Office Automation in Government Departments€¦ · Office automation is the integrated...

Report by the Comptroller and Auditor General

NATIONAL AUDIT GICE

Office Automation in Government Departments

Ordered by the House of Commons to be printed 14 March 1991

London: HMSO E5.50 net 314

OFFICE AUTOMATION IN GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTS

This report has been prepared under Section 6 of the National Audit Act, 1983 for presentation to the House of Commons in accordance with Section 9 of the Act.

John Bourn Comptroller and Auditor General National Audit Office

1 March 1991

The Comptroller and Auditor General is the head of the National Audit Office employing some 900 staff. He, and the NAO, are totally independent of Government. He certifies the accounts of all Government departments and a wide range of other public sector bodies; and he has statutory authority to report to Parliament on the economy, efficiency and effectiveness with which departments and other bodies use their resources.


Contents

Summary and conclusions

Part 1: Introduction

Part 2: Scottish Office

Part 3: Department of Education and Science

Part 4: Department of the Environment

Part 5: Cabinet Office (Office of the Minister for the Civil Service)

Part 6: The Role of the Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency

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Summary and conclusions

1. Office automation is the integrated presentation at the office desk of computer systems applications and facilities such as word processing, electronic mail, diary, file management, databases and spreadsheets. It can lead to significant productivity gains and there can be intangible benefits such as faster communications and response to events, and more informative and better presented documents.

2. By 1992, Government departments are expected to have some 155,000 desk-top terminals for office automation and specific job applications, and substantial further growth can be expected over the next decade.

3. The National Audit Office examined how four departments had implemented office automation. The examination considered:

- whether the departments carried out adequate investment appraisals to support the introduction of office automation;

- whether they made adequate preparations for the introduction of office automation;

- whether they are in practice maximising the benefits from office automation.

4. The departments examined were the Scottish Office, the Department of Education and Science, the Department of the Environment, and the Cabinet Office (Office of the Minister for the Civil Service). The examination found that the four departments had managed and implemented the projects (some of them very complex) carefully and well, and that they had achieved significant improvements in efficiency and effectiveness as a result.

5. The National Audit Office’s main summarised findings, showing how departments had generally approached and handled key stages in the introduction of office automation projects, are set out below. Specific findings in respect of each department are set out in Parts 2 to 5 of this Report.

On investment appraisals for office automation (a) Most of the systems examined were introduced to resolve problems, for example on text processing or slow communications, which could not be easily overcome through the reorganisation of existing practices. Departments also exploited the scope for combining this approach with longer term strategies.

(b) All the departments examined had undertaken thorough investment appraisals drawing on the advice available. They used different approaches and made a variety of assumptions about the projected lives of systems ranging from three to seven years.

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(c) HM Treasury and the Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency provided guidance on investment appraisal in general and on appraising investment in information systems. Consideration could be given to the way in which departments might be helped to apply this guidance in a consistent manner to office automation projects.

(d) When carrying out investment appraisals, departments unfamiliar with office automation systems may overlook or under- estimate:

some costs, for example, the “overhead” costs of procurement, maintenance, consumables, skills allowances, and time lost during training and becoming familiar with the system thereafter:

some benefits, for example, through improved ability to meet target dates, more flexibility in the use of staff, and productivity improvements;

some risks, for example, reliance on other projects, changes in work demands, and changes in circumstances such as moving to another building.

It will, of course, be difficult to quantify many of these factors,

On preparation for office automation (e) In general, departments recognised the needs for tight planning of systems, for a project team to have overall control of system procurement and implementation, for timely training for system users, and for technical and advisory support.

[f) Where difficulties ware experienced by some departments during system implementation, some of these difficulties could be attributed to inadequate preparation, for example through:

. the absence of a formal methodology for managing the implementation of a system, resulting in a lack of clear and measurable objectives;

. insufficient integration of training and support facilities;

. underestimating the difficulties arising from the high technical content of work;

. inadequate progress and reporting mechanisms with the risk that problems are not identified at an early stage.

Such difficulties and risks could be reduced by the use of the Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency’s PROMPT system for the management of information technology projects and the enhanced PRINCE methodology.

(g) Project teams should not be confined to technical staff but should include, or work in close association with, representatives of user branches, the training function, the system and user support organisation, and, for appropriate matters, the system supplier.

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(11) Continuity of project team staff, preferably with a full-time project manager, is also important to success.

(i) In the main, the examined departments had provided effective training to new users of office automation. Effective training requires that:

. Trainer/trainee ratios should not be set at too high a level. A ratio of 1: 6 is generally accepted to be about the right level, adjusted for the complexity of the systems and applications taught.

. Training bv svstem suppliers and external contractors should be properl; tailored to the-needs and working practices (for example, standard documentation) of the department. In practice, many of the examined departments found external training to be unsatisfactory.

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Training courses should be adapted to take account of participants’ views and their subsequent working experience of office automation; and refresher courses should be provided in response to users’ needs and to maximise their efficiency in using facilities.

Staff should be trained on the same equipment that they will use in their everyday work, and supplied with equipment immediately after training to avoid learning loss.

The provision of support to users after training is essential if . . . . the full benefits from office automation are to be secured. All departments examined had installed central “helpdesks” and users were generally well satisfied with them.

(k) Computer logging of support requests can provide valuable summarised information on common problems and help to identify the need for system revision, amendments to working manuals, and changes in training.

(1) Suppliers often fail to modify their operational manuals satisfactorily to departments’ systems applications and working practices; material prepared in-house may be more effective.

On maximising the benefits from office automation

[m) All four departments had carried out post-implementation reviews of their office automation systems, including seeking users’ views, Lessons learned from the reviews had informed subsequent phases of the projects and/or new, incoming office automation systems.

(n) The post-implementation reviews had indicated some significant improvements in efficiency and effectiveness from office automation. Most office automation users had reported improvements in the timeliness, accuracy, speed of production, and quality of presentation of their work.

(0) In general, users had found the equipment and systems applications easy to use; there is evidence that staff might make

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fuller use of systems with better training, better equipment reliability, and simpler, faster and quieter operating equipment with less screen glare and better seating.

(p) While the departments consider that their systems have brought improved efficiency (and this is supported by the user surveys), they are unable to prove systematically that the improved eficiency has been achieved. However, the measurement of work baselines and benefits achieved is complex and difficult, particularly where the responsibilities, workloads and staff of departments change.

General conclusions 6. Office automation is an important tool for improving the efficiency and effectiveness of staff in the discharge of the business of departments. As it is introduced more widely, it can be expected to have a significant impact across the public sector.

7. If all departments are to get the maximum value from office automation, they need to be acquainted with good practice (largely followed by the departments in this study) and with the pitfalls of office automation projects. The Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency has issued general guidance on office automation; and it would be sensible for departments, particularly those introducing office automation for the first time, to make use of the advisory services of the Agency. Departments should also aim to learn from each others’ experiences.

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Part 1: Introduction

1.1 Office automation is the integrated presentation at the office desk of computer systems applications and facilities such as word processing, electronic mail, diary, file management, databases and spreadsheets. It can lead to significant productivity gains and there can be intangible benefits such as faster communications and response to events, and more informative and better presented documents.

1.2 However, office automation can carry a high risk of failing to deliver the benefits sought and even have an adverse impact on day to day work. Facilities such as word processing are familiar, but systems integrating them with sophisticated communications are still relatively new in Government departments. And as office automation often changes the way an office works, close attention to users’ needs and reactions is vital.

1.3 The growth of the use of office automation in Government departments is likely to be substantial. The Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency-whose role is to promote business effectiveness and efficiency in Government through the use of information systems-estimate that departments currently have some 65,000 terminals, expected to rise to 155,000 by 1992, with possibly half for office automation and the remainder for job specific applications.

National Audit Office study

1.4 From pre-study research, the National Audit Office identified three main areas of risk with office automation:

- Justification and appraisal. Because many benefits are intangible, it is difficult to demonstrate a positive financial return, and many private sector companies do not attempt to do so. But if the discipline of appraisal is foregone-in particular, the identification and assessment of costs and benefits-there is a risk of inadequate consideration of what the system is intended to achieve, how benefits are to be realised, and how costs are to be controlled.

- Preparation. This is vital, in particular in the areas of training and support, if office automation benefits are to be realised. Users who may have little or no experience of computers will be given tools whose benefits depend on how, and to what extent, they are used. Without adequate training and support users may not fully exploit the office automation facilities made available.

