The reality of large public sector IT projects -Times Online

Sir, Nigel Harper (letter, Feb 4) suggests using university computer science departments for large public sector IT projects, together with a collaborative use of open source software. While this would lead to better-engineered software and a correspondingly lower risk of code failure, there are remarkably few IT projects that are simply computer code. IT systems today are a complex mix of technology, commercial principles, business processes, human nature and interactions, legal contracts, people and money. Whether in the public or private sector, these are frequently affected by politics, personal ambition, financial pressures, accountability and the desire to deliver and achieve. No amount of software engineering can address these variables.Few IT projects fail because of technology. IT falls victim to overexpectation, unco-ordinated decision making, lack of clear objectives and relentless cost paring without a corresponding and realistic reduction in the desired outcome. All these are driven by those setting out the needs for planning, managing and approving the project. Today’s IT professional has to be far more than just a computer scientist. He or she has to be skilled in psychology, business matters, diplomacy, project management and politics.Alan PollardPresident, British Computer Society

The reality of large public sector IT projects -Times Online

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