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Blueprint for Renewing Government Services Using Information Technology
April 1994
Table of Contents
Rapid technological change is creating opportunities to deliver services in ways that are more accessible,
responsive and affordable.
In many areas, the federal government is on the leading edge in using information technology to improve service to
its clients. In other areas, however, where we still have a way to go.
The serious fiscal challenges facing the country mean that we need to look at how we can do things better.
The Blueprint provides an integrated approach to renewing government services using information technology in a
manner that capitalizes on our strengths and makes the best use of our investments.
I see the key to its success being tapping the expertise, commitment and imagination of all Public Service
employees.
We are making the plan widely available because it is important we all agree on the best way to deliver government
services in the future.
I invite you to send in your suggestions on renewing government services. Your comments can make a difference.
Art Eggleton
Mounting fiscal pressures force all governments to provide services to clients with continuously shrinking budgets.
The "Blueprint for Renewing Government Services Using Information Technology" proposes a vision of affordable,
accessible and responsive federal government services and an integrated approach to help achieve this vision.
The Blueprint takes a fresh, enterprise-wide look at government services using a client focus. It recommends
creating, managing, and prudently sharing information electronically among departments and their different services in
a way which protects the security and privacy of the information. It envisages the use of a government-wide electronic
information infrastructure to simplify service delivery, reduce duplication, and improve the level and speed of service
to clients at a lower cost to the taxpayers.
The Blueprint emphasizes the critical importance of employees. Their involvement and commitment are essential to
successful business renewal. In this vein, information technology will be applied in a manner to improve the "human
face of government" as well as the efficiency and affordability of service delivery.
The Blueprint builds on the experience gained from renewal activities already under way in program delivery and
administrative areas of the federal government. Many departmental staff specialists and line managers have contributed
to the document.
This Blueprint is being circulated in draft form in order to get a wide range of views on its principles from both
inside and outside of government. In its final form, it will establish a framework for using information technology to
support government-wide service renewal. The vision and principles enunciated in the Blueprint will assist all
departments and agencies in implementing their own renewal initiatives.
We value your input and encourage you to provide us with your comments by May 31, 1994. To facilitate this, you can
contact the Blueprint team in one of four ways: (1) by sending an E-mail through X.400 to C=ca;
A=govmt.canada;P=gc+tbs.cts;S=chu;G=tony; (2) by calling Bernie Gorman at (613) 957-9645 or Tony Chu at 952-3366; (3)
by returning the facsimile response sheet attached at the back of the Blueprint; or (4) by mailing your response to:
Tony Chu, Office of Information Management, Systems and Technology, Treasury Board Secretariat, 8th Floor, West Tower,
300 Laurier Avenue West, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0R5, Canada.
J. A. Macdonald
Chief Informatics Officer |
I. D. Clark
Secretary of the Treasury Board |
The Blueprint is a collective work by many staff specialists and line managers from departments as well as from
central and common service agencies. They all contributed to its development by participating in workshops or by
reviewing and advising on the Blueprint's development. These individuals include Tony Chu (team leader), Treasury Board
Secretariat; Ted Pender, Correctional Service Canada; Rita Moritz, Heritage Canada; Philip Carr, Gary Depew and
Claude Fairfield, Human Resources Development Canada; Kate Dobson, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada; Tom Racine,
Industry Canada; Bob Provick, National Archives of Canada; Barry Walker, National Defence; Richard Brigden,
Bruce Catley, Alain Fortin, Jacques Gélinas, Robert Hopwood, Anne La Salle and Joe Sauvé, Public Works and Government
Services Canada; John Read, Transport Canada; Bob Landry, Western Economic Diversification Canada; Ed Acheson,
Paul Baack, Emmanuel Buu, Catherine Caule, Joe Côté, Jim Eddy, Jim Ewanovich, André Fauchon, Ron Fauvel, Cliff Filion,
Amy Gibbs, John Keay, Bruce Lindsay, Marilla Lo, Don Lusby, John Mayne, Michael Nelson, Jane Panet, Les Pratt,
Ngan Ling Tam, Conrad Thomas and Chip Wiest, Treasury Board Secretariat.