- Maximising benefits. This requires sound management, both of the overall system and within the offices where office automation is installed. Because large-scale office automation is both complex and relatively new to departments, and because the system and office procedures must be adapted to each other, the risk of benefits not being realised increases.

1.5 The National Audit Office examined selected office automation systems in four departments: the Scottish Office; the Department of Education and Science; the Department of the Environment; and the Cabinet Office (Office of the Minister for the Civil Service]. The departments were chosen because of their different approaches to office automation and the ranges of the ages, sizes and types of their systems.

1.6 The National Audit Office examined whether each department:

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carried out adequate investment appraisals to support the introduction of office automation:

made adequate preparations for the introduction of office automation:

had been maximising the benefits from office automation.

The underlying aim of the examination was the identification of lessons (and pitfalls) for existing and intending users of office automation. The examination drew upon the experiences of private sector firms; the National Audit Office consulted the Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency; and three of the examined departments incorporated National Audit Office requirements for user surveys on office automation in their own post-implementation reviews of systems.

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Part 2: Scottish Office

2.1 The Scottish Office comprises five major departments: the Scottish Office Agriculture and Fisheries Department: the Scottish Office Industry Department; the Scottish Office Education Departmenti the Scottish Office Home and Health Department; and the Scottish Office Environment Department. A sixth department provides common services to the five departments, including the provision of computer and typing services. Excluding the Scottish Prison Service, the Office employs 6,300 staff in Scotland and in London.

The ELGIN system

2.2 The Scottish Office’s main office automation system is the Edinburgh-London-Glasgow Information Network (ELGIN). It provides secure electronic communications within and between 11 locations with word processing, to allow the full transmission of documents. It was designed to alleviate the difficulties of working in both Scotland and London by providing rapid and secure communications, and to assist Ministers and senior officials through more up-to-date and better presented information; and, as noted in paragraph 2.24, it achieved these objectives, with vary high levels of user satisfaction. Prior to ELGIN, documents were sent by facsimile transmission (FAX), with problems of illegibility and transmission to multiple recipients.

2.3 At the time of its pilot system in 1982, ELGIN was an unusual and ambitious project, and one of the earliest of its type in central Government, in that:

(a) it was the only Government network spanning cities;

(b) it was the only system spanning the whole breadth of a department and covering the offices of all senior officers and Ministers:

(c) there was complete integration with the Department’s typing services;

(d) it could handle material classified up to and including confidential.

Justification and investment appraisal

2.4 In April 1984, the Scottish Office decided to proceed from pilot to full operation of ELGIN with the provision of 66 workstations. In addition to the

main facilities noted in paragraph 2.2, ELGIN was intended to provide an office-wide database on the Scottish Office’s mainframe computer, personal computing, access to other Scottish Office systems such as personnel and finance, and access to systems of other Government departments. A later proposal envisaged the development of diary facilities for Ministers’ Private Offices.

2.5 An important objective of the ELGIN pilot system was the identification and quantification of costs and benefits. The Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency assisted with the Scottish Office’s investment appraisal. Deliberately, the appraisal was confined to the main ELGIN needs-rapid and secure communications across the Scottish Office. No account was taken of the possible benefits from the subsidiary ELGIN functions noted in paragraph 2.4.

2.6 The Scottish Office considered that the most important benefits were speed of creation and transmission of documents-with reduced checking, ease of amendment and better presentation-and increased job satisfaction. They recognised that these benefits, though tangible, would be difficult to quantify. Thus, while the investment appraisal identified a small positive financial return from those benefits which could be quantified, it emphasised also the significant non- quantifiable benefits in improved effectiveness of Scottish Office operations. Estimated ELGIN costs for seven years from 1985-86 on the basis of 66 workstations were K2.16 million. Of this, some El.49 million were external costs (for example, purchases of equipment), just within the Scottish Office’s delegated powers of El.5 million, and therefore not needing Treasury approval. From subsequent extensions of the system starting in 1987, there are now 188 workstations. The subsequent extensions were justified separately.

2.7 The National Audit Office found that the Scottish Office had omitted some costs from the initial investment appraisal: the direct project cost of the procurement process, estimated at f50,000; power consumption; skills allowances; and user initial loss of productivity while becoming familiar with ELGIN. The Scottish Office pointed out that most of the procurement costs had already been incurred when the final decision was taken to


proceed with the project; and that some 6f the other costs could not have been accurately measured, and were not significant in terms of the overall project cost. For example, they now estimate that the costs of power consumption and the initial loss of productivity were about E~,OOO a year.

2.8 The National Audit Office also found that some forecasts of the benefits quoted in the investment appraisal appeared optimistic: an assumed productivity gain of 15 per cent: that this gain would. be the same for each of the sharers of a terminal: and that the extra benefits of the best word processing package would be fully realised. The Scottish Office consider that these were reasonable assumptions in the light of the evidence available at the time, in particular from the pilot project. These assumptions were broadly supported by the results of the 1986 survey of users and operators (paragraph 2.24) which, inter alia, reported faster turnaround times for finished work and reduced time on checking typing accuracy. On the other hand, some benefits were omitted from the investment appraisal because they could not be quantified: an increased ability to meet deadlines: better service to Ministers and to senior officers; and increased flexibility in the use of staff, with less retraining, through having standard word processing equipment. Identified benefits were not targeted for achievement, and no baselines were established from which to measure their achievement.

2.9 The investment appraisal did not set out risks to costs and benefits, such as communications relying on a separate project for the installation of a digital telephone network, OI the likelihood that upgrades to supplier software would incur further implementation and training costs. The Scottish Office do not believe that these risks could have been foreseen at the time; and they note that substantial retraining has been, necessary on one occasion only.

Implementation of ELGIN

2.10 As ELGIN predated the adoption in Government departments of a standard management methodology for information technology projects, the Scottish Office used the supplier’s techniques to plan and manage ELGIN. A tight implementation timetable aimed to put ELGIN in place for the 1985 autumn Parliamentary session, and this was achieved. Currently, ELGIN provides secure communications within and between 11 locations. It has 161 office workstations, and a further 27 in typing pools. A network of 14 IBM minicomputers linked by British Telecom, Mercury and private

Scottish Office lines serves these personal computers. Most workstations are allocated to senior officers to support their role in briefing Ministers-though, in practice, the workstations are issued to the officers’ personal secretaries.

2.11 Major factors for the implementation of ELGIN on schedule were the commitment of Scottish Office senior management to the system, thereby providing an important driving force from the outset; the supplier’s commitment to the project: the mixture of backgrounds and disciplines on the project team, with individual members’ roles and responsibilities clearly defined; and well-defined project tasks and identified resource needs. Project team meetings were held regularly, with clear reports of progress and resource consumption against plans for all tasks. However, the resources used were more than planned due to the work being more complex than expected and extra work in connection with additional equipment provided by the supplier at no cost. The additional equipment, valued at some f500,000, was needed partly because of weaknesses in the original specification of requirements and partly because the supplier tendered an inadequate system.

2.12 Because of security considerations and lack of demand at the senior levels at which ELGIN is provided, the provision of a database for the Scottish Office based on the mainframe computer was not developed (paragraph 2.4). The business case for ELGIN was not undermined by non- development of these facilities as potential benefits from them were not claimed in the investment appraisal (paragraph 2.5). The development of a diary system was discontinued after trialling due to its limited speed and convenience.

Provision of training

2.13 The Scottish Office invested heavily in training for ELGIN. Material for electronic mail tuition and awareness seminars was written in- house, but material for the initial version of the word processing software was based originally on a training package rncommnndnd hy the supplier. The package attracted adverse comments from trainees attending courses and was re-written in-house when the word processing system software was enhanced.

2.14 Training takes place in two dedicated training rooms, currently containing 10 workstations (one per trainee), and courses have a trainer: trainee ratio of 1: 2. Trainees are evaluated at the end of each cowse, and may be invited to further training if considered necessary. Course documentation is

clear and comprehensive, and is retained by trainees as reference manuals. Users are not issued with the supplier’s own manuals as the Scottish Office consider them too complex. In a small number of cases, partly due to sharing, workstations were not always immediately available after courses for trainees to practice their newly-learned skills, but this problem was remedied following the 1987 decision to enhance the system (paragaph 2.6).

