ARCHIVED - Interview Guide

1.  e-Strategy

General

1. Does the organization have a clear vision of electronic service delivery, and is this vision supported through the organization's strategies, plans and adequate resources?
2. Is there senior management awareness of, and support for, the change involved in implementing the vision?

1. Is the vision consistent with the Treasury Board vision and understood and shared by staff, clients and business partners?

• Has senior management made a conscious effort to obtain staff buy-in to the vision?
• Has the vision been communicated across the organization?
• Are the implications of the vision well understood at the business line level?
• Are client, business partners and suppliers involved in shaping the e-government vision?
• Is the vision continually refined to address both client/partner needs and technology evolution?

1. Is there an e-government champion?
2. Is there support for the champion in terms of senior management attention and a cross-functional team?

• To what extent has the senior management team addressed e-government issues?
• Is there a management structure in place to support e-government?
• To what extent are management and staff involved in the organization's decision-making process on e-government applications?
• What is the role of the e-government champion in overseeing the transformation of the organization?
• roles, responsibilities, and accountabilities for implementing e-government clear?
• Is e-government being implemented in a cohesive manner across the organization?

1. Are strategies and plans closely linked to the organization's e-government plan?
2. Are resources, priorities and results also clearly stated and aligned with e-government plans?

• How aware is staff of the e-government strategies, plans and priorities?
• To what extent do strategies, plans and policies address e-government?
• To what extent are clients, staff and business partners consulted in developing the e-government plans?
• Do mechanisms exist to measure the achievement of e-government targets in the plans?
• Are plans adjusted to reflect feedback from satisfaction surveys and performance reviews?

1. Is funding adequate to achieve the goals of the e-government vision?
2. Are resource commitments (human and financial) reviewed in light of new technology and new opportunities?

• Is there funding for initial e-government application development as well as ongoing operational support?
• Has an investment strategy been developed to fund future e-government initiatives?
• Have funding re-allocations been made to support e-government initiatives?
• To what extent is IM/IT spending aligned with e-government?
• Are models in place to assess e-government funding requirements?
• Are there cost-benefit analyses and client satisfaction surveys to determine the impact on service levels and cost of service?

2.  Architecture

General

1. Is the IM/IT infrastructure in place to manage the data, applications, hardware, software, and networks for e-government applications?

1. Is there a business process architecture in place which supports e-government applications?
2. To what extent are there consistent methods for creating business process descriptions and automated tools to support these methods?

• To what extent are service delivery processes documented and well understood?
• Is staff familiar with the automated tools which support methods for creating business process descriptions?
• To what extent are business process methods in place to facilitate process transformation?
• Can these business process methods allow for process integration across organizational boundaries?

1. Is there a security strategy in place which addresses the organization's architecture (e.g. firewalls, passwords, access from other networks, etc.)
2. Does the security strategy also give guidance on new technologies, standards and policies?

• Is the security architecture being adhered to throughout the organization?
• Are there regular reviews/ audits to assess compliance?

• Are trends in technology being monitored to keep the security architecture up-to-date?

1. Is there a data architecture in place and data management standards which, for example, define data objects in the organization to support sharing of data across the organization?
2. Are there protocols for data transfer to facilitate data sharing across the organization and with business partners, clients and suppliers?

• Is there a formal data architecture in place across the organization?
• Are standards for data formats, data transfer and business object definitions standard across the entire organization?
• Are there tools in place which support access to information assets across the organization, even if they are in different applications on different platforms?
• Are data management standards communicated with clients, business partners and suppliers?
• Are the data management standards compatible with those used externally?

1. Is there an application architecture which ensures that e-government software and tools will be consistent across the whole organization?

• Does the application architecture for e-government applications also address tools such as configuration management, problem detection and correction, and performance measurement?
• Is the use of this architecture consistent throughout the organization?
• To what extent do the application architecture standards facilitate connection with clients, suppliers and business partners?

