In the Techniques section:
Techniques
Avoiding eTransparency Failure: Ideas About Project Management
This page offers ideas about how to address one factor identified as important to the success or failure of e-transparency projects. Follow this link for more information about such factors (and some related case examples).
Idea 1: Run eTransparency Projects Transparently
You can't create goodness in the world by behaving badly. Likewise, you can't create a transparency initiative by behaving in a non-transparent manner. To build an effective e-transparency system, you must therefore run your e-transparency project transparently. This means being open about the purposes of the project, being open about progress of the project, and taking account of feedback from concerned stakeholders.
(From: Richard Heeks)
Idea 2: Learn Lessons From Past Projects
Don't think that you are starting completely from scratch with your e-transparency project. You can learn from past experience - both failures as well as successes; both projects related and unrelated to transparency. So, take a day at the start of your e-transparency project to reflect on key lessons from the past project experience of the project team. Likewise, take half a day at the end to reflect on lessons from your e-transparency project. Follow this link for other ideas about evaluation of e-transparency projects.
(From: Oliver Kenhago)
Idea 3: Consider In-House Development
Too many e-transparency projects automatically reach for external consultants and outsourcing as their modus operandi. A better project management approach - albeit one that may take slightly longer - is to develop in-house skills in order to manage and deliver the project. In the longer-term, this can produce a cheaper and better e-transparency application, and one that is better understood and better controlled.
(From: Moshtaq Ahmed)
Idea 4: Involve External Consultants Long-Term
If external consultants have to be involved in an e-transparency project, try to ensure some means of long-term engagement. eTransparency projects particularly often involve hidden factors that "here today, gone tomorrow" consultants never recognise. This lack of recognition often leads to project failure. Whereever possible, then, contractual terms should enable consultants to get a longer-term understanding. In some cases, this might favour local rather than overseas consultants.
(From: Mr M.D.R.R. Senanayake)
Idea 5: Set Clear "Go/No Go" Criteria For The eTransparency Project
Have some guidelines for the most major decisions about the project - the decisions about whether to continue or not continue with the project. At the start, determine what criteria you will use at various decision points within the project to decide whether to proceed with the project, and whether to abandon it.
(From: Horace Mitchell)
Idea 6: Project Management Is Not The Same As Other Management
Just because Jo Bloggs can run your IT service, it does not mean that she can run your e-transparency project. Project managers manage projects, they don't run departments or services or systems - in fact, if a manager is good at running a department or service, s/he may well not be a good project manager (and vice versa).
(From: Horace Mitchell)
Idea 7: It's Never Too Late To Stop
Stopping an e-transparency project is incredibly difficult - they rapidly gather political, financial, technical and emotional momentum. However, stopping a project - even at a late stage - is often a better decision for the organisation (at least in rational terms). It may be cheaper and better to abandon the project than to "throw good money after bad". This will particularly be true IF you can use the abandoned project as a source of knowledge-building, helping you to create a better project next time round. However, this is a big "if": see Learning from Project Failure.
(From: Horace Mitchell & Richard Heeks)
Idea 8: Use Project Management Software
Familiarise yourself with one of the common project management software packages. Even if you don't use this perfectly, it will 'set the tone' for the project. It will make project management seem tangible. It will help nudge project decision-making a little away from the subjective/personal, and a little towards the objective. It will provide diagrammatic guidance for project decisions.
(From: Richard Heeks & Olivier Nana Nzepa)
Online Resources
UK Office of Government Commerce guide to projects:
http://www.ogc.gov.uk/sdtoolkit/workbooks/projects/index.html