Common menu bar links
Breadcrumb Trail
Institutional links
Chief Information Officer Branch
IT Project Review and Oversight
Enhanced Management Framework
ARCHIVED - Management of Large Public IT Projects - Canada
This page has been archived.
Archived Content
Information identified as archived on the Web is for reference, research or recordkeeping purposes. It has not been altered or updated after the date of archiving. Web pages that are archived on the Web are not subject to the Government of Canada Web Standards. As per the Communications Policy of the Government of Canada, you can request alternate formats on the "Contact Us" page.
1.6.1 Departmental Management Model
A typical governance organization structure for a large department comprises a hierarchy of committees and working groups with specific responsibilities. One such department has the following structure.
Information Management Committee (IMC): a committee of Assistant Deputy Ministers responsible for IM/IT project approval and policy setting; reports to the departmental Business Board (the senior decision-making body).
Business, Information and Technology Alignment Sub-Committee (BITASC): a Director General/Director-level committee which identifies business and IM/IT support requirements from the various branches, and is responsible for ensuring the development of IM/IT plans, policies and practices in support of business and technology integration.
Infrastructure Sub-Committee (ISC): a Director General/Director-level committee responsible for identifying and co-ordinating IT support infrastructure objectives for the department, and assessing impacts of new technology developments/changes.
These committees are supported by a variety of lower-level committees and working groups addressing areas such as the Internet, security, architecture, and office automation.
The use of sub-contract staff on government IM/IT projects is increasingly common, either working in project teams alongside government employees, or as a complete project team where the whole project is contracted out. It is more and more difficult for departments to retain highly specialized IT staff in the face of strong demand for resources from the private sector. The rapid development of new technologies can render knowledge and experience obsolete after only a short time, and the cost of constant updating of knowledge is high. It is recognized that with outside staff working on the delivery of IM/IT projects, the importance of thorough application of the principles and practices of the Enhanced Management Framework, especially as regards user ownership and involvement, is even more critical.