2.15 A post-implementation review of ELGIN by the Scottish Office in 1986 (paragraph 2.23) found a high level of user satisfaction-indicating that training to that time had been satisfactory. A recent review by the Scottish Office, which incorporated a user questionnaire with some material prepared by the National Audit Office, found training well- regarded by users-ssee Table 1. This success is attributed to the use of typing managers as trainers, longer courses, and the low trainer: trainee ratio. Follow-up visits to trainees were discontinued from mid-1988 as all training staff were engaged in delivering cowsas, but were w-established in January 1990.

System support

2.16 Support to ELGIN users and operators is channelled through a helpdesk whose staff answer queries, record faults and initiate rectification action, produce ELGIN newsletters, and carry out system administration and technical work. The helpdesk has seven staff posts-including two seconded typing managers to provide specialist advice on word processing- rostered to ensure a continuous presence between 8am and 6pm. User calls to the helpdesk for assistance are recorded automatically with the help of a computer database, and the monthly ELGIN project team meeting is provided with a summary of the calls to identify recurring problems. The helpdesk also provides support to other office automation systems of the Scottish Office.

Table 1

ELGIN user survey: training

2.17 With early support planning the halpdesk was in place from the start of ELGIN use. Customer reviews in 1985 and 1986, and the 1990 survey of user and operator attitudes, found consistently a high level of satisfaction with helpdesk services. For example, the 1990 survey revealed satisfaction rates of 90 to 99 per cent for the provision of advice and 96 to 99 per cent for fault rectification. Moreover, the recent transfer of support calls from a manual record to a computer database, with its potential in analysing calls, along with the helpdesk’s answering performance on overall faults, has not yet been exploited fully. In consequence, further improvements in the timeliness and quality of the support service are expected.

Systems operation and management

2.18 The helpdesk staff also carry out the central management and day to day operation of the ELGIN system (paragraph 2.16). They are assisted by lead operators (usually trained typing managers) who start, shut down and monitor the operation of the minicomputers located at each remote site. A project review by the supplier in 1986 found that the combined support and administration of the system was a “very effective and efficient organisation”, but that there was little cover if staff were absent or otherwise engaged, and that basic housekeeping of the system and its databases was not of a high standard. The Scottish Office diagnosed these deficiencies and have since taken remedial measures.

2.19 As ELGIN was an early system of its type, the Scottish Office were unable to carry out certain system and performance measurements such as communication volumes. In addition, the quality of monitoring generally has been constrained by the design of the system. Attempts to compensate included traffic surveys in 1986 and early 1990; the testing of response times on installation of new software; and recent installation of a package

Electronic Mail 96 93 Basic Word Processing 77 78 Advanced Word Processing 80 75 Word Processing Conversion 93 87

Source: 1990 user survey.

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providing information to allow efficient monitoring of workstation transactions. There has been no formal capacity planning for ELGIN, and except for one site, the system has retained substantial (though unquantified) spare capacity which seems unlikely to be taken up by expansion of present modes of usage.

2.20 The 1990 user survey noted that some 85 per cent of users found ELGIN facilities easy to use: this rose to 95 per cent for electronic mail. However, 16 per cent of users reported inconvenience or discomfort from machine noise and 28 per cent from poor seating positions. The survey also found [hat just under half of the users had not experienced any equipment failures or breakdown in the previous six months. However, they had experienced the following difficulties at least once a month: equipment failure (mainly printers) 36 per cent; transmission failures 14 per cent; poor response times 20 per cent: and lost data or files 12 per cent. The responses were subjective and in part may reflect operator error. The Scottish Office note that the level of problems disclosed by the 1990 survey considerably exceeds the level reported to the helpdesk; and they are following up the survey findings with a view to remedial action where necessary.

2.21 To strengthen their control of the ELGIN equipment inventory, the Scottish Office have introduced an annual stock-take and installed an improved inventory database.

Cost of ELGIN to 31 March 1990 Z.ZZ Including unbudgeted project implementation expenses and increased system running costs from the additional equipment supplied by the contractor referred to in paragraph 2.11, ELGIN costs for the

Table 2 Effect of ELGIN on users’ output

six years to 31 March 1990 were some 23.04 million compared with the original estimate for the period of B.33 million-both figures at 1989-90 prices. As noted in paragraph 2.6, the original cost estimates were based on 66 workstations whereas the system now has 188 workstations.

Post-implementation reviews

2.23 ELGIN and its pilot system were extensively reviewed by the Scdttish Office in the first two years after their implementation, with pre- implementation snapshots and substantial surveys of user reactions. This indicated a clear intention to learn from experience, and the Scottish Office dealt quickly with difficulties disclosed from their reviews and monitoring activities. Reviews ceased in 1986, but recommenced in 1990 in parallel with the National Audit Office’s examination. All reviews were based heavily on user opinion. While user views must be ascertained, the reviews would have been more valuable if they had also included quantified measures of ELGIN use and outcomes (for example, amounts of text transmission; response times to requests for information).

Achievement of benefits

2.24 As no baseline productivity and costs measurements were made prior to the introduction of ELGIN, the Scottish Office have been unable to quantify the benefits gained from ELGIN. However, successive surveys showed very high levels of satisfaction among users. For example, the 1986 post-implementation review found 97 per cent of operators and 94 per cent of the indirect users either “fairly” or “very” satisfied with the system In the light of user views, and also favourable comments from Ministers on the improved quality

Timeliness 90 0 60 3

Speed and efficiency 89 0 68 0

Accuracy 75 0 47 7 Quality of analysis 17 1 - -

Quantity 29 3 - -

Job satisfaction 58 0 62 5

Note: Percentage levels of “no change” are not given, Source: 1990 user survey.

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of service to them, the review concluded that ELGIN had on balance achieved its objectives and that benefits had been largely realised.

2.25 An analysis of the 1990 survey of senior officers and operators views on the effects of ELGIN on their work outputs is shown in Table 2.

2.26 The 1986 post-implementation review did not produce firm evidence of cost savings from ELGIN; indeed, it showed that workstation sharing was in many cases using more personal secretary time than was being saved. This situation was rectified, and since July 1987 all ELGIN users have had their own workstations.

2.27 ELGIN has also brought some unforeseen benefits: a reduction in central typing staff despite an increased workload (but secretaries are doing more typing); and more flexibility in moving and

promoting typists without the need for retraining (see paragraph 2.8).

2.28 As noted in paragraph 2.12, some planned facilities (the provision of an office-wide database system and diary) were abandoned or not developed partly because of security considerations and partly because of lack of interest. But the terminals are used for local document indexing and retrieval, and for limited record-keeping, as envisaged in the ELGIN business case submission.

2.29 ELGIN’s security requirements have prevented the planned wider distribution of information from mainframe systems and services. The most recent information (1986) showed that 23.3 per cent of traffic on the system was classified. While ELGIN security requirements have constrained access to other departments’ systems, the Scottish Office have not been able to find other departments willing and able to communicate with them.

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OFFKE AUTOMATION IN GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTS

Part 3: Department of Education and Science

3.1 The Department of Education and Science promote education in England; are responsible for the Government’s relations with universities in Great Britain; and foster the progress of civil science in the United Kingdom and elsewhere in collaboration with other nations. The main emphasis within the Department is on the formulation and monitoring of policy; and the Department (including Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Schools) have some 2,500 staff.

Office Systems Strategy

3.2 The Department have developed an overall business led Information Systems Strategy. One of its four components is an Office Systems Strategy for the provision of information technology based office facilities and an infrastructure including telecommunications. A key requirement is that the networked personal computers supplied under the Office Systems Strategy act as local workstations providing word processing, spreadsheets etc, but also function as terminals providing access to systems and services developed under the other three components of the Information Systems Strategy, including education statistics and resource information.

3.3 The National Audit Office examined the Office Systems Strategy for the London based operations of the Department, developed in three phases:

- Phase 1: some 610 networked personal computers, for personal secretaries and typists, 75 per cent of Higher and Senior Executive Officers and Grade 7 staff, and 33 per cent of Grade 6 staff and above; also, a new local area network, and some common services including electronic mail.

- Phase 2: a further 220 networked personal computers to extend cover to all Executive Officers and higher grade staff; also, an upgraded wide area network connecting London and Darlington.

- Phase 3: further common services, for example, the computerisation of registries, and access to statistical bulletins, current and past press notices, and the Department’s library;

also, access to systems developed under the Information Systems Strategy.