The Blueprint Program Advisory Committee provided direction for this publication. Consultation with the members of
this committee at critical points of the Blueprint's development ensured that its direction was consistent with the
needs of departments. The Committee includes Michael Binder (chairperson), Industry Canada; Claude Bernier, Transport
Canada; Hy Braiter, Human Resources Development Canada; Paul Cochrane, Health Canada; Brian Ferguson, Treasury Board
Secretariat; Willie Gibbs, Correctional Service Canada; Phil McLellan and René Guindon, Public Works and Government
Services Canada; Richard Manicom, Revenue Canada; Claire Monette, Industry Canada; Monique Plante, Human Resources
Development Canada; David Wightman, Transport Canada; and Alan Williams, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada.
Many private-sector specialists provided advice and comments on the methodology, content and format of the
Blueprint. They include Art Caston, Jim Grant, Shirley Bishop, Jeff Carruthers, Tony Crawford, John Davis, Ray Healey,
David Rothwell, Linda Russell, Pierre Sicard, Bob Simpson, Don Tapscott and Michael Vaughan.
In addition to the significant effort by the project team and advisors, the Blueprint would not have been possible
without the excellent service for its production. We would like to thank Simonne Lauriault and her team of
Lorraine Fournier, Luc Gendron, Lori Lapointe, François Perreault and Lillian Saikali of the Client Support Centre;
Carole Croteau and Claire Dionne of the Government Systems Division; Nancy Hoyt and her team in Communications and
Coordination; Gilles Bisaillon and his team of Suzanne Bégin, Suzanne Henrion, Craig Kennedy, Suzanne Le Blanc,
Ginette Lefebvre, Vanessa Novini and Anne Taillefer of Print Communication Services; David Berman; Arnaud Archimbaud,
Arlette Harvey and the team in Translation Services.
Bernie A. Gorman
Executive Director
Office of Information Management, Systems and Technology
Why is Accessible Service at Lower Cost So Important?
In the private sector, the pressure for restructuring and renewal has come from increased competitiveness and the
unforgiving nature of high costs. Many argue that consumers have become more demanding as they look for better service
and quality at a lower price.
For governments, the pressure is for better service in the face of reduced revenues and mounting debt. Many
consumers of government services appear to have lost their tolerance for bureaucracies. They feel they receive better
service from banks, car rental companies, even supermarkets, which have transformed business with innovative
information technology. The government increasingly appears to be out of date. Many want to know why they have to spend
their precious time finding answers to their questions, after being bounced from department to department, when
sometimes (not always) it is easier to get satisfaction from customer-hungry private companies.
"Why do I have to call so many places? Why do I have to wait so long? Why can't they solve my problem right here,
right now?"
These are questions that governments must take seriously. Government must re-invent itself, as other institutions
have had to do to survive. Government must fundamentally improve the way it administers its business and delivers its
services.
What Does Information Technology-Enabled Business Renewal Mean?
In today's information age, knowledge workers, freed from organizational constraints and enabled by modern
telecommunications and computing technology, can have greater capabilities to access information, to seek solutions and
to provide services. The potential is considerable for knowledge workers, acting in concert with one another, to do
more work and to do it better. Therein lies the basic thrust of an information-based approach to transforming
business.
Key components of a business-driven renewal in the information age include:
- a clear focus on client service, so that employees can concentrate on providing value-added services;
- an organizational culture of continuous learning, personal development and employee involvement in managing
change;
- empowering individuals to think and plan, access and analyse information, apply knowledge, make decisions and take
action;
- an organizational structure that is cost-effective, flexible and non-bureaucratic, and that fosters open
communication and consultation;
- teamwork and partnership, so that workers can take advantage of their knowledge-based environment instead of trying
to work alone;
- the presence of an information technology infrastructure to provide computing resources, establish connectivity,
distribute information and intelligence, and support business renewal;
- work processes that are automated, streamlined and interconnected, to create paperless, transparent, integrated
business operations designed to serve clients; and
- common solutions in functions and processes that can be discovered and then shared broadly across organizations, to
reduce duplication and improve service.
