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Delivery management
Schedule. Cost and finance. Scope and change control. Risk management. Commercial management.
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Solution
Technology. Solution context. Deployment and sustainability.
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Purpose, business case and benefits.
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Executive support and governance effectiveness.
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Resource Management and capability. Stakeholder engagement.
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Schedule. Cost and finance. Scope and change control. Risk management. Commercial management.
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Technology. Solution context. Deployment and sustainability.
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Assurance activities are typically a summative assessment at a point in time in a project lifecycle. A DCA is a predictive assessment based on the current state and trajectory of the project.
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The topics and deliverables required to make an assessment can vary. It is recommended that assessors observe the project in action by attending stand-up meetings or board meetings and review live project documentation.
For example, an assessor of an agile project may find it appropriate to assess a project through reference to observing agile artefacts and ceremonies rather than only consuming more traditional project documentation.
The list of example documents that could be assessed during an assurance review to determine the delivery confidence of an investment include:
- business case – original and most recently approved version
- program/project overview including objectives, key policy assumptions, background material
- benefits management strategy
- assurance report that informed the DCA
- program/project budget documentation
- program/project timeline, showing critical path, dependencies and key milestones
- risk matrix and risk management approach
- resource plans
- implementation plans
- stakeholder impact assessment and communication plan
- list of other entities involved in the program/project
- governance model including papers and minutes from any steering or program / project management committees, terms of reference and documented roles and responsibilities
- issues log
- change control register
- evidence of feedback loops, contract and interdependency management
- organisation chart for relevant areas of the entity.
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What are the focus areas and inputs to a Delivery Confidence Assessment (DCA)?
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Assurance activities
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Design for interoperability
Share data: Always begin by reviewing your obligations against privacy policies and the Privacy Act (1988). If external data can be used, make your service interoperable and leverage governments’ open datasets. Support safe, ethical data sharing practices by using the government’s DATA Scheme(Opens in a new tab/window).
Request information once: Assess the data your agency already collects and whether it can be reused to deliver your service. Where it can be reused, eliminate unnecessary data entry requests and fulfil a ‘tell us once’ approach.
Publish open APIs: Thoroughly document your service’s APIs. Where appropriate, open them for other services and third-parties to build upon existing government offerings. Align with the API Design Standard(Opens in a new tab/window) to support cross-jurisdictional data sharing, maintain a consistent, reusable vocabulary and support wider API literacy.
Plan for scale and flexibility: Ensure your service can cater for growth and changing preferences without impacting performance, functionality or stability. Embed adaptability into your design patterns from the outset to allow malleability as future changes may require.
Utilise a Digital ID: Where appropriate, endeavour to integrate the Australia Government Digital ID System, accredited by the Trusted Digital Identity Framework (TDIF)(Opens in a new tab/window), to allow users to access your service with a single set of credentials.
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Transformation vision
Purpose, business case and benefits
For a digital project to contribute to agency effectiveness and service delivery, the business purpose that the transformation project facilitates needs to be clearly articulated and supported. Delivery confidence can be higher where there is a transformative vision that people rally around.
The Data and Digital Government Strategy sets the vision for the Australian Government’s use of data and digital technologies to 2030.
The purpose and vision for a transformation should be supported by a strong business case, with clear outcomes and scope that is aligned with the needs of the business area.
Financial and non-financial benefits and disbenefits should be defined and actively monitored, and project scope should be aligned with achieving benefits and minimising impact.
Purpose
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High
A clear and unambiguous purpose that is inspiring, consistent across stakeholder groups and meets stakeholder needs.
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Medium high
A purpose that broadly represents stakeholder needs and interests.
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Medium
A purpose has been developed, but with limited consultation or commitment from the business area it will impact.
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Medium low
A purpose that doesn’t accurately or consistently represent business needs.
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Low
A technology-centric purpose or misalignment on the purpose.
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A clear and unambiguous purpose that is inspiring, consistent across stakeholder groups and meets stakeholder needs.
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A purpose that broadly represents stakeholder needs and interests.
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A purpose has been developed, but with limited consultation or commitment from the business area it will impact.
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A purpose that doesn’t accurately or consistently represent business needs.
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A technology-centric purpose or misalignment on the purpose.
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Delivery Confidence Assessment (DCA) tolerances
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DCA tolerances
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High
Business case shows robust consideration of options, clear rationale for the project, detailed and realistic estimates for cost and time, and measurable success criteria.
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Medium high
Business case shows consideration of options, rationale for the project, estimates for cost and time, and measurable success criteria.
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Connect with the digital community
Share, build or learn digital experience and skills with training and events, and collaborate with peers across government.