3.4 Similar developments are taking place in Darlington and within HM Inspectorate of Schools, and the Department’s staff, irrespective of location, will have access to all systems according to need. Thus the strategy is an ambitious approach to the Department’s information requirements but one which takes effective advantage of current trends in computing technology. It combines an immediate response to text processing problems (including allowing authors to do their own word processing) and a longer term strategic role.


3.5 The Department’s request to the Treasury to approve Phase 1 of the Office Systems Strategy identified benefits initially from enhanced text handling, and then from financial, statistical and other applications. Although not specified in detail, significant long term benefits were expected from the provision of the infrastructure which would allow the supply of other services to users. In August 1987, the Treasury accepted the Department’s investment appraisal and gave approval for the system at an estimated cost of E2.65 million over five years from 1987-88. In January 1989, they approved the extension of Phase 1 to 610 workstations at an estimated cost of f0.5 million at 1988-89 prices.

3.6 From experience with other information technology projects the Department concluded that productivity gains could not be forecast with precision and that it would be unwise to claim otherwise. Instead, for their investment appraisal of Phase 1 of the Strategy the Department first estimated the costs and then the increase in productivity needed to offset them. The result was a required minimum productivity improvement of 6.5 per cent. As this was well below the 10 to 15 per cent improvement indicated by experience elsewhere, the Department concluded that their minimum 6.5 per cent target was both realistic and attainable. They judged that productivity would improve by more than the required 6.5 per cent, though without specifying the amount.

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3.7 The investment appraisal omitted certain costs, including some of the administrative cost of the procurement process, consumables (eg printer ribbons and storage disks], and some extra project management costs. The Department’s view is that these were not significant in terms of the overall project (the actual cost of Phase 1 of the Office Systems Strategy for the three year period 1987-88 to 1989-90 was f2.95 million compared with the estimate of f2.94 million- see paragraph 3.26). Certain other costs were subsumed within the expected productivity gain: time and training of the branch officers designated as the first line of system support @amgraph 3.19); trainees’ time on courses and subsequent familiarisation with equipment and system facilities.

3.8 The business case identified qualitative benefits including individual improvements in policy making. These arise from the opportunity to apply greater consideration, on the basis of more facts, before making decisions: to have an enhanced ability to meet deadlines; and to have better presentation of documents.

3.9 The intention of the system was to enable the Department to cope with increased workloads within planned manpower levels. The release of five typist posts and the 6.5 per cant efficiency gain among non-typing staff with personal computers became the minimum quantified targets. As the Department took the view that there was no reliable or appropriate method of measuring the productivity of non-typing staff, they decided that the achievement of benefits would be assessed through user surveys and reviews (these were carried out in May 1989 and January 1990).

3.10 The Department’s Information Technology Steering Committee considered two risks materially relevant o the Phase 1 system cost and benefit assumptions. Communications aspects were identified by the consultants as “medium risk”: although the technology was proven, the high numbers of personal computer workstations which it was planned to network implied that technological constraints might have to be overcome. The second risk related to the cabling costs of the system from a possible move from the Department’s Elizabeth House but there was no definite commitment to a move at that time. Before the system was implemented the Department took consultancy advice on the first risk which indicated that they could proceed with confidence. As to the second risk, it has now been confirmed that the Department will move to another building in 1991-92, by which time the residual value of the cabling for the system will be f40,OOO. Some cabling

will be required by one branch which is remaining in Elizabeth House.

3.11 In March 1990, the Department obtained Treasury approval for Phase 2 of the Strategy at an estimated cost of f1,181,000 at 1989-90 prices. Implementation was completed on schedule in 1990-91. Based on the experience of Phase 1, the investment appraisal contained a more complete identification and assessment of costs than the Phase 1 appraisal and cited similar benefits; it assumed a minimum 6.5 per cent productivity improvement, to be assessed by user surveys as in Phase 1; and further typing savings were quantified and targeted. Risks were stated to be low given that the Phase 1 equipment and techniques would be used. The appraisal noted that the worst case write- off of cabling costs would be f40,000, as referred to in paragraph 3.10 above.

Preparation and implementation

3.12 The Strategy Project Team comprises computer staff only. Inputs from other disciplines are made through a Project Board and the Department’s Working Party on Office Systems, including its sub-groups on Training and Working Practices acting as advisers to the Project Board. The Project Board exercise oversight of the project and report to the Department’s System for Policy Evaluation and Review (Information Systems) Group, and ultimately to the Departmental Management Group. The Board now meet twice yearly to oversee the continuing development and day to day operation of the system.

3.13 For Phase 1 of the Strategy, the Department installed very rapidly a large number of workstations and a sophisticated network. Initial plans were for 484 workstations over three years but because of higher numbers of staff in the grades targeted, and to meet demand, the project was accelerated to provide 610 workstations. This revised requirement was met within the original timetable. The initial intention was to introduce personal computers uniformly across Branches. However, when it became clear that the Education Reform Bill 1988 would impose heavy demands upon the Department, the Project Board agreed that initial provision should be concentrated on the Bill team and staff most directly involved.

3.14 The Department used PROMPT as their standard project methodology for critical projects and those requiring over 20 staff months of effort. Though the PROMPT methodology was not applied for Phase 1 due to a shortage of expertise in the Department, the project was overseen by a Project


Board (see paragraph 3.12). For Phase 2 the Department have used PRINCE (the successor to PROMPT), and the same project team has undertaken the work, with the same organisational arrangements as before. Details of PROMPT and PRINCE are given in paragraph 6.3.

Training

3.15 The need for good training was recognised by

i the Department at the outset of the project. A Training Sub-Group of the Working Party on Office

! Systems was established in April 1987. The Department’s Staff Training Centre developed course profiles based on an analysis of training needs. The bulk of training, on the same equipment as that for the Strategy system, is delivered by two of the Centre’s trainers, one of them a seconded typing manager, to a trainextrainee ratio of 1:6. The trainers covered most other courses-for example, in the use of spreadsheets -but external contracts were used to help to meet peaks in the training workload.

3.16 The National Audit Office found that the Staff Training Centre had met or exceeded regularly its targets for the Strategy. For example, 325 staff were to be trained in word processing by March 1989 but, due to the acceleration of Phase 1 of the Strategy, 500 had to be, and were, trained by that date. The Project Board consented to the accelerated programme on condition that sufficient provision was made for training. No formal needs analysis was carried out to establish the optimum course time for electronic mail tuition. Instead, three hours was calculated to be the amount of time that busy staff could be expected to be away from their desks. This allowed the basic functions of the system to be taught while enabling the available training resources to meet a target of 900 trainees within ten

L weeks.

Table 3

User survey responses on training

3.17 An interim review of the Strategy noted that 72 per cant of trainees had received workstations immediately after the courses. Of the remainder, most received their workstations within two weeks; a few had to wait longer because of delays in delivery when the contract was under renegotiation.

3.18 A user survey conducted as part of a post- implementation review of the system in May 1989 found that 34 per cent of respondents felt that at least one aspect of their training had been less than adequate to meet their needs. However, a subsequent user survey in early 1990, devised with the National Audit Office, found that nearly three- quarters of staff who had attended all training courses considered both the coverage about right and the course presentations easy to follow [Table 3). However, half of the questionnaire respondents felt they needed refresher courses. All these respondents were contacted by the Training Centre; additional training was offered to some staff; and more advanced courses were established and offered to all staff who had undergone training. Further work is in hand to determine what additional help might be given to maximise staff effectiveness in using the existing facilities.

System support

3.19 The Department have a two-tier structure of support for Strategy system users. Immediate support is provided in each departmental branch by a nominated Assistant Branch Information Technology Officer, and all such officers received extra training in the system’s operational aspects. If a problem is too complex for the officer, it is referred to an Information Technology Support Unit helpdesk. The Department provide in-house system documentation to users rather than the supplier’s

Word Processing Electronic Mail Other* * only 18 respondents

86 80 85 73 82 82


13

manuals. Users also receive additional information though a system of Establishment Notices, Newsletters to Users, and “Handy Hints” issued twice a week over the network.

3.20 System users were generally content with the level of support provided to them. For 33 per cent of 1990 survey respondents, their first source of support was the nominated branch officer; for 52 per cent it was the helpdesk; and for II per cent, it was colleagues. Of those who had sought assistance first from their nominated branch officer, 28 per cent thought the service excellent and a further 55 per cent adequate. For the helpdesk, the respective figures were 17 per cent and 74 per cent.