This document describes an integrated approach to improving the delivery of government services while significantly
reducing associated costs.
Living with shrinking budgets
The integrated approach reflects the recognition that the business of government must be dramatically
reassessed, to live within shrinking budgets.
Thus, establishing the business rationale for the government service, then determining how the service will be
delivered to the clients (the work perspective), are the first two critical steps into a process of renewal
outlined in this blueprint.
Next, the approach underscores the importance of incorporating an information perspective into any service
renewal activity, i.e. knitting related work processes together through proper management and sharing of
information.
Designing computer applications to automate work processes and to manage and share information is the fourth
step in the five-step approach.
The final step involves leveraging information technology -- the hardware, software and communications, and
their interfaces which comprise the common technology architecture -- to deliver an efficient and effective service to
clients.
Reviewing services on an enterprise-wide basis
The Blueprint focuses on renewing government services on an enterprise-wide basis and, in so doing, uses information
technology to make this possible. The "human face of government" in service delivery must be enhanced, to the benefit
of both clients and staff.
The Blueprint is designed to capture the broad improvements and full savings that will result from an integrated
approach to renewal, not just the incremental benefits reaped when change is piecemeal. As well, an integrated approach
reduces the risk of ending up with incompatible and conflicting results.
Employees must be involved, committed and focused on improvement. This is the key to change. Successful
implementation of the Blueprint hinges on the abilities of employees and the smooth transition of staff to the new work
environment. Special consideration must be given to planning, consultation and communication in order to carry out
cultural and organizational changes and to resolve the human resources management issues.
Pursuing an electronic infrastructure for government
The Blueprint identifies the need for a government-wide electronic information infrastructure (namely a network of
electronic highways and byways and associated information and computing services), with connections to other public or
private networks, to support renewal of service delivery. The federal government will explore cost-effective,
innovative means to meet its infrastructure needs, such as making use of available systems and forming partnerships
with the private sector and other levels of government, rather than relying on unique in-house solutions.
The overall benefits of applying this blueprint will be more efficient and effective program delivery, reduced
overall costs across government(s), and maintained or even improved customer service in the face of fiscal
restraint.
Building on program renewal experience
The approach proposed in this blueprint builds on the experience gained from program renewal projects under way in
such agencies as Revenue Canada, Health Canada, Human Resources Development Canada and Public Works and Government
Services Canada, as well as from the Council for Administrative Renewal.
- For businesses, Revenue Canada is introducing a Single Business Registration Number which will provide
comprehensive, one-stop services, covering initially, the corporate income tax, the goods and services tax, source
deductions and importer accounts. This will also reduce duplication and improve government operations.
- For income security recipients, the Income Security Program Redesign project at Human Resources Development Canada
promises improved turnaround for applications for Canada Pension or Old Age Security. Again, information will be better
integrated, making it easier for government staff to create, maintain and query records and provide improved service.
Studies are under way to see if the model can be extended to veterans and unemployment insurance applicants. These
steps could also lead to a single-window service for persons wishing to deal with the federal government.
- For most federal departments, which together handle millions of payments and invoices each year, a new Electronic
Procurement and Settlement system from Public Works and Government Services Canada will offer a common, distributed,
computer-based solution, eliminating the need for duplicate departmental systems while replacing paper-driven
processes.
- For federal Public Service employees, a government-wide telecommunications network infrastructure is being
developed, which will enable them to contact colleagues anywhere in Canada by electronic mail. It will set the stage
for electronic commerce, single access to government information, and electronic delivery of government services to
Canadians. It will also trigger significant efficiency gains and reduced duplication of networking facilities.
