Appendix A
IT Services Best Value Improvement Plan Executive Summary
The purpose of the Best Value Improvement Plan is to set out the challenges highlighted in the Audit Commission Inspection Report and develop the actions needed to address the challenges.The improvement plan has been structured to reflect the five improvement areas identified in the recommendations section of the Inspection Report. The opportunity has been taken to extend the plan to recognise wider issues addressed in the inspection report and to ensure that service and business needs drive the direction of IT provision and support in the organisation.
IT Vision and Strategy
The key objective for this area of the improvement plan is to develop a new Corporate ICT Strategy with clear links to the Corporate aims and objectives. Clear aims and long term focus for the service will enable maximum benefit to be obtained from IT Investment.Future Plans for Services
Synchronisation of business, development and investment plans will enable cost efficient use of IT resources and effective delivery of Information Technology for the whole organisation.Communication
The driver for this improvement area is to transform the perception of the IT Service both within the IT Unit itself and the organisation as a whole. Although all sections of the plan are key building blocks to improvement, fundamental re-alignment of IT Services as a true enabler is an essential part of delivering improvements.Effectiveness and Efficiency
Delivering a quality of service that meets the Service Units business needs effectively and efficiently is the prime objective of this improvement area. Offering flexibility and choice for Service Units will facilitate responsive service delivery.Capacity
Exploring opportunities to work in partnership with organisations to increase our capacity, both staff and funding, to deliver the vision for IT and e-government. Additionally to exploit bid opportunities such as the recent capital bid to the ODPM for funds to develop and support the Customer Access and Service Strategy (Customer First project).Performance\BV\Improvement Plan\BVIP Version 1.3 Page 1 of 1
Last revision: September 2005
IMPROVEMENT AREA 1 : IT Vision and Strategy
The Challenges- Links to corporate aims are not clear and that existing ICT Strategies do not support council priorities
- Service aims lack clarity and are not driven by customer-focused approach to service provision, therefore the needs of the local community and other direct service providers do not drive the councils’ activities
- Lack of clear a vision for customer access is preventing the development of IT solutions for improvement of services
- There is no Corporate Strategy or comprehensive view of how IT Services is to support the council or individual users
- Service Level Agreements are not clear and cannot be used to drive service improvement
- Confusion over cost of delivering IT service to the authority as expenditure is included in service budgets throughout the council
- The Council uses most version of Microsoft Windows and office software. This makes maintenance expensive and sharing information difficult. There are also a number of other common systems i.e. seven different time recording systems.
Targets / 2002/2003 Actual / 2003/2004 Actual / 2004/2005
Target / 2005/2006
Target / 2006/2007
Target / 2007/2008
Target
BVPI 157 / 57.2 / 61.4 / 88.8 / 100 / 100 / 100
How will we achieve this
/ Person(s) responsible / Completion Date / Priority / Resource Implication1.1 / Develop and agree a new Corporate ICT Strategy, with a clear focus on the contribution technology can make for improved customer service, and ensure
- that there are clear links to the corporate aims and objectives
- that the IT Strategy will support and deliver the corporate aims and objectives
- that the IT Strategy embraces and supports the e-government strategy/agenda
AMBER 1.1
Update
19/10/05 / A first outline draft of the ICT Strategy and process for its development have been considered by the ICT Steering Group on 18th July 2005. Consultants SocITM have been engaged to facilitate workshops for SUH’s, Cllrs and PD’s to input to the development of the strategy. Action to be carried forward to next ICT Change & Improvement Plan. / ICT Management Team / March 2006 / High / £10,000 from ICT revenue budget
GREEN
1.2 / Establish ICT steering group to assess the needs of the Authority with respect to ICT and e-Government ensuring that there are clear terms of reference to include
- decisions on priority for ICT developments
- links with other authority processes such as Business planning.
- assessment of performance against service standards.
- support and endorse ICT Strategy and Policies.
Completed / High / None
GREEN
1.3 / Develop vision and strategy for customer access (Customers First). / Policy Director – Andrew Flockhart / December 2004
Completed
/ High / A bid for funds to cover costs has been submitted successfully to the ODPM1.4 / Develop and agree customer focused IT Service Level Agreement and ensure that this
- Has clear service standards
- Is used to monitor performance against the standards and drive improvements in service delivery
- Has an agreed and robust charging mechanism based on actual service take up.
AMBER
1.4 update
19/10/05 / Work has begun on this and has been noted as a priority action for the new Customer Services Manager who started on 1st June 2005. It is intended to use the period up to December 2005 to work with Service Units in developing the new SLA which compliments the budget timetable ready for implementation on 1st April 2006. Action to be carried forward to the new ICT Change & Improvement Plan. / April 2006 / High / None
1.5 / Review and develop the current IT Policies and ensure that
- they support delivery of the IT Strategy
- they promote the efficient use of resources such as, data storage limits, desktop replacement, use of common systems and platforms, and exploit procurement opportunities
AMBER 1.5
Update
19/10/05 / Work on this has begun with the development of policies for – Email storage limits, desktop specification, replacement and standardised operating systems and platforms. This will continue to be an ongoing action and requires the output from the ICT Strategy and Service Level Agreement. Action for specific policy development will be carried forward to the new ICT Change & Improvement Plan. / ICT Extended Management Team / December 2006 / Medium / None
IMPROVEMENT AREA 2 : Future Plans for Services
The Challenges- Mechanisms are not in place to integrate IT planning into service improvements across the whole council
- There are many inefficiencies because of the quantity and age of different computer software and systems
- Constant fire fighting mean that IT does not drive innovation
- Projects to modernise service delivery such as Thin Client have not been completed and targets are not ambitious.