3.21 Central helpdesk support was available from the start of Phase 1. Training of the nominated branch officers was not provided at the early stages of the system networking. Some branch officers, because of their other duties, were unable to give sufficient time to system support, and in these circumstances staff had to rely more on the central helpdesk. Since November 1988, all user calls for helpdesk assistance have been logged by computer; and, since February 1990, upgraded software has provided statistics on helpdesk response times. Information about the nature of users’ problems is collected from other sources-for example, user surveys, the suggestions box on the network, and via the Working Practices Group-and fed back to the Staff Training Centre.


3.22 The Department sought to purchase the best software package for each systems application rather than a single integrated package providing a set of applications. The individual packages were then integrated by the Department into a single “shell” with a menu selection, rapid movement between applications, and rapid exchange of data between them. The system performs well, and appears to be both efficient and resilient. Users have found it easy to use, with over 90 per cent

Table 4 Ergonomic factors

contentment with word processing and electronic mail, and only slightly lower contentment with other facilities.

3.23 The results of the 1990 user survey of ergonomic factors are shown in Table 4. On the difficulties with seating, the Department think that the problem may lie with workspace layout, rather than the chairs. This will be tackled as part of the move from Elizabeth House. The Department also believe that the concern about noise largely relates to impact printers which are now being replaced by laser printers.

3.24 Responsibility for the management of the Strategy system network remains with the implementation project team. They monitor the reliability, performance and use made of the system as a whole on the basis of a pre-defined schedule, and they analyse trends. These show a steady increase in system usage and communications traffic. Users are required to sign for equipment issued to them: and, since November 1989, inventory records have been held on a database.

3.25 The Department believe that, at the current stage of development, budgets for information technology projects are best held centrally, particularly infrastructure projects such as the Office Systems Strategy. Users are not charged the capital and running costs of their workstations. Responsibility for day to day management of individual workstations rests with their users and performance information is not collected for or from individual workstations.

Expenditure on Phase 1 to 31 March 1990

3.26 For the three years 1987-88 to 1989-90 the actual cost of Phase 1 of the Office Systems Strategy system was f2.95 million, which compares with Treasury approved expenditure for these years of f2.94 million-both figures adjusted to 1989-90

prices.

Reflection from screen 15 71 0 6

Machine noise 14 55 20 11

Seating 8 66 17 9

Source: 1990 user survey,

14


Post-implementation reviews

3.27 The Department’s Standards Manual requires post-implementation reviews at specified intervals. Reviews were carried out broadly to timetable, with the most recent taking place concurrently with the National Audit Office’s examination. As the Department’s reviews measured typing and communication volumes only, the reviews could not establish conclusively whether the productivity

, objectives of the Strategy system were being met. Some information was obtained from the survey of users and Heads of Branches devised with the

, National Audit Office, details bf which are given in paragraph 3.18, Table 3 and paragraph 3.29, Table 5. More precise information may be forthcoming from the Department’s Staff Inspection process tasked to identify the impact of the system on the Department’s day to day operations.


3.28 The Department’s May 1989 post- implementation review of the Strategy system noted that 71 per cent of user survey respondents felt that their efficiency and effectiveness had increased significantly. Although the review did not attempt to quantify efficiency gains as such, it identified financial savings of f122,OOO a year from a reduction of ten typing posts and savings of f454,OOO (compared with f219,OOO expected originally) for office equipment that would have needed to be replaced had the Strategy system not been introduced. Other cited benefits were wider user access to financial and personnel systems: time

Table 5

savings and improved quality of service to Ministers generally and in supporting progress of the Education Reform Bill through Parliament. Other probable benefits are more efficient personal secretaries, and increased flexibility from the Department being able to move or promote typists and secretaries without retraining.

3.29 The further survey of user views of the impact of the Strategy system has confirmed that users consider the system has improved their ability to carry out their jobs-see Table 5. Only in the category “Quality of analysis” - the ability to analyse information available-are the percentages of people noticing an improvement less than those reporting no change.

3.30 As part of the further survey, Heads of Branches were asked about the impact of the Strategy system on aspects of the output of their branches. They confirmed improvements in the processing of work, though not all considered that there had been an improvement in the quality of the work. For the 13 branches questioned, the Heads thought that they would need some 70 extra staff if the Strategy system were not in place. The Department’s estimated value of this is f1.3 million. As the estimate arises from a survey, albeit of experienced senior staff, in the view of the National Audit Office it needs to be treated with some caution. Nevertheless, the figures offer a conclusive indication of the value which Heads of Branches attach to the Strategy, and would appear to be a good indication of its overall success.

User views of effect of the Office Systems Strategy on output

Quantity 35 43 1 Timeliness 48 39 1 Accuracy 33 32 1 Speed and efficiency 48 39 1 Quality of presentation 59 26 3 Quality of analysis 15 20 -

Source: 1990 user survey,

15


Part 4: Department of the Environment

4.1 The Department of the Environment are responsible for a range of issues including local government matters, housing, inner cities, planning and development, the water industry and environmental protection. The Department divide these responsibilities into Command Areas; and they employ some 6,100 staff, excluding those belonging to PSA Services and Property Holdings.

4.2 The National Audit Office examined three examples of office automation within the Department: the Departmental Office Automation Trial system; the Ministerial Private Office system; and the Typing and Secretarial Services Review system. A concurrent review by the Department of the Private Office system included a user survey which incorporated some National Audit Office questions.


4.3 The Departmental Office Automation Trial is an extension of a small pilot study system by the Business Efficiency Services Unit of the Department of the Environment, originally in conjunction with the Department of Transport. The aims of the pilot study were to identify economies of scale for office automation and the impact of larger-scale provision: the skills and resources required to implement such a provision: training requirements for future users; costs and benefits; and the organisational changes required to allow easier achievements of benefits from office automation. The extended system, started in 1986, uses an “All-in-One” software package to provide word processing, electronic mail, and electronic filing and retrieval from the Department’s mainframe computer.

4.4 A review of the extended trial system in December 1987 noted that 67 per cent of measurable benefits came from word processing and 21 per cent from electronic mail. It concluded that the achievement of such benefits could be best served through the supply of standard personal computers and standard word processing packages to selected staff, and that workstations could be networked at a later date without delaying the accrual of benefits. The extended trial system was adopted as the Business Efficiency Services Unit’s own system, and currently has some 50 regular users.

4.5 For its pilot and extended trial stages the system did not require Treasury approval of planned expenditure. Extended trial costs for 1986-87 and 1987-88 were estimated at f1,030,000. Costs for the use of the system as the Department’s Business Efficiency Service Unit’s system for the three year period 1988-89 to 1990-91 were estimated at f937,360. After some initial doubts about identified benefits from the system, and whether the system should continue, the Department sought Treasury approval in October 1988. This was given in November 1989.

4.6 The Ministerial Private Office system stemmed from a study in 1986 which concluded that the Department’s Ministerial and senior officers’ Private Offices would benefit from improved text production and communications, from improved diary arrangements for Ministers, and from a “tracking” system for the approximate 27,000 enquiries a year from organisations and the public. The objectives of the system were to improve co- ordination, speed of service and control of information flows into the Private Offices, and secure cost reductions. The system also uses the Department’s mainframe computer and the “All-in- One” software, and currently has 55 users. Further planned developments include a system for tracking the production of answers to Parliamentary Questions, and further terminals are to be installed,

4.7 The Department’s investment appraisal for the Private Office system discounted costs over ten years, changed in discussion with the Treasury to seven years. Treasury approval was for costs of f1.17 million over seven years from 1987-88. The investment appraisal was based on business benefits rather than a cost justified case. Although productivity benefits of four staff (worth f50,OOO a year) were expected, plus a reduction in overtime, the justification for the system relied mainly on non-costed benefits and the prospect of further savings from the spread of office automation throughout the Department. The National Audit Office found that the investment appraisal underestimated installation, training and maintenance costs; that certain business benefits identified for the system were vaguely expressed (for example, greater corporate awareness within the Private Offices); and that no provision had been made for the targeting or measurement of these business benefits.