Sharing successes across government
In publishing the Blueprint, a key objective is to actively involve service delivery managers in this integrated
approach to renewal. The approach described in the Blueprint should apply to situations within many different
departments or agencies. The Blueprint also envisions that experiences will be shared across government(s).
The Blueprint provides a vision to guide government service renewal. It describes five different but interrelated
architectural views: government businesses, associated work processes, information, system applications and technology.
The activities in these five areas must be integrated in support of the renewal of government services. The Blueprint
also illustrates future scenarios for delivering government services. Finally, the Blueprint proposes an approach to
implementation.
The vision, the architectural principles, and the service delivery scenarios are founded on the importance of having
a client focus, sharing resources, developing standards, facilitating access to critical information and, above all,
recognizing people as key to business renewal.
The Vision
Government Services That Are Affordable, Accessible, and Responsive
- Direct Service to Clients. Delivering and providing easy access to services
through electronic means.
It envisions bringing services to the clients and providing them with "single-window" access for multiple services (as
opposed to developing services with the convenience of the service provider in mind).
- Transparent and Seamless Service. Streamlining and integrating processes across functional and
organizational lines to provide transparent, seamless services to clients (as opposed to continuing with stovepipe
processes that cannot interact with one another).
- Value-added Service. Rationalizing operations and empowering knowledge workers to provide value-added
services directly to the clients (as opposed to pursuing control-oriented solutions, well-removed from the client
interface).
- Continuous Learning. Enhancing the knowledge, skills and active participation of employees to ensure they
can meet the changing needs of clients and provide quality services in a fair and cost-effective way.
- Standardized, Interconnected Tools. Developing a standard suite of interconnected system tools, readily
available to management and staff, to support decision-making and service delivery (rather than having a proliferation
of different, incompatible and, often, proprietary computer applications).
- Shared Solutions. Routinely sharing solutions and resources for common functions and processes and using
departmental clusters to share common systems and services, reducing development, maintenance, and/or operating costs
(as opposed to each agency or department developing its own unique solutions, at greater overall expense).
- Shared Information. Developing and implementing a standards-based electronic information infrastructure
consisting of common information, applications, technology platforms and networks to make it possible to share
information and computing resources, as well as to rationalize operations enterprise-wide (as opposed to developing
isolated islands of information).
- Paperless Environment. Redesigning as well as automating routine processes in order to reduce paper and the
need for human intervention (as opposed to manual processing or merely automating existing processes).
Achievement of this vision of renewal requires five sets of key architectural principles.
Key Architectural Principles
People are key
Fundamental to all the principles below is the recognition of the importance of people management, shared values,
and a responsive and flexible work environment. The value of investing time and resources in enhancing employees'
knowledge, skills and abilities and of involving people in changes must also be recognized as essential to cultural
change, renewal and improvement.
- Business. Government services will need to be transformed to focus on serving clients, on sharing solutions
for common functions, on seeking innovative business partnerships, on exploiting information technology and on
facilitating accountability.
- Work. Service delivery will need to be automated, seamless and available through a single window, convenient
with options, free from such constraints as functional or organizational barriers, red tape, time and location, and
measured against standards for continuous improvement.
- Information. As a valuable national resource, government information will need to be accessible, secure,
captured once and validated close to source, properly maintained to ensure privacy and integrity, and electronically
distributed to authorized users.
- Applications. Computer applications will need to interact freely with one another, have a consistent look
and feel, and be modular, re-usable and broadly shared across government.
- Technology. Information technology will need to be open, flexible, practical, and secure to provide the
capability for supporting distributed and accessible computing environments.
Table 1 displays the five sets of key architectural principles in greater detail.
Table 1
1. Business Principles to transform government services.
- Client Service Focus - client needs will drive the design of government services.
- People Management - employees' involvement, development, and commitment are critical to successful business
renewal.
- Common Shareable Solutions - common requirements will be addressed by common, shareable solutions.