- There is no clear view as to how priorities are decided
- Communication between the service areas and the IT Section is weak
- Service aims lack clarity and are not driven by customer-focused approach to service provision, therefore the needs of the local community and other direct service providers do not drive the councils’ activities
- Partnership working is not well developed, and missing opportunities to increase capacity and expertise and reduce costs through joint purchasing and cross authority projects
- Confusion over cost of delivering IT service to the authority as expenditure is included in service budgets throughout the council
Targets / 2002/2003
Actual / 2003/2004
Actual / 2004/2005
Actual / 2005/2006
Target / 2006/2007
Target / 2007/2008
Target
Successful Major projects / 97.9 / 97.0 / 98 / 98 / 98 / 98
Minor projects on time. Account Management
Web Development / 62.60
35.29 / 76.50
55.90 / 79.10
62.90 / Under Review
Under Review / 92
92 / 93
93
How will we achieve this
/ Person(s) responsible / Completion Date / Priority / Resource ImplicationGREEN
2.1 / Develop a new Best Value Improvement plan to resolve current issues and allow a long term plan for service development and improvement. / Head of IT Services / May 2004
COMPLETED
/ High / NoneGREEN 2.2 / Re-enforce in the role out of the corporate business planning framework, the need to fully assess IT requirements in each unit business plan and specifically to identify
- All IT related work, funding and resources in collaboration with IT and Financial Services
- all grant and other funding opportunities which will support IT developments and seek input from IT and Financial services
COMPLETED
/ High / NoneGREEN
2.3 / Set up, monitoring and review of a three year rolling IT Investment plan which includes
- All IT Infrastructure requirements
- All e-Government requirements
- All Service Unit development requirements
- All corporate BoP.com and Loop2 development requirements.
COMPLETED
/ High / NoneGREEN
2.4 / Set up, monitoring and review of an annual IT Development programme in consultation with Service units and Management team. The plan will be managed by the IT Projects Manager who will
- Monitor and report on progress against the plan to IT Unit Management Team
- In conjunction with the Head of IT and the extended unit management team review capacity of the IT Service Unit to deliver the development plan.
COMPLETED
/ High / £1,500 annual cost of interim acting up arrangements during trial of Project Manager role change. Funded from Project Management Income.Green
2.5 / Independent review of the role, function and capacity of the IT Account Managers and address the issues of
- Lack of business development capacity
- Length of time from work request to completion
- Lack of time for service improvements
Completed
/ High / Approx £5,000 from It revenue budget.GREEN
2.6 / Fast track the roll out of Thin Client programme in order to secure early release of IT resources and optimise efficiency.
- Completion of the Civic Centre site by September 2004.
- Completion of the remaining sites by April 2005.
Completed
Completed / High / £311,000 approved resource identified in the IT investment planGREEN
2.7 / Fast track the switch to new network in order to secure early release of IT resources, optimise efficiency and support proposed service developments.
- Completion of the Civic Centre site by September 2004.
- Completion of the remaining sites by April 2005.
Completed
Completed / High / £71,000 approved resource identified in the IT Investment plan
GREEN
2.8 / Market Test and implement new Telephony Managed Service contract to secure competitive pricing and to take advantage of service and technological developments which will support future Corporate and unit requirements such as Call Management, improved management information and the Access Strategy.
- Consultation to complete end May 2004
- Specification of requirements due July 2004
- Tendering process complete by November 2004
- Implementation to begin by November 2004. Change in scope resulted in a delay in awarding the contract. Implementation began in May 2005.
Completed
Completed
Completed
In progress / High / £103,000 approved resource identified in IT Investment plan for consultancy, and implementation
Green
2.9 / Increase in capacity of the data link to and from the Internet. Expansion of the existing connection is required to support the continued growth of ‘internet traffic’, created by electronic services, home working and the increase in transactional developments on BoP.com for community use such as Apply for it, Report it , e-payments and GIS on-line. / Information and Infrastructure Manager / Completed May 2005 / High / £45,000 approved resource identified in IT Investment plan.
GREEN
2.9a / Development of the IT Investment Plan identified a number of urgent IT Infrastructure needs in order to support already identified e-government and service development requirements. As well as that noted in 2.9 this includes;
Replacement of Proxy Servers to ISA - Requirement to replace ageing hardware and upgrade the software which provides security, administration and management of inbound and outbound requests to the internet. The upgraded software will provide flexibility in the management of connections to the internet to support electronic service developments.
SSL – Web technology which will provide improved remote access to the organisation for Members and home workers.
