Systems for People – a blueprint for the future
Following government endorsement of the recommendations of the Palmer and Comrie reports in 2005, the department commissioned reviews of its information needs, record keeping and information technology systems. The reviews identified wide ranging problems with systems, infrastructure and records management and led to the development of a business and technology blueprint for the department called Systems for People. The government announced the programme, valued at $495 million over four years, in the May 2006 Budget. IBM was selected as the strategic partner for the programme.
Systems for People uses information technology to improve departmental performance. It is one of the biggest business transformation programmes ever undertaken by the Australian Government with more than 250 projects identified for completion over the four years of the programme. It is based on service oriented architecture to ensure faster responses to business process legislation and policy changes in the future.
It is the largest component of the department’s ongoing change programme. It aims to improve departmental performance through the redesign of business processes, better management use of information and modern technological support.
Systems for People covers all aspects of the department’s operations. The department’s staff around the world provide services 24 hours a day, seven days a week. They must have ready access to the tools and support they need to do their jobs with global consistency. In 95 locations around the world the department’s diverse range of activities include facilitating about 24 million passenger and crew arrivals each year at the Australian border, granting of Australian citizenship to more than 2000 people each week and management of people in immigration detention.
Systems for People introduces new, globally consistent business processes through a series of portals which are based on the key roles performed by staff in the department (for example, visa services, case management, compliance and detention services). Each portal provides for a single view of a client’s dealings with the department. Built in quality control and decision support tools mandate proper record-keeping practices and provides training and support. Clients can be assured that decision-making will be the same in Perth, Hong Kong or Melbourne and that the means of reaching that decision is clearly documented, understood and traceable.
The first major release under Systems for People occurred on time on 23 April 2007. The new portals introducing nationally consistent business processes for compliance and case management services included defined quality control points, mandatory record keeping requirements and an integrated view of all dealings with a client. At the same time changes were introduced to Australia’s border security business processes through the centralised movement alert systems.
At the end of 2006-07, major improvements to compliance, case management and detention services were ready to be introduced through the release of specific portals, along with the first changes to visa processing operations. More than 2000 staff were also preparing to undergo training in the use of these portals.
During the next three years, successive three-monthly change releases will progressively transform all aspects of the department’s operations.
The department’s intranet has also been upgraded and this provides the entry point for staff to the portals they need to do their jobs.
At 30 June 2007, the delivery of the Systems for People programme was on time and on budget, with major improvements in place just 11 months after the programme commenced. This was a significant achievement given the short delivery timetable.
By May/June 2007, the equivalent of about 700 people were working full-time on the programme, comprising around a third each of departmental staff and IBM contractors, with the balance made up of other contractors.
A critical factor to the success of the programme will be the ability to access highly skilled and specialist resources in an increasingly tight ICT labour market.
Overall, Systems for People in its first year is already starting to make a major contribution to significant business transformation and strengthened client service and business operations across the department’s diverse work around the globe.