Assignment IT Governance

8/13/2019 Assignment IT Governance

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/assignment-it-governance 1/14

Contemporary IT Practice & Governance

Contemporary ITPractice &Governance

Robin Vashishat

Course: Q702 IT Governance

Teacher : Milton D’souza

By



1

Formal Technical Report

Integrated National

Computerized Information System

Abstract of Report

This report has been produced in relation to the

preparation of custom based software INCIS. There was another system

using by police in the past. Now, the users of that system are not satisfied

with the applications and features of that system. So, the preparation of the

new system takes place.

In the preparation process, lots of issues and complexities

takes place which resulted in delay of project. In this report, the

explanation and needs for the new system is mentioned. It also gives an

idea about the problems in implementations and other cost related issues.

This report is an example of why projects needs IT Governance. It also

describes the two IT Governance models and some recommendations that

should be followed by project team for their future IT projects.



2

Purpose of Report

The purpose of this report is to provide new ways to

develop IT projects and improve the factors that delayed theimplementation of INCIS. It emphasis to develop a trend to opt for

customized package software rather than custom build. The new system

was developed to keep police record up to date automatically. This was a

replacement of old system. But because of over budget and complexity of

large project, police was failed to implement it properly.

The report discussed the problems that were encountered in

the development and implementation of the Police system INCIS. It is also

mentioned that how the police and Government can recoup the costs to

implement the new system-INCIS.

The report highlighted the lack of IT governance practiced

by the Government and IBM. The recommendations are given in this

report to the Police and Government regarding the development of future

IT projects and the handling of risks involved in such projects.



3

Introduction to INCIS System

INCIS means Integrated National ComputerizedInformation System. It is the system used by the Police to create law andorder in their Jurisdiction. The main purpose of the INCIS is to reduce theoffice work and make more officers available for the field jobs. It helps in providing improved information, investigation and analysis capabilities. Itwould also help in minimizing the crimes and incidences by evaluating thekey reasons and will also suggest the time of action.

The main areas of INCIS are as follows:

Offenses or Suspects information

Case and investigation management

Crime trend analysisIntelligence analysis

Performance measurement

The main contractor of this system was IBM whowere to produce technical infrastructure and desktop computers.Originally the intended desktop was OS/2 but later was revised touse Windows New Technology. This system was primarily used to phaseout the Wanganui Intelligence System. But, because of being over budgeted and risky, the system was never practically used. The researcherssay that the need and requirement of the system wasn't clearly understood.



4

Need for INCIS

The need of INCIS is to support operational Policing by providing improved information, investigation and analysis capabilities.Old system was not able to meet the needs and requirements of the staffand users of Police Department. Old system had lot of weak links. Withthe change of time, the requirements of the system and needs of workchanged a lot. All the paperwork needed to be turned into digital files tomake the data more organized and easily accessible. Old system had proved ineffective in the following ways:

System failure: Due to large amount of data access and transfer,sudden system failures and system jam took place from time to time whichlead to inefficiencies at work.

Slow response time: Processing speed of the system was too slow,especially at the peak times. System took lot of time in processing acertain request and sometimes, system froze for hours leading to wastageof time and delays in services and actions.

Administrative changes: In case of any administrative, there were no protocols to add new members and vary their access control accordingly.

Improve communication between regions: There was less or nocommunication between the Police force of the different areas. Due to this,even the small reports took days to get verified from outside the jurisdiction of that particular system. Hence, it was quite essential to buildthat intercommunication bridge between the different parts of the force.

Also, Wanganui Intelligence System was not able to meet the needs and

requirements of the staff and users of Police Department Because of some

reasons

Inefficiencies of work due to system failure and slow speed In case of any administrative, there were no protocols to add new

members and vary their access control accordingly. There was less or no communication between the Police force of

the different areas. Due to this, even the small reports took days toget verified from outside the jurisdiction of that particular system.Hence, it was quite essential to build that intercommunication bridge between the different parts of the force.