- Partnership - strategic alliances will be pursued with other governments and the private sector.
- Accountability - accountability, performance standards, and evaluation capabilities will be incorporated
into the design and delivery of government services.
- Enabling Technology - information technology will be used to its full advantage for redesigning the delivery
of government services.
2. Work Principles for the redesign of government service delivery processes.
- Single Window/Seamless Service - government services will be delivered to common clients through a single
window.
- Streamlining - the process between the client and delivery of government service will be minimized.
- Choices - where practical and cost justifiable, clients will have options as to how government services are
delivered.
- Consistency - the same types of work activities involved for different government services will be done the
same way.
- Location and Time Independence - clients will have access to government services at any time and from many
places, where practical and cost justifiable.
- Continuous Improvement of Service - services will be improved on an ongoing basis, with measurements
embedded in the service processes.
3. Information Principles for managing government information.
- Managing Government Information - government information, in all forms (e.g., print, voice, electronic, or
image), is a strategic resource and will be effectively managed throughout its lifecycle.
- Data Administration - all government information will be subject to data administration to ensure common
definitions, integrity, and consistency of use.
- Sharing and Re-using Information - information will be captured once, as close to source as possible, then
shared and re-used by authorized users.
- Exchanging Information - once captured and where practical, government information will be stored and
exchanged electronically to avoid manual transcription and re-entering.
- Protecting Information - the security, integrity, and privacy of government information will be ensured
through various electronic and manual security measures.
- Retaining Information - government information will be retained only for valid reasons, such as business
needs, policy or legislative requirements, and historical and archival needs.
- Stewardship - specific organizational units will be accountable for certain classes of information to ensure
integrity, quality, relevance, and authorized usage.
4. Application Principles for managing computer systems.
- Sharing Systems - computer systems for common processes or functions will be shared broadly across the
government to reduce maintenance and development costs.
- Modularity - computer systems will be designed using modular components to facilitate sharing, development
and design changes.
- Rapid Application Development - joint development teams will be used for short term projects to yield a
working prototype, to be refined and improved via successive iterations through to implementation.
- Re-usability - computer systems will be designed to use common, shareable components.
- Distribution - computer systems and tools will be designed for replication and distribution on the
government electronic network.
- Standard Inter-application Interfaces - standard interfaces between system modules will be used to
facilitate information sharing and transfer of transactions.
- Consistency - computer systems and tools will be designed to provide a consistent look and feel to
users.
5. Technology Principles for managing information technology in the government.
- Modularity - technology components that can accommodate expansion, upgrading and substitution easily with
minimal disruption to services will be used.
- Inter-operability/Connectivity/Portability - technology components will be able to work with one another
using modern connectivity tools and standard components and interfaces.
- Distribution - processing, storage, and communications technologies may be distributed to multiple levels in
the architecture, where appropriate, to support dispersed business operations.
- Workstation Orientation - intelligent multi-functional workstations supporting industry-standard interfaces
will be preferred.
- Network Orientation - all workstations will be attached to the government electronic network, with
appropriately secure communications linkages to all authorized servers and users.
- Infrastructure Management - the architectural design will provide for the management and security of the
information technology infrastructure.
Future Service Delivery Scenarios
Linking Canadians to responsive government services
In the Work View section, six models are offered of ways services can be provided to clients in the near future
through applying technology. Note that these models, listed below, are illustrative only. They are designed to provide
readers with a more practical view of possible ways of service delivery.
- Auto-Service. A client's own computer system generates a service request and the supplier's system provides
a response, with minimal human intervention.
- Self-Service (electronic). Individual Canadians, businesses or Public Service employees use desktop computer
workstations to access information and to generate transactions, orders and payments, resulting in reduced paperwork
and fewer approval processes.
- Self-Service (walk-in). Internal and external clients seek information, goods and services by visiting
common walk-in centres, where Public Service employees use computerized services to respond efficiently and
effectively.
