Projekter pr. år
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
| Bidragets oversatte titel | Transformering af en dansk kommune med porteføljeledelse af IT |
|---|---|
| Originalsprog | Engelsk |
| Tidsskrift | Transforming Government: People, Process and Policy |
| Vol/bind | 7 |
| Udgave nummer | 1 |
| Sider (fra-til) | 50-75 |
| ISSN | 1750-6166 |
| DOI | |
| Status | Udgivet - 11 mar. 2013 |
| Begivenhed | Brunel - Business School, Brunel Univeristy, West London, UB8 3PH, United Kingdom., London , Storbritannien Varighed: 8 maj 2012 → 9 jun. 2012 |
Konference
| Konference | Brunel |
|---|---|
| Lokation | Business School, Brunel Univeristy, West London, UB8 3PH, United Kingdom. |
| Land/Område | Storbritannien |
| By | London |
| Periode | 08/05/2012 → 09/06/2012 |
Bibliografisk note
IT Project Portfolio Management, e-government, Control theory, control problems, formal mechanisms, informal mechanismsEmneord
- e-government
- informal mechanisms
- IT Project Portfolio Management
- Control theory
- formal mechanisms,
- digital government, e-administration, information technology, implementation, developing countries, socio-cognitive
- Digital forvaltning
- IT portfolio
- it governance
- dansk kommune
- Porteføljeledelse
- porteføljestyring
- portefølje
- projekt ledelse
- IT ledelse
Projekter
- 1 Afsluttet
-
Digital service integration i danske kommuner gennem innovativ it-ledelse
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
Projekter: Projekt › Forskning
Aktiviteter
-
Camp IT
Lars Kristian Hansen (Oplægsholder)
8 okt. 2013 → 9 okt. 2013Aktivitet: Foredrag og mundtlige bidrag › Konferenceoplæg
Fil -
Erfaringsudveksling mellem praksis og forsking
Lars Kristian Hansen (Deltager)
10 sep. 2013Aktivitet: Deltagelse i faglig begivenhed › Organisering af eller deltagelse i workshop, kursus, seminar, udstilling eller lignende
Fil -
PhD defense by Lars Kristian Hansen: IT Project Portfolio Management: Vertical and Horizontal Work Design Problems in a Public Organization
Lars Kristian Hansen (Foredragsholder)
12 jun. 2013Aktivitet: Foredrag og mundtlige bidrag › Foredrag og præsentationer i privat eller offentlig virksomhed