Supplier code aims to cut government IT failures

A code of best practice has been drawn up by the government and IT suppliers to try to reduce the number of high profile public sector IT failures.

The package of measures has been agreed by the government spending watchdog the Office of Government Commerce (OGC) and IT vendor trade body Intellect, through the Senior IT Forum, which includes representatives from the government and the IT industry.

It has been designed to mirror the three 'critical' stages of a project – concept, development and delivery. The package also includes an IT supplier code of best practice. The code consists of 'ten commitments', which suppliers must aim to meet on service and quality of work.

A 'concept viability' service offered by Intellect will enable public sector organisations to use the IT industry as a sounding board to help assess the potential risks of a technology project before progressing to the delivery phase.

Peter Gershon, CEO of the OGC, said in his introduction to the new guidelines: "The public sector is a complex environment with a chequered history of delivering successful IT-based programmes to cost and time. These new measures get to the heart of some key issues which have inhibited success and, together with improvements already being implemented by clients, offers the real potential to drive up the success rates to the benefit of both taxpayers and suppliers."

Details of the concept viability service can be found here and the IT supplier code of best practice can be found here.