5

Problems Encountered during Implementation

But due to lack of documentation, IT governance, schedule,

cost and Technology, the project was not implemented as required togovernment vision. At the time of initiation, INCIS was a high risk project.

Visits by managerial police staff to other law enforcement agencies

confirmed that the technology requirements for INCIS at that time had not

been designed or implemented as an integrated system of sufficient

standard to meet the needs of police.

Following were the problems encountered during the implementation

phase of INCIS:

Phase Out OS/2 and Move towards Window NT:

The construction of the INCIS project was well done and they were

having towards the completion of the system .In the year 90’s, IBM

was working on the INCIS system with the help of OS2 (Operating

system 2) and till this particular instance, on the one side, all the work

was going well and on the other side Window NT was holding a good

market share and it was also a very good operating system. As the

Window NT was a good/strong enterprise level operating system ,

IBM decided to phase out OS/2 and change all the work of INCIS to

Window NT and as a result cost went up. This transition gave a delay

in the project development.

Police Failed To Present Required Reports:

All the procedure of the system was facing irregularities because the

reports which were supposed to be produced by the police were not

actually happened. In this way neither the reporting requirements nor

the quarterly report was produced by the police in front of STA andMinister of police respectively. After this, when the Andersen report

came then some bitter truths came in spotlight which were internally

responsible for delay in project development .There were some

requirements of the system which were not actually available in the



6

request for proposal i.e. traffic , firearms and statistics. The delays in

reports were also the reason for the delay of project implementation.

Conflicts within top management:

There are two organizations within the IBM i.e. SWAIG and ISSC

management issues, the work and responsibilities of these two

organizations were changed. In the way of alteration of the

responsibilities from SWAIG to ISSC there were so many problems

created like breach in the relationship within the organization and the

way of thinking .The main problem was the different types of decision

like objective and doubtful accountability which were creating trouble

between the Police project Director and IT Director. The conflicts

within the IBM were also the cause of delay in system development.



7

Cost Related Issues

We will consider the problems associated with resource

utilization, accounting, monitoring and control during a project. Theintegrated national computerized information system was a law

enforcement information management system that includes the all aspects

of police investigation. But because of the cost blowouts and delays in

implementation, the project was not delivered on time. The main problem

with this system was under-estimation of the cost and complexity of the

project because it was divided in many phases that were delivered late not

on supposed dates.

Moreover, the project team was unable to deliver key IT

systems. The system was supposed to recoup $114 million in comingyears by reducing administration requirement and also generate to $45

million by selling this technology to other law enforcement agencies but

this was not actually happened. The project team had spent 3 million

dollars just to search packaged application for the INCIS because. The

worst thing in this project was to divide this project in three stages because

every stage increased the cost. The project involved up to $7 million cost

when project team decided to migrate INCIS to NT.

Then in 1998 $20.17 million was approved by the Cabinet

to meet the capital cost of INCIS which IBM charges for the changedfunctions but it increased because more people are involved that made

project more complexes and risky. This cost included more $8.67 million

only to maintain the project team due to the projected delays from IBM

because IT people are not clear to their vision to aligned IT with their

project. The project was behind schedule that involve more $8 million by

March 1997. These all issues raised because of the improper delivery

schedules, accountability and cost.



8

Lack of IT Governance

Lot of delays and over budget this project was not

delivered at estimated time. This happened because of lack of ITgovernance in project as follows:

IT Governance initiatives are very often instigated by top management

of the organization, and they have the initial support of the senior

management. So this is important to sustain this support throughout

the project. But this was not happened in the case of INCIS project

because there was not clear IT governance vision of NZ government.

IBM had its own internal problems which needed to be resolved. The

transition process between the two companies SWAIG and ISSCresulted in many problems like intercommunication between the

different parts of the organization, skills and knowledge imbalanced

because of this. Delays in achieving deadlines was the problem which

was most significantly repeated in the above case study. This, not only

lead to wastage of time but wastage of resource as well.

They want invent something own but they were unable to relate thenew technology with this large project. They divided this project in 3

increments that made this project more complicated. Also many political leaders involved in it that created lot of conflicts among them.IT Governance practices requires a well-defined plan, it is important tostick to this measure against any resistance but INCIS project teamwas not stick to plan.