- Service with On-site Support. An intermediary group or agency provides multiple services, sometimes for
numerous clients, maximizing the benefits of information technology and minimizing duplication and paperwork.
- Specialist/Expert Service Centre. By using computer connectivity technology, internal and external clients
access "experts" in government directly and quickly, reducing the need to duplicate similar services and improving
responsiveness to requests.
- Supplier Interface (extended enterprise). Suppliers and internal consumers are connected directly to the
government's order and payment systems, becoming an extension of these systems.
Changing the way services are delivered
Implementation of the vision and the principles will change the way services are renewed and ultimately delivered to
internal and external clients. Benefits and changes for program managers will flow from this implementation.
This document sets out an approach to implementation and concludes with the proposed next steps.
Implementation Approach
The Blueprint is a dynamic, integrated framework for implementing government service renewal over the next five
years. It builds on initiatives already under way. The following six elements are critical to its implementation.
- Community Leadership. Ministers and deputy ministers, with the strong and effective support of the Chief
Informatics Officer, must champion the service renewal in government, recognizing that significant benefits will accrue
to departments and their clients. Treasury Board policy centres will provide supporting functional expertise. The
Office of Information Management, Systems and Technology will coordinate implementation and provide support in business
re-engineering and information technology architectural design.
- Commitment to the Vision. Leaders, having espoused the Blueprint's vision, will communicate and explain it
to government employees and will seek their effective commitment. This commitment, which will also be sought from
potential partners, must be sustained over time, since it constitutes an essential ingredient of change
management.
- People Management. Strategies and plans must be directed towards involving and committing people; fostering
open communication; involving employees in conceptual design and implementation and facilitating their shift to the new
culture and structures; assessing composition and competencies of the work force; and resolving the human resources
issues associated with the transition and change.
- Partnerships. The implementation of the Blueprint will require an effective and sustained partnership among
staff within departments. In recognition of the increased interdependencies reflected in the Blueprint, partnerships
will also extend to other departments, other levels of government and the private sector. Partnerships must be pursued
and promoted aggressively to leverage common requirements, to take advantage of specific skills, to spread risks, and
to share experience, innovation and investment.
- Forging Ahead for Results. The Blueprint represents an architectural framework that will be implemented and,
where necessary, adjusted over time. To accomplish this, a set of service renewal projects will identify change
management and technology requirements, develop migration plans, provide incentive through success and begin a
government-wide rollout. A government-wide electronic information infrastructure project will support these service
renewal projects as they spread across government.
- Departmental Implementation. Departments will use the Blueprint in planning and implementing their own
internal renewal activities. They will reflect their planned approach to implementation in such planning instruments as
annual operational plans and information management plans, starting in fiscal year 1994-95.
Overall, the Blueprint does not start at square one, but builds on existing renewal activities and policies (for
example, Enhancing Services Through the Innovative Use of Information and Technology: Strategic Direction for the
90s, issued by Treasury Board). The transformation envisaged in the Blueprint will be achieved through continuous
improvements. There will be ongoing measuring and monitoring of government service delivery.
- Communicate. The draft Blueprint will be communicated to interested parties inside and outside the federal
government in order to refine the document, and to obtain feedback, buy-in and departmental participation in pilots.
Distributing this document has started the process, which will continue for the next several months.
- Endorse the Principles. The Treasury Board Ministers will be asked to adopt the principles set out in the
Blueprint as a policy for renewing government services for internal and external clients. The Blueprint will serve as a
basis for reviewing, adopting and promoting an integrated, enterprise-wide approach to the delivery of government
services, following the consultations.
- Review the Requirements. There will be consultation with groups such as the Blueprint Program Advisory
Committee, the Advisory Committee on Information Management, the Government Systems Committee, the Council for
Administrative Renewal, the Treasury Board Senior Advisory Committee Information Management Subcommittee, and the
Treasury Board Senior Advisory Committee, on the requirement for resources, skill sets, methodologies and governance
processes. This will take place at the same time as the communication activities.