2.  Architecture (cont'd)

General

1. Is the IM/IT infrastructure in place to manage the data, applications, hardware, software, and networks for e-government applications?

1. Is there a technology architecture which encompasses e-government applications for the organization and the impact of increasing use of e-government applications?
2. Has the organization's infrastructure been upgraded to conform to the technology architecture?

• Is the technology architecture reviewed regularly to ensure it is up-to-date, both in terms of the applications in use or being considered as well as the organization's hardware and software environment?
• Are technology standards followed on a consistent basis throughout the organization?
• Does the organization upgrade its hardware and software environment to keep pace with the architecture's standards?

1. Is there a network architecture in place which describes reliable communications between organizational systems, clients and partners and is it being followed?
2. Does the network architecture reflect current transmission technologies and anticipated demand on organization e-government applications?

• Does the network architecture include voice, data and video?
• Is there a consistent effort to upgrade the network to conform to the standards established in the network architecture?
• Do all new projects comply with the network architecture strategy?
• Does the network have sufficient capacity to support the projected increased demand for e-government services?

3.  Risk and Program Management

General

1. Does the organization effectively manage/monitor the investment involved and monitor risks on an ongoing basis?
2. Is the organization committed to transforming its service delivery processes to an e-government business model?

1. Are risk management policies and guidelines in place for electronic service delivery?
2. Is the effectiveness of controls assessed regularly?

• To what extent are managers familiar with risk management concepts as they pertain to e-government?
• Is there an e-government risk management framework in place?
• Are major risks highlighted in project and business plans for e-government?
• Are action plans in place to avoid or mitigate risk related to e-government?
• To what extent is e-government risk management integrated with risk management overall within the organization?
• Are the risks inherent in e-government communicated to clients and stakeholders?

1. What portfolio management processes are in place to support planning, tracking and oversight of the investment in e-government?

• Have e-government projects been prioritized at the organization-wide and business line levels?
• To what extent are stakeholders involved in prioritizing e-government projects?
• Are interim and post-implementation reviews conducted to track actual vs projected performance?
• Are results used to improve the portfolio? Are they shared with stakeholders?

1. To what extent are project management tools, processes and standards used on e-government projects?

• To what extent are staff familiar with project management methodologies and tools?
• Are project teams effective in terms of quality, timeliness and cost of delivery?
• Are project teams effective in terms of a balance between technical, business and social issues?
• Are stakeholders informed?
• Is there open communication and trust among team members?

1. Has the need to change the organization's culture and business processes been identified?
2. Have change agents been identified to facilitate this change?

• Is there a change management program in place?
• Are the change management implications around e-government well understood?
• Does the organization support electronic service delivery (internal and external)?
• Have teams been put in place to do process re-design in support of e-government?
• Is there a continuous improvement program in place for on-line service?

4.  Organizational Capabilities

General

1. Are there mechanisms in place to ensure an ongoing ability to manage e-government applications, including skilled staff, knowledge management, appropriate tools and techniques and attention to managing the e-government program?

1. Has the organization identified the competencies required to implement its e-government strategies and plans?
2. Have staff received the training appropriate for their responsibilities?

• Have competency levels been defined for all relevant positions?
• Have skill requirements and current gaps been defined and appropriate staffing and training programs established to address the gaps?
• Has e-government training been built into the regular training program?

1. To what extent are web-based tools which support analysis, knowledge management, communication and collaboration available to staff. Do staff have the skills and knowledge to use them effectively?
2. Are these tools upgraded regularly based on recent trends in technology?

• How sophisticated are the communication and collaboration tools available to staff? Have staff been trained in the effective use of these tools?
• Are data analysis tools, such as data warehousing and data mining, available to, and understood by, staff
• Is there a regular review of the tools and techniques available to upgrade tools consistent with the organization's strategy

1. Does the organization support sharing of information among staff and the formal gathering, storing and providing access to information?
2. Do the organization's vision and strategy support the technology to facilitate organizational learning?

