As the technology landscape in St. Lucia would become increasingly complex with the
implementation of the National ICT Policy and Action Plan, control and management of the
various ICT projects necessitates a pragmatic programme management approach. Programme
management is a technique that allows for the control of a group of related ICT projects that
are carried out to achieve some of the defined objectives of the National ICT Strategy. It
focuses on structuring and controlling projects so that they deliver effectively as a group.
Further to project prioritising and budgeting, this approach would be used to manage multiple
ICT projects concurrently with shared or overlapping resources in the different sectors of the
country. However, project management of each of these parallel projects remains paramount,
as programme management is not concerned with the day to day running of individual projects
in the programme.
Furthermore, in undertaking project and overall programme management for the prioritised
ICT initiatives, it is critical to ensure effective scope management. Typically, ICT projects can
easily suffer from scope creep, which leads to cost overruns and uncontrolled project growth.
Therefore, scope management is a critical element of successful and timely ICT project and
programme completion. It must be integrated in the programme and project management
approaches as a means of managing time, cost, quality, and risk.
Accordingly, project and programme management approaches would in turn govern the ICT
Operations, Monitoring, and Evaluation.
ICT Operations, Monitoring, & Evaluation
The ICT Operations function would carry out the activities required on completion of the work
during Project and Programme Management by moving to handle day‐to‐day activities. In so
doing, ICT Operations can collaborate with the relevant public and private players in the ICT
sector, with an emphasis on shared ICT services. It is essential to utilise a participative
approach to benefit from the expertise and resources provided by private/public sector
partnerships. Moreover, this would discourage public sector organisations from investing in
dedicated ICT systems, which may not integrate well with the ICT systems of other agencies.
Notably, throughout the implementation of the ICT Policy and Action Plan, it is important to
monitor and measure change based on the impact of the ICT investments and policy
development. As a result, Monitoring and Evaluation would play a key role in the efficient and
effective implementation of the ICT Policy and Action Plan at the level of individual projects,
and at the integrated multi‐component ICT programme. Monitoring takes place while projects
are being implemented with the objective of improving their design and expected operations.
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