and ensure that they are in a position to claim any compensation due from contractors for failure to meet agreed performance standards, subject to appropriate risk-sharing within the partnership. |