The project team did not monitor the size and complexity of their IT

infrastructure. This system was developed without remarkable

supervision. When they over budgeted, they don’t know how to handle

this situation by using less IT Resources.



9

COBIT/ITIL as IT Governance Model

This is not the first time the Police have suffered delays

in delivering key IT systems. Companies need a strong governance modelin place to align IT investments with business requirements. There are two

governance models which can be implemented by Government to enhance

outcome from the department.

COBIT

The business process within IT has improved as a result of using

COBIT for ongoing IT governance related projects. COBIT is an

internationally accepted set of tools organized into a framework that

executives can use to ensure their goals and objectives. It ensures IT is

working as effectively as possible to minimize IT-related risks and

maximize the benefits of technology invest

How does the COBIT support the governance of IT

COBIT supports IT governance in by providing a framework that ensures

that:

IT is aligned with the business

IT enables the business and maximizes the benefits.

IT resources are used responsibly.

IT risks are managed appropriately.

Benefits of implementing COBIT

Improves IT efficiency and effectiveness

Maintain high-quality information to support business decisions.

Optimize the cost of IT services and technology

Helps executives understand and manage IT investments

throughout their life cycle

Support compliance with relevant laws, regulations, contractual

agreements and policies.



10

ITIL

ITIL is the most widely accepted approach to IT service management

in the world. ITIL provides a cohesive set of best practice, drawn from the

public and private sectors internationally. The Information TechnologyInfrastructure Library (ITIL) is a set of practices for IT service

management (ITSM) that focuses on aligning IT services with the needs of

business. It provides a practical, no-nonsense framework for identifying,

planning, delivering and supporting IT services to the business.

Benefits of ITIL

ITIL advocates that IT services must be aligned to the needs of the business and underpin the core business processes. It provides guidance to

organizations on how to use IT as a tool to facilitate business change,

transformation and growth.



11

The main steps the entire ITIL service lifecycle, beginning with the

identification of customer needs and derives of IT requirement, through

the design and implementation of the service into operation and finally, on

the monitoring and improvement phase of the service.

Adopting ITIL can offer users benefits that include:

improved IT services reduced costs improved productivity improved use of skills and experience Improved delivery of third party service. improved customer satisfaction through a more professional

approach to service delivery



12

Recommendations for future IT Projects

INCIS Project have led the report to make the following

recommendations for future IT projects: Emphasize on using conventional technology.

Separating the infrastructure from technology.

Adopting a proper form of contract with the delivery of business

benefits in modules.

Projects should normally use proven technology. Where it is

necessary to use unproven technology, this should be reflected in

an increased risk management process.

There must be comprehensive quality and risk management

processes.

The appropriate form of contract should be signed only when the

Government agency is satisfied that it has addressed and resolved

all relevant issues including technology, resources and risks.

Any conflict or dispute that adversely affects the project must be

addressed promptly and in an effective way.

To maximize the prospects of success, a projects needs to have

tight and effective management.

The approval and monitoring structures need to be resourced to

enable them to effectively meet the expectations of Government

The approval of any future IT project by Government shouldcontain directions that ensure that the monitoring by the

monitoring agencies is as effective as practicable.



13

Referencing

Ministerial inquiry to INCIS

http://www.justice.govt.nz/publications/global-publications/m/ministerial-

inquiry-into-incis

ISACA

https://www.isaca.org/Pages/default.aspx

Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minimum-cost_flow_problem

http://www.cosc.canterbury.ac.nz/research/RG/svg/tony/papers/incis.html

http://cio.co.nz/cio.nsf/spot/police-rescue

http://computerworld.co.nz/news.nsf/news/computerworld-25-years-ibm-

incis-and-the-internet

http://www.justice.govt.nz/publications/global-publications/m/ministerial-inquiry-into-incis







http://computerworld.co.nz/news.nsf/news/computerworld-25-years-ibm-incis-and-the-internet











Documents

Assignment IT Governance