SAN - Completion of a central facility which will store documents and information used by the whole organisation which will, for example, support implementation of the Freedom of Information Act. Additionally there are efficiency gains for the IT operation as individually administered back ups of the information will be consolidated from 73 to approx 45. It will also contribute to improved disaster recovery arrangements for the Authority / December 2004
Competed
Completed
August 2004Completed
/ HighHigh
High
/ All figures here are approved resources from the IT Investment Plan£25,000
£30,000
£80,000
2.10 / Agree and implement a policy and funding for a rolling corporate desktop replacement programme. Devolved responsibility for desktop replacement has lead to ad-hoc replacement of equipment, lack of compatibility across the authority, loss of bulk buying discounts, multiple versions of operating systems and inefficiencies for support and development of existing equipment.
- Replacement of equipment in the seven service units being moved to thin client will be addressed as part of the roll out. This includes the upgrades of Members equipment and their connection into the Civic Centre.
- Replacement programmes for the remaining fifteen service units will be assessed as part of the policy implementation plan.
Completed
/ Medium / Limited central funds are available from the IT Investment programme for 04/05. However, up to £490,000 exists within unit revenue budgets.GREEN
2.10 / Since this improvement action was agreed in April 2005 the focus and driver of this action has changed because of the need to upgrade all remaining Window 95 and 98 machines to Windows XP. All those service units which changed to Thin Client after May 2005 have been upgraded to XP as part of the roll out. Work is ongoing to plan the upgrade of all remaining machines XP prior to June 2005. /
June 2005
Completed / Each service units will need to fund their upgrade to XP.This has been highlighted with Financial Services.
GREEN
2.11 / Complete the connection of all schools via broadband to the South West Grid for Learning
Connect the remaining 21 schools and increase capacity of the existing links in line with Government requirements. / Information & Infrastructure Manager and Schools Advice & Support ICT adviser. / Feb 05
Completed / High / NGfL funding
GREEN
2.12 / Work is continuing on the development of the IT Infrastructure needs for 2005/2006 and this will be further informed once Service Unit business plans are completed in June 2004. Full details are available in the IT Investment plan. / Head if IT Services. Head of Financial Services / Completed / Medium
2.13 / Investigate the need and establish cost and options for extended hours of ICT support. / Head of IT Services, ICT Steering group. / February 2005
No Progress
/ Medium / To be establishedRED
2.13 Update 19/10/05 / No specific progress has been made on this as effort has been concentrated on the improvement of current operational service delivery. This item will be carried forward to the new Change and Improvement Plan.
2.14 / Investigate the implementation of ITIL best practice methods together with IT Team Leader training to foundation level. / IT Unit Management Team. / April 2005 / Low / £8,000 to get all team leaders to ITIL Foundation certificate level.
GREEN
2.14 / Work has begun to prepare and implement ITIL processes. Six out of the twelve staff have been trained to foundation level with the remaining six staff due to undertake their training in November 2005. / Due to complete November 2005
IMPROVEMENT AREA 3 : Communication
The Challenges- Perceptions of the service from the IT and user perspective are radically different, this polarised view is inhibiting effective communication.
- Communication between the service areas and the IT Section is weak.
- There is no evidence of use of customer feedback to inform ongoing service improvements.
- There is poor co-ordination and management of work between IT sections.
- Satisfaction with the overall IT provision in the council is low.
Targets / 2001
Actual / 2003/2004
Actual / 2004/2005
Actual / 2005/2006
Target / 2006/2007 / 2007/2008
Customer satisfaction
(7.0) is maximum score / 4.56 / 3.71 / 4.16 / 4.50 / 5.0 / 5.2
How will we achieve this
/ Person(s) responsible / Completion Date / Priority / Resource ImplicationAMBER
3.1 / Continued development of the IT Services Portal on Loop2 to be customer focussed. With content which has been developed in line with actions set out in all sections of this improvement plan, to present clear and useful service information such as.;
- Frequently asked questions
- Help Desk Self Service
- Password re-setting
- Service Level Agreement
- Knowledge base
- IT Strategy
In progress
CompletedCompleted
Due Nov 05
Due Mar 06
TBC
Due Mar 06 / High / None
GREEN
3.2 / Help Desk Self Service - implementation of a new module of the current IT Help Desk software and password reset software. This will release additional features to allow officers to log and track progress of their call and reset their password without the need to call the Help Desk. This will enable efficient use of Help Desk staff time and allow them to resolve a greater number of technical calls. / Help Desk Team Leader, Security Officer & Internal Communications Team /
Completed
/ Medium / £33,000 approved resource in the IT Investment plan 04/05GREEN
3.3 / Undertake to complete a comprehensive IT Customer Satisfaction survey across the authority and fully utilise the results to drive service improvement.
- Consideration will be give to the use of independent consultants to carryout the survey
GREEN
3.4 / Undertaken to be part of the 2004 SOCITM South West Benchmarking survey. Use the opportunity to share best practice, understand strengths and weakness in the service compared to South West Authorities. The results will be used to build on the agenda of continuous improvement. / Head of IT Services / September 2004
Completed