16


4.8 The Typing and Secretarial Services Review was undertaken by the Departments of the Environment and Transport in 1987 following recruitment and retention problems with typing staff; the review included the possibilities for author typing. The review found that typing and secretarial services of the two Departments (excluding Regional Offices and outstations) cost some El1 million a year of which almost fl million was spent on agency staff. It also found that job

, satisfaction in typing pools was low, as it was among secretaries because of the growing typing content of their jobs: and that there was widespread dissatisfaction within the Departments on the services provided, including author concern about their lack of control over the production of their work. After considering a range of options, the review recommended the closure of some of the Departments’ typing pools; an increase in the number of typists in the Departments’ divisions: and the provision over three years of 1,000 personal computers and word processing software for author typing and for secretaries and typists: 600 of the personal computers were for the Department of the Environment.

4.9 The Treasury approved expenditure for the Typing and Secretarial Services Review system of f4.76 million (1989-90 prices] over five years from 1989-90 of which an estimated f2.86 million relates to the Department of the Environment. The National Audit Office found that the investment appraisal submission underestimated some costs, most notably training costs. There was also additional procurement work from the need-not originally recognised by the Department or the Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency-to comply with EC/GATT procedures for the purchase of the software.

4.10 On planning for the achievement of benefits, the National Audit Office found that the main financial benefits-for example, savings of departmental and agency staff-embodied explicit and measurable targets. However, some non- quantified benefits had not been targeted, and it was not clear how their achievement would be assessed. The benefits concerned included lower turnover and greater flexibility in moving secretarial and typing staff: faster turn-round times for document production; reduced stress on text authors; and greater job satisfaction of typing and secretarial staff. Phased implementation of the system and general monitoring of these benefits will enable targeting to be developed if the benefits prove more significant than expected.

4.11 The Department also have a Network

Infrastructure Project. Its objective is to identify a standard local area network which will provide the main communications links within and between buildings. It will allow the Department’s divisions to attach their own compatible local area networks and to develop the services provided through the Department’s office automation systems.

Preparation and implementation 4.12 A December 1987 departmental review of the implementation of the Departmental Office Automation Trial noted that the project had started with no clear identification of objectives, responsibilities or reporting structure, and no initial task, activity or resource scheduling. Because of poor documentation of actions taken, the departmental and supplier’s project teams had duplicated efforts, and changes in staff had had an adverse effect on progress and had led to a loss of control and accountability over the early stages of the project. Furthermore, the Department’s project officers did not all have the full range of desirable skills, and their necessary training had resulted in a loss of momentum in implementing the project. Project initiation documentation and objectives had not been drawn up formally until PROMPT had been adopted as the project methodology in November 1986; from which point, regular checkpoint meetings and reporting had been instituted.

4.13 Learning from the Departmental Office Automation Trial, planning for the Private Office system used a modified version of the PROMPT methodology. Planning was comprehensive, with the responsibilities of the project team clearly defined and tasks and review points explicitly scheduled. Although full system implementation was planned for November 1987, enquiry logging and diary facilities were not available until October 1988 and April 1989 respectively. These delays were due largely to resource shortages and to technical problems with some software written by an external contractor.

4.14 The Typing and Secretarial Services Review project has been managed jointly by the Departments of the Environment and Transport. As the Departments no longer share common support services they are disengaging to separate projects, but retaining shared procurement contracts and training facilities to secure economies of scale. Preparation of the project proceeded with a level of planning and formal definition of tasks and responsibilities similar to the Private Office system, again using a modified version of PROMPT. The next phase of the system will use PRINCE, the successor to PROMPT.

17

OFFICE AUTOMATION 1N GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTS

Table 6

User survey responses on training: Private Office system

All-in-One 07 72 PSO Enquiry 92 75 Diary 67 64


4.15 The Department of the Environment are prioritising the provision of workstations to divisions on criteria related to the project’s business objectives, in particular to achieve rapid reductions in agency typing staff and to maximise author typing benefits. However, staff resource shortages led to a two month slippage on the implementation timetable: and, surprisingly given its size, the project had a part-time project manager. The Department have appointed a full-time project manager for the remainder of the project. The Department of Transport appointed a full-time project manager from the outset, and their implementation of the project is running generally to timetable.

Training

4.16 The identification of training requirements for office automation was one of the main objectives of the Departmental Office Automation Trial system. Fundamental principles were that training courses and documentation should be tailored to the work of the Department; that courses, if possible, should be modular (staged) and spread wer a period of time; that staff should be trained on the same type of terminals as they would use on the new system; and terminals should then be available for them immediately. For the Departmental Office Automation Trial system itself, training was provided by the system supplier. In practice, the Trial system trainees did not consider the courses had been geared adequately to the wor$ of the Department; they had not been trained on identical terminals to those of the Trial system: and terminals had not always been available to them immediately after courses, resulting in demands for refresher training.

4.17 Training for the Private Office system was provided in-house by the Department for the “All- in-One” parts of the system (paragraph 4.3), and provided by the supplier for the diary and enquiry logging facilities. Learning from the Departmental Office Automation Trial, the formulation of training

plans was an early task for project planning of the Private Office system. Courses for the “All-in-One” package adopted a modular approach with four half day sessions spread cwer a period of time, and trainers visited staff later to check on their progress. A user survey in 1990 (Table 6) found a large degree of satisfaction with the training.

4.18 At the time of the National Audit Office examination, training for the Typing and Secretarial Services Review system had only just started, in line with the delivery of workstations. Planning of training was based on a needs analysis during which some 70 staff were interviewed. Alternative sources of training were considered and costed, resulting in a decision to provide in-house courses. The planned trainer: trainee ratio is 1: 6, to be achieved by switching resources, including typing managers posts, to the Department’s Training Centre. Courses are to be trialled with feedback from the trainees, and an interactive video instruction system is to be used for staff with basic keyboard skills who do not have time to attend the full training course.

Systems support

4.19 User support for the Departmental Office Automation Trial system was provided initially by the system project team, later transferred to two clerical officers who dealt with queries or passed them on to the staff running the computer mainframe as appropriate. The Trial System review identified a need for additional staff for system support and for system administration tasks to be carried out effectively, and also a need for system documentation to be rewritten mire clearly and indexed. Additional support for the Trial System users is now provided by a Central Support Services Unit, with a helpdesk for most of the Department’s office automation systems. Currently, the helpdesk staff spend sane 70 per cent of their time on development work.

18


4.20 The Private Office system was supported initially by the system administrator located in the Private Offices and then by the Central Support Services helpdesk referred to in paragraph 4.19. The 1990 survey of the system’s users found less than 15 per cent expressed any dissatisfaction with the support provided.

4.21 The project appraisal for the Typing and Secretarial Services Review gave high importance to user support for the system. Support requirements have not been separately analysed, but the Department expect that the Central Support Services helpdesk staff will have sufficient flexibility within their work to undertake the extra support duties for the 600 system users to be phased in over three years. First-line support will be provided by divisional secretaries. The Department of Transport have a separate helpdesk.

4.22 On the Central Support Services helpdesk arrangements of the Department of the Environment, the National Audit Office found that user requests for assistance were logged via a computer package which provided information on assistance response times and types of problems encountered. There were, however, no formalised arrangements for feedback of user problems to the Department’s Training Centre. Helpdesk staff were expected to handle a wide range of queries: answering at least 10 per cent on the spot, and referring to the appropriate expert those needing an in-depth knowledge of individual systems. The Department plan to ask workstation users for their views on the support service received by them.


4.23 Individual users of the Business Efficiency Service Unit’s Departmental Office Automation Trial system are charged for centrally provided facilities on an apportionment basis to each workstation, calculated by the Department’s computer bureau. As all Private Office system users are in the same cost centre, the Private Office is charged a global cost by the computer bureau. There are, however, sxne cost identification problems, mainly because of the software structure, and some aspects of usage cannot be separated out to the two systems. At the time of the National Audit Office examination, no decisions had been taken on charging arrangements for users of the Typing and Secretarial Services Review system.

4.24 Users of the Departmental Office Automation Trial and the Private Office systems experienced severe problems from poor reliability of the central hardware facilities and because they could not

access the central mainframe computer due to pressure of other users. The problems were largely resolved following the relocation of both systems onto a new mainframe at Swansea in 1988. Initial line failures to the new mainframe were solved by the provision of a dedicated line facility for the two systems.

