Auditor-General, Brendan Worrall has published an Insights report highlighting recurring risks and issues in delivering technology projects.
Mr Worrall said that in order to deliver the public services and infrastructure Queenslanders relied on, there was a clear need to invest in technology.
“Unfortunately, it is difficult to deliver technology projects successfully,” Mr Worrall said.
“Many currently do not hit their deadlines, stay within budget, or achieve their objectives.
“While this issue is not unique to the Queensland public sector, it can be improved by examining the reasons behind the successes and failures of technology projects.”
He said that given the value of the investments in technology projects, and the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, public sector entities must ensure that they learned from past experiences.
“The pandemic has reinforced the need for entities to take stock and identify new, more efficient (technology enabled) ways of delivering their public services,” Mr Worrall said.
“The current economic climate makes it more important than ever to ensure that the significant money invested in technology projects delivers value for the community.”
He said his report built on some of his past reports, which covered monitoring and managing ICT projects, digitising public hospitals, the reform of the State Penalties Enforcement Registry, and Health’s finance and supply chain management system.
“As Queenslanders continue to become more reliant on working, learning, and doing business remotely, it will be essential for Governments to use technology to transform their services,” Mr Worrall said.
“This has the potential to deliver savings through efficiencies in service delivery. I will continue to focus on technology transformations in my future reports.”
The Auditor-General’s 52-page Insights report can be accessed at this PS News link.
