ANAO - Planning and Approving Projects

Broad planning context

A broader perspective gives broader opportunities

“Adopting a fresh and broader perspective is the easiest way to identify innovative opportunities when planning a change to your business. For example, consider how your usual approach looks if you stand in the shoes of your customers – or in the shoes of your competitors.”

… Business adviser.

Better Practice results: At an early stage, project planning addresses the potential contribution of projects to broader entity strategies, takes account of emerging technical opportunities, and is consistent with broader government directions.

Most major projects aim to achieve enduring and significant change to program delivery and entity operations; and most leave an enduring legacy of data, systems and regulations. This suggests it is prudent to prepare project proposals within a broad context. Doing so will help ensure that projects fit well with the broader APS environment, and are contributing to entity goals.

Senior involvement pays dividends

“The Deputy Secretary coming for two hours to our planning day for new policy was really useful. She helped us broaden our thinking, and brought us up-to-date on the perspective of central agencies. In particular we made a major change to one proposal so the ICT system could be shared with another agency.”

… Policy branch head.

Better practices for project sponsors, to encourage effective planning in a broad context include:

making themselves available to project teams for planning sessions of potential projects;
bringing to bear their broader knowledge of policy directions and program delivery strategies – including cross-entity delivery models;
encouraging a sufficiently broad scope for the project – for example including policy changes, new legislation, and associated ICT work;
discussing with relevant experts the opportunities, and risks, of emerging technologies so that concept planning can consider a degree of innovation; and
identifying, and then actively maintaining, external relationships relevant to the project – so their perspectives can be addressed during early planning.

Many projects are tactical – and that’s okay

“In practice, I find it best to be selective in advancing strategic goals. I accept that most projects deliver useful, specific outcomes which are consistent with, or maintain, corporate goals. I then look for a few projects that help advance new strategic capabilities.”

… Agency Chief Information Officer.

As discussed earlier, it is important that project sponsors have a high-level understanding of their entity’s ICT architecture and strategy, and use this to place project proposals that have a significant ICT component in that context. This may suggest useful ways to describe major project deliverables, or ways in which the project could contribute to broader strategies.

Practical steps to help broaden and clarify the planning context include:¹⁶

clarifying the need, problem or opportunity so issues can be framed in the proper context;
bringing together the best available evidence base;
developing insights from fresh consideration of the basic questions of: Where are we now? What is the desired end-point? How do we get there?; and
undertaking early and active engagement with citizens, clients and stakeholders, to provide new ideas and perspectives.

16: Adapted from Chapter 4 of the Better Practice Guide Innovation in the Public Sector, Australian National Audit Office 2009.

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