4.25 Users of the Private Office system have noted a number of continuing problems, notably: poor response times, in particular for direct screen response to the keyboard (49 per cent); printer noise (31 per cent); and poor keyboard positioning (29 per cent). Also, the Private Office enquiry logging system is slowing down because the database is overloaded (see paragraph 4.29). The National Audit Office also noted that the Department were undertaking a census of workstation equipment across the Departmental Office Automation Trial and Private Office systems as inventory records had been found to be incomplete or erroneous.

Costs of systems at 31 March 1990

4.26 The Department did not identify the full actual costs of the extended Departmental Office Automation Trial system, for which estimated costs were EI,O~O,OOO (1986-87 prices), though they did identify certain costs from December 1986 to December 1987. They have not monitored the actual costs of the system’s current use as the Business Efficiency Service Unit’s own system, for which Treasury approved costs were E937,360 (1988-89 prices). However, the major cost is an internal charge for the use and support of the mainframe computer which services most of the Department’s information technology systems and whose costs are reviewed regularly.

4.27 For the Private Office system actual costs for the three years 1987-88 to 1989-90 were scnne ~755,000 (but see paragraph 4.7) compared with Treasury approved expenditure for these years of E627,000, both figures adjusted to 1989 prices. The additional costs reflect increased expenditures on the develomnent of the Private Office svstem. notably on’system software developme&. The Typing and Secretarial Services Review system is in its first operational year, and no actual cost figures are therefore available.

Post-implementation reviews and achievements of benefits

4.28 The Department’s 1987 post-implementation review of the extended trial system for the Departmental Office Automation Trial system was very thorough, and had a substantial (including


Table 7

User views of the impact of Private Office system facilities on output

Timeliness 64 4 33 11 60 4 Accuracy 74 7 - 48 0 Speed and efficiency 78 4 47 6 63 4 Quality of response 38 4 - 29 4 Quantity 52 4 88 6 50 0

Sollm?: 1990 user survey.

Note: Percentage levels of “no change” are not given.

learning from experience) impact on the development of office automation in the Department. A consultant attached to the Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency valued the benefits from the system at f620,ooo per year, compared with initial system implementation costs of E330,000 and annual running costs of E413,000. Of the benefits, f330,ooo reflected the extra value to the Department of increased typed output. The savings figures need to be treated with scnne caution as the baselines against which they were calculated were formulated retrospectively for the purpose of the benefits assessment, not at the start of the extended trial system. Also, it is unclear whether the benefits have continued at the claimed level of f620,ooo a year since the extended trial system was adopted by the Department’s Business Efficiency Service Unit as its uwn system.

4.29 The post-implementation review of the Private Office system was delayed until 1989-90 due to the late completion of the software for the system. Findings on the achievement of benefits were mixed. For example, the enquiry logging system is a considerable success, with the same number of staff dealing with a 52 per cent increase in enquiries from 27,000 to 41,000 per year. In contrast, the diary system is used regularly in only one of the seven Ministers’ offices due to doubts

about its reliability, and the complexity of the system. Also, the word processing facility is under- utilised (only 45 per cent of survey respondents used it at least Once a day); and an estimated 16 of the 55 workstations on the Private Office system were either little used or were effectively dormant. Table 7 sets out users’ views on the impact on their work of the word processing, electronic mail and enquiry logging facilities.

4.30 As noted, the Private Office system has not SO far delivered all the benefits expected from it. On the general level, confidence in the system was undermined by an early period of unreliability, but appears to have been partly regained as most of the underlying problems have been rectified. In some cases. the sharing of terminals has discouraged sxne staff from using the system fully. The electronic diary is regarded as over-ambitious in its coverage, and cumbersome. And the current absence of compatible systems elsewhere in the Department has frustrated the development of a user community able to maximise benefits (but see paragraph 4.11).

4.31 The Typing and Secretarial Services Review system has not been in existence long enough for a post-implementation review.

20


Part 5: Cabinet Office (Office of the Minister for the Civil Service)

Background

5.1 The Office of the Minister for the Civil Service (OMCS) - part of the Cabinet Office-are responsible for a number of management issues affecting the Home Civil Service. These include the provision of recruitment and occupational health services and the formulation of policies on training and, except where allocated to the Treasury, personnel management. The OMCS (called the Department hereafter) are also responsible for the Next Steps initiative, aid to several Civil Service welfare bodies, and for the expenditure of the Prime Minister’s Office, the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel and the Government Whips’ Offices. The Department employ some 1,000 staff.

5.2 The National Audit Office examined the Department’s VIENNA office automation system and their plans for a replacement system called COSINS.


5.3 VIENNA was introduced in response to a 1984 review of the information needs of the Cabinet Office. The review identified many separate small information requirements typically able to be supplied by a personal computer. It was proposed that, for a small premium, these computers could be networked and value added by the provision of office automation facilities. Identified added value benefits included direct links to the Department’s typing pool and to other centrally provided services such as budgeting information, library services, directory information, office circulars and notices. The Department also recognised that other unexpected benefits might result from different working methods and from new management systems.

5.4 The system proposal did not attempt an overall “business benefits” justification but relied on the collective benefits of the individual personal computers to justify the network. A strategic decision was taken that networked industry standard systems were the future of office automation; VIENNA would therefore be an investment for the future through the provision of

infrastructure and introducing staff to working with the technology. Potential users would be required to produce positive cost justified investment appraisals (excluding network cabling costs which would be borne centrally) before workstations were purchased for their use. On the basis described, system installation began in March 1985, with workstations gradually added until 115 were on the network. The VIENNA proposal did not quantify training and support costs: and no baselines were established from which the benefits of the system could be measured.

5.5 The VIENNA supplier was taken over by another company which in August 1989 decided to discontinue service support for VIENNA. The Department launched a search for a replacement system which would conform with the Cabinet Office’s newly approved information technology strategy. In September 1989, the search was accelerated to meet a cost justified requirement of 17 networked workstations and a database by end- October 1989 for the Next Steps project team. This was achieved through the installation of the COSINS system already introduced successfully elsewhere in the Cabinet Office.

5.6 The Department now plan a phased replacement of VIENNA by COSINS, including one- third replacement of VIENNA workstations in 1990-91. No overall investment appraisal was made for the COSINS system, but potential COSINS users are required to make cost justified cases to join the network, and current VIENNA users have to make cost justified cases for COSINS replacement workstations.

Implementation of systems

5.7 The Department did not use PROMPT methodology [see paragraph 6.3) to implement VIENNA as they did not consider that it was sufficiently publicised and proven in 1984. Implementation was managed by the Department’s InformationTechnology and Methods Branch, with the Head of the Branch as project manager. The Cabinet Office’s Information Technology Strategy Committee had an oversight role, though they were not involved in day to day decision taking. The

21

Department decided to use similar arrangements for managing the implementation of COSINS as they had proved suitable and effective.

5.8 Technical difficulties hindered the implementation and use of VIENNA. In particular, networking cabling (ETHERNET] had to be installed, and workstations converted, because British Telecom lines could not cope with the volume of communication between the workstations: the word processing package (VIENNA WORD) proved unreliable, requiring considerable work to put it on a satisfactory footing; and the database package was too complex for users to develop their own job specific applications without considerable assistance from support staff from the Information Technology and Methods Branch. Moreover, shortages of support resources delayed or frustrated the development of applications. At November 1987, planned applications of 17 user groups had not been implemented.

5.9 In general, the National Audit Office found that problem areas within the Information Technology and Methods Branch remit were satisfactorily resolved with the supplier of VIENNA. Little early action was taken on other problems such as the shortage of support resources, even though reported to the Information Technology Steering Committee. A multi-disciplinary project team for VIENNA, representing both implementation and users’ interests, might have avoided, or resolved more quickly, the problems which arose.

Training

5.10 The Department recognised at the outset of VIENNA that good training of its users was essential to its success. Initial training was delivered on-site by the supplier, but the trainer:trainee ratio was a high 1: 10, and VIENNA users found the courses too long and insufficiently geared to the needs of the Department, as well as undermined by hardware and software problems. Another early problem was that 20 VIENNA users did not have immediate access to workstations after courses because the workstations had been appropriated for use as training machines. No supply provision for training machines was made at the VIENNA planning stage.

5.11 In June 1985, the Department decided to undertake training in-house, to be delivered by the Treasury’s training branch under a reciprocal training agreement, but in 1986 the Treasury introduced their own information technology

system, and thereafter the Department were accorded a lower priority for training resources. As a direct consequence. the Department’s Chief Superintendent of Typing undertook the training of the Department’s secretaries; and all other VIENNA users were trained through external con~ses. Throughout, internal reviews and reports to the Information Technology Steering Committee identified continuing user dissatisfaction with training.

