Projects per year
Abstract
Purpose – As public organizations strive for higher e-government maturity, Project Portfolio Management (IT PPM) has become a high priority issue. Assuming control is central in IT PPM, we investigate how a Danish local government conducts control in IT PPM; we identify control problems and formulate recommendations to address these.
Design/methodology/approach – Adopting principles from Engaged Scholarship, we have conducted a case study using a wide variety of data collection methods, including 29 interviews, one workshop, and analyses of documents.
Findings – We find that the local government vastly relies on informal control mechanisms and identify five control problems: (1) weak accountability processes between the political and administrative level, (2) weak accountability between the director level and the IT executives, (3) IT projects established on the basis of incomplete information about internal resources, (4) lack of operational goals to hold IT projects accountable, (5) no account of actual IT project costs. We propose a model for highlighting how more formal control can be implemented and address the identified control problems.
Research limitations/implications – As a single qualitative case study, the results are limited to one organization and subject.
Practical implications – The paper has implications for IT PPM in Danish local governments and similar organizations in other countries. We show that the lack of formal control mechanisms makes accountability between hierarchical levels difficult, which deprives organizations of the opportunity to pursue and display unambiguous value from their e-government initiatives.
Originality/value – This paper fulfills an identified need to understand how local governments can improve IT PPM.
Keywords – IT Project Portfolio Management, e-government, Control theory, control problems, formal mechanisms, informal mechanisms.
Article type – Case study
Design/methodology/approach – Adopting principles from Engaged Scholarship, we have conducted a case study using a wide variety of data collection methods, including 29 interviews, one workshop, and analyses of documents.
Findings – We find that the local government vastly relies on informal control mechanisms and identify five control problems: (1) weak accountability processes between the political and administrative level, (2) weak accountability between the director level and the IT executives, (3) IT projects established on the basis of incomplete information about internal resources, (4) lack of operational goals to hold IT projects accountable, (5) no account of actual IT project costs. We propose a model for highlighting how more formal control can be implemented and address the identified control problems.
Research limitations/implications – As a single qualitative case study, the results are limited to one organization and subject.
Practical implications – The paper has implications for IT PPM in Danish local governments and similar organizations in other countries. We show that the lack of formal control mechanisms makes accountability between hierarchical levels difficult, which deprives organizations of the opportunity to pursue and display unambiguous value from their e-government initiatives.
Originality/value – This paper fulfills an identified need to understand how local governments can improve IT PPM.
Keywords – IT Project Portfolio Management, e-government, Control theory, control problems, formal mechanisms, informal mechanisms.
Article type – Case study
| Translated title of the contribution | Transformering af en dansk kommune med porteføljeledelse af IT |
|---|---|
| Original language | English |
| Journal | Transforming Government: People, Process and Policy |
| Volume | 7 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| Pages (from-to) | 50-75 |
| ISSN | 1750-6166 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 11 Mar 2013 |
| Event | Brunel - Business School, Brunel Univeristy, West London, UB8 3PH, United Kingdom., London , United Kingdom Duration: 8 May 2012 → 9 Jun 2012 |
Conference
| Conference | Brunel |
|---|---|
| Location | Business School, Brunel Univeristy, West London, UB8 3PH, United Kingdom. |
| Country/Territory | United Kingdom |
| City | London |
| Period | 08/05/2012 → 09/06/2012 |
Projects
- 1 Finished
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Digital service integration through effective management of IT in Danishmunicipalities - DISIMIT
Kræmmergaard, P., Nielsen, J. A., Bjørnholt, B., Ivang, R., Nielsen, P. A., Hansen, A. M., Rose, J., Persson, J. S., Nielsen, K. M. P., Reinwald, A., Pedersen, K., Müller, S. D., Hansen, L. K. & Jakobsen, C. L.
01/01/2009 → 01/07/2012
Project: Research
Activities
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Camp IT
Lars Kristian Hansen (Speaker)
8 Oct 2013 → 9 Oct 2013Activity: Talks and presentations › Conference presentations
File -
Erfaringsudveksling mellem praksis og forsking
Lars Kristian Hansen (Participant)
10 Sept 2013Activity: Attending an event › Organisation or participation in workshops, courses, seminars, exhibitions or similar
File -
PhD defense by Lars Kristian Hansen: IT Project Portfolio Management: Vertical and Horizontal Work Design Problems in a Public Organization
Lars Kristian Hansen (Lecturer)
12 Jun 2013Activity: Talks and presentations › Talks and presentations in private or public companies