Portfolio Management: Criminal Justice Information Technology (CJIT) case Study
The approach adopted to manage the £2bn investment in CJS IT integrates tools, techniques and repeatable processes in the areas of investment appraisal, portfolio priortitisation and benefits management. Key elements of the approach include:
- the establishment of a Portfolio Unit to provide an Intelligent Customer Function and Value Management Office;
- portfolio segmentation with investment justification tailored to the project type (mandatory, infrastructure, applications etc);
- an agreed set of Investment Principles to guide the portfolio prioritisation and investment appraisal processes;
- triangulation of investment appraisal data combining assessments of cost/benefit; business impact; and Attractiveness and Achievability against research–based benchmarks;
- incremental release of funding linked to regular assessments of delivery and benefits realisation; and
- an agreed Benefits Eligibility Framework that defines the rules by which benefits are quantified and valued ensuring consistency across the Portfolio and minimising double counting.
The value of the approach is clearly demonstrated by:
- improved project business cases;
- rejection of poorly defined projects at an earlier stage;
- a robust basis for making informed prioritisation decisions based on rigorous financial/economic appraisal in accordance with the Treasury Green Book; business validation of forecast benefits and strategic alignment; and use of a research–based, OGC Gold accredited, project/programme appraisal tool (the Proving Model) that assesses project Attractiveness and Achievability against industry benchmark standards;
- transparent reporting providing a clear line of sight as a basis for improved accountability for performance;
- a substantial increase in the scale of the benefits case, reflecting the full value of the investment whilst also ensuring that benefits claims are subject to robust, independent and regular scrutiny; and
- a significant improvement in the scale of benefits realisation.
The CJS IT approach is the subject of a case study by Gartner which concludes that, the facilitating role of the IT portfolio unit represent good practices. Government organisations that are seeking successful approaches to programme and project portfolio management should study CJIT’s actions. Booz Allen Hamilton in their 2005 International e–Gov Benchmarking Study commented on, sound investment practices...CJIT has adopted many best-practice investment tools…recognised by the EC as a leader in this field in Europe and, most recently, the 2006 UK country report on Benefits Realisation to the OECD states that CJS IT is, considered a best practice case in the UK.