5.12 A 1989 review of VIENNA by the Department’s Internal Audit Branch in conjunction with the Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency found under-utilisation of VIENNA-attributed, in part, to inadequate training of users. As a result of the review the Department decided that COSINS training would be undertaken largely by their own training branch, with dedicated facilities including six terminals. and a trainer:trainee ratio of 1:6. At the time of the National Audit Office examination, the Department’s senior management had received a proposal that responsibility for ensuring that staff received adequate training to make the best use of COSINS should rest with line managers, who, inter alia, would match their staff against a training needs analysis for each grade.

support

5.13 Another reason for the under-utilisation of VIENNA identified by the 1989 Internal Audit review was inadequate support services to users. From the installation of VIENNA to early 1990, four qualified staff (since increased to five) from the Department’s Information Technology and Methods Branch were assigned to provide support to the system, but they had many other duties elsewhere in the department and were therefore unable always to provide fast support to users. User reviews repeatedly identified dissatisfaction with the level of support provided, and also with the slow development of job-specific applications. Complaints were made also about the supplier’s VIENNA manuals, but again the shortage of support staff prevented in-house development of more useful guides. The Department are preparing in- house guides for COSINS.

5.14 To raise staff interest in office automation, and in recognition of low user confidence in VIENNA, the Department’s Information Technology and Methods Branch-when support services have been available-have issued information sheets and have held open days. From follow-up work on the 1989 Internal Audit review, there is a proposal that the VIENNA support team should undertake a

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period of pro-active work to promote VIENNA-for example, by inviting users to clarify their problems, by spreading good practice, and by showing users more advanced ways of using the system.


5.15 VIENNA was an early office automation system. Usage levels expected originally have not been achieved. The Department have done little performance and capacity monitoring but they plan more emphasis on such monitoring for COSINS.

5.16 On the other hand, there have been a series of post-implementation reviews of VIENNA by the Department’s Information Technology and Methods Branch, and user reviews by the Department’s Personnel Management Research Branch. These various reviews were thorough, with useful findings. But those on training and support deficiencies (paragraphs 5.11 and 5.13) were not acted upon speedily. The Department’s Internal Audit Branch is now responsible for all post- implementation reviews of office automation systems. And in response to its 1989 review of the VIENNA system, follow-up action plans have been developed for consideration by the Department’s senior management.

5.17 A noteworthy feature of the VIENNA system (in comparison with findings for other Departments’ office automation systems) is that users find its keyboard and screen facilities very easy to use, and well-designed to avoid fatigue. VIENNA screens are to be retained for the new COSINS workstations where possible.

Actual costs of VIENNA

5.18 The Department do not collect and monitor centrally the costs of their office automation systems, either overall or for individual systems. Users of the systems are required to find the capital costs of their terminals and all consumable costs (for example, printer ribbons and paper) from their delegated budgets. They are not charged infrastructure, support, maintenance and development, and training costs. These costs are

borne by the Department’s central divisions providing the services.

5.19 For the purpose of the National Audit Office examination the Department specially calculated VIENNA costs from the inception of the system to 31 March 1990. Excluding consumables, the costs amounted to El.53 million at 1989-90 prices.


5.20 Notwithstanding the under-performance of the VIENNA word processing software referred to in paragraph 5.8, the Department’s VIENNA us?r reviews identified word processing as the most used of the system’s facilities, with less retyping and improved drafting cited as major benefits. And in 1987, 64 per cent of users felt VIENNA had met all its original objectives. A special exercise in the same year-comparing the savings achieved by each user group with those set as objectives in their original cost justified case (paragraph 5.4]-found some savings in staff time from word processing and job-specific applications, in some cases from the same number of staff dealing with a larger volume of work.

5.21 The “snapshot” review in 1987 found that people, organisations and requirements had changed extensively which made it difficult to quantify benefits against a baseline. However, user estimates indicated that, if the trends continued, the benefits of the system would outweigh the costs by March 1989. The special exercise review also pointed to 17 user groups whose planned applications were not implemented (see also paragraph 5.13).

5.22 ’ In addition to inadequate training of and support services for users (paragraphs 5.12 and 5.13), the 1989 Internal Audit review identified a third major reason for the under-achievement of benefits from VIENNA. This was the lack of procedural guidance to provide continuity of work upon staff changes. As noted in paragraphs 5.12 to 5.14 the Department have taken steps to improve user training and support services, which should secure a higher level of benefits from the COSINS system.

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Part 6: The role of the Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency

6.1 As noted in paragraph 1.3, the Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency promotes effectiveness and efficiency in Government through the use of information systems.

6.2 Consistent with the role of central Government departments, the Agency has an advisory rather than a prescriptive role for information technology in other departments. Inter alia, it has issued detailed guidance to departments on the implementation of information technology projects and on the procurement of office systems, including a guide in 1989 on Appraising Investment in Information Systems. It has also issued general guidance on office automation systems; and it provides specific assistance to departments on request-subject to availability of staff resources. At present, however, the Agency does not have a database of office automation systems in Government departments; and it is not necessarily informed by departments of incoming systems. The Agency considers that such information would be of limited value given the widespread use of office automation systems and the fact that many of them do not break new ground.

6.3 In 1963 the Agency developed a project management methodology called PROMPT (Project Resource Organisation Management Planning Techniques] for the development and implementation of information technology systems aimed at helping departments plan, manage and control the implementation of systems. In June 1989 an enhanced version was introduced, which became

known as PRINCE (Projects in a Controlled Environment). PRINCE sets out more detailed application of quality management techniques; and includes improved documentation and explicit project initiation and closure mechanisms.

6.4 Previous chapters of this report refer to the Agency’s contributions to the establishment and operation of office automation systems. In summary, the National Audit Office found that only one of the four departments had adopted the PROMPT methodology (in practice, a modified version) for the implementation of their office automation systems, and that another department had used PRINCE for the next phase of a system. While all four departments had sought Agency advice on the procurement of their systems, with the exception of the Scottish Office they had made little use of the Agency’s advisory services in this area.

6.5 The National Audit Office also noted that the examined departments had not sent automatically to the Agency copies of their post-implementation reviews of their office automation systems. A regular arrangement of this kind would enable the Agency to draw on lessons learned from practical experience and thereby help to provide up-to-date advice to departments on office automation systems. The Agency considers that this arrangement would be appropriate only when a department’s office automation strategy involves a novel or advanced technological approach or is above the delegated financial limit and is likely to contribute benefits through new business opportunities or an improved policy choice.

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OFHCE AUTOMATION IN GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTS

Reports by the Comptroller and Auditor General Session 1990-91

The Comptroller and Auditor General has to date, in Session 1990-91, presented to the House of Commons the following reports under Section 9 of the National Audit Act. 1983:

Monitoring and Control of Charities in England and Wales ....... Managing Computer Projects in the National Health Service ..... Department of Transport: Sale of the National Bus Company ..... The Elderly: Information Requirements for Supporting the Elderly

and Implications of Personal Pensions for the National Insurance Fund ..........................................

Social Security Forecasting ............................ Accommodation for HM Customs and Excise London Investigation

Division Staff .................................... Ministry of Defence: Fraud and Irregularities at Defence

Establishments ................................... Single European Market .............................. Support for Low Income Families ........................ Staff Appraisal in the Civil Service ....................... Ministry of Defence: Initiatives in Defence Procurement ........ The Social Fund .................................... NHS Outpatient Services .............................. Department of Transport: Oil and Chemical Pollution at Sea ..... Ministry of Defence: Collaborative Projects ................. The Management of Information Technology Security in

Government Departments ............................ Telephone Services in the NHS ......................... National Health Service Administrative and Clerical Manpower Use of Operating Theatres in the National Health Service:

A Progress Report ................................. Office Automation in Government Departments ..............

.HC 13

.HC 22

.HC 43

.HC 55

.HC 59

.HC 101

.HC 134

.HC 135

.HC 153

.HC 174

.HC 189

.HC 190

.HC 191

.HC 225

.HC 247

.HC 248

.HC 258

.HC 276

.HC 306

.HC 314

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Printed in fhs ““i&d Ki”&m for HMSO Dd 05115367 3,9, c1z 3382 4235 139708 lob NO. 910734

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