• Is the concept of organizational learning understood and supported within the organization?
• Are staff encouraged to share information which will help them achieve the organization's objectives?
• Do staff have access to databases of relevant information across the organization? From other databases and other organizations?
• Is knowledge shared at a work group, sector/division or organization level?

5.  Value Chain Management

1. Are clients, partners and suppliers aware of, and willing to support, e-government applications?
2. Does the organization have mechanisms to optimize the benefits of these linkages?

1. What are the mechanisms in place in the organization to establish and maintain partnerships in the delivery of services?

• Does the organization use service contracts with its partners? Are there cost and revenue sharing arrangements in place?
• Are the contributions of each partner defined, and performance goals and measures established?
• Are the impacts of e-government on existing partnering relationships well understood?
• Is there a well-developed framework to establish future partnerships and to cooperate in developing e-government applications and sharing of knowledge, resources and risks?

1. To what extent is there integration with clients, suppliers and business partners on key business processes?

• Is there a continuous flow of information between the organization and its clients, suppliers and business partners? How is this achieved?
• To what extent are clients' online expectations being met on an integrated basis?
• Is a significant part of the organization's business conducted over the Internet?
• Is the Internet business supported by appropriate areas within the organization to maximize the benefits of using the Internet?

1. To what extent does the client community have access to appropriate technology and are they interested in the e-government applications?

• To what extent have clients been surveyed to assess whether they have the appropriate technology and convenient access to it?
• Do clients have the appropriate knowledge level to benefit from the applications?
• Have clients been consulted in prioritizing on-line service offerings?
• How active are clients in requesting on-line services and influencing organizational decisions about on-line service delivery?

6.  Performance Management

General

1. Is the organization monitoring service metrics and client satisfaction and adjusting accordingly?

1. To what extent is client feedback sought and acted upon in delivering online services?
2. Are client satisfaction and application performance metrics measured regularly?

• Is actual as well as perceived quality of online service delivery measured?
• Are client expectations/ needs/ wants considered in business planning and service delivery decisions for e-government?
• Are measures of client satisfaction with online service delivery tracked and trends reported regularly?
• Are client satisfaction results shared across the organization and with clients?
• To what extent do clients participate in program and service delivery design for online services?

1. Are a privacy policy and standards in place and considered when designing e-government applications?
2. Are mechanisms in place to support the privacy policy, such as training for staff, audits of compliance with the policy, and standards?
3. Are privacy impact assessments done throughout the project lifecycle?

• Does the organization's privacy policy define privacy and does it address the issue of sharing of data with other organizations?
• What support is available for staff who conduct privacy impact assessments (e.g. training, specialist support, etc.?)
• Is corrective action taken as a result of audits of adherence to the privacy policy?

3. Benefits Monitoring

1. To what extent are benefits projected and then tracked for e-government services?Is information about benefits used to influence investment decisions by senior management?

• Are there tools and techniques to support benefit tracking at the project level?
• Are benefits of on-line services consolidated at an organizational level?

1. What mechanisms or service standards are in place to ensure service delivery predictability of e-government applications?
2. To what extent does on-line service delivery performance influence ongoing business planning decisions?

• Are there mechanisms in place to measure system reliability and availability?
• Are reliability and availability measured and compared to targets?
• Are e-government applications tuned and re-engineered in light of performance shortfalls?
• Do on-line service levels compare favorably with government-wide service standards for electronic service delivery?

1. Does the organization have a framework for identifying key programs and services for on-line service delivery?
2. Is there a mechanism to monitor progress in achieving the goal of making key programs and services available on-line, as well as a means to report this progress?

• Is the measurement of on-line maturity used to adjust the e-government program?
• Is the measurement compared to external benchmarks? How does it compare?
• Are a significant portion of the organization's programs and services available on-line?