- Launch Service Renewal Projects. The Office of Information Management, Systems and Technology will work with
departments and policy centres to select the first wave of renewal projects. The federal government will actively seek
out partners in the private sector and other levels of government. Project champions from the community will then
organize and plan project implementation; the Office of Information Management, Systems and Technology will support
them, as required. This will take place beginning the second half of 1994.
- Launch a Government-wide Electronic Information Infrastructure Project. There will be an examination of the
issues relating to developing a government-wide electronic information infrastructure, designed in part to meet the
connectivity needs of the first wave of service renewal projects and future efforts. This review will be undertaken in
close collaboration with Public Works and Government Services Canada, Industry Canada and other interested parties,
parallel to the service renewal projects.
The Benefit
The Blueprint approach is based on the assumption that an information-technology-enabled renewal of government
processes and services will generate benefits for all involved, in addition to the often-discussed savings in
resources.
Transforming the way Canadians deal with government
- For the public, service renewal will reduce time spent in obtaining access to government information and services.
In many cases, it will improve these services. Properly used, computing and telecommunications technologies should
transform the way many Canadians deal with the government, just as it has dramatically changed the way the public now
deals with financial institutions.
- For suppliers to government, the service renewal activities offer a number of benefits: the opportunity to provide
services in partnership with government; the prospect of reduced costs through speedier ordering and payments; and the
possibility of taking products developed and skills learned while dealing with the government and applying them in the
global marketplace.
Increasing job satisfaction
- For employees directly involved in delivering services, there will be less need to re-enter critical data from
associated systems, reducing wasted effort and improving the reliability of the output. Service renewal will automate
mundane activities and reduce central controls or build them into systems supporting service renewal, resulting in job
enrichment and increased job satisfaction.
- For those who manage programs and support functions, successful renewal through an integrated use of information
technology will result in resolving service delivery issues faster and thereby allow more time to deal with clients'
needs.
This blueprint describes an integrated, enterprise-wide approach to renewing government services through applying
information technology (information, computing and telecommunications). The objective is to transform government
processes to better support program delivery to the public at a much reduced cost.
Assisting managers to provide high-quality service
The Blueprint also proposes to take important steps in planning and deploying an enabling government-wide IT
infrastructure (government-wide electronic highways) to support the re-engineering of program delivery, administrative
renewal and overall government restructuring.
The Blueprint will assist managers and staff to provide high-quality, efficient services to their clients, while at
the same time coping with severe fiscal restraint.
The Blueprint will serve to reinforce the importance of managing human resources and resolving people issues. The
Blueprint's focus on clients and enterprise-wide perspective will give front-line staff the information, tools and
support to satisfy clients; in so doing, the Blueprint offers the prospect of a more human face for government
services, to the benefit of both staff and the public.
Individual departments have already begun to re-engineer a number of their program delivery processes. This
blueprint will support their efforts and provide guideposts for future activities.
Initiatives under the Council for Administrative Renewal (CAR) have demonstrated the potential for savings and
improvements in administrative services. The Blueprint will give direction to these initiatives, identify further
opportunities and help them realize their full potential.
The Blueprint will be used to inform stakeholders, both in the private and public sectors, of this major business
renewal and IT infrastructure initiative and to increase their awareness of the opportunities for participation and
partnership.
Blueprint is an evolving document
Finally, it is important to note that the Blueprint was created using group workshops involving many participants
from across the affected areas of government. Subgroups addressed the specifics of each "architectural view" described
in the Blueprint. They also produced a set of corresponding architectural principles to guide their thinking and to
give direction to the more detailed planning that will be required to implement this blueprint. For this and other
reasons, the Blueprint should be viewed as a dynamic document, reflecting collective views and portending further
changes as the process of service renewal within the government evolves.
The Blueprint provides a vision for the renewal of government services.
Simply put, the vision is:
Government services that are affordable, accessible, and responsive.
The renewal is founded on the importance of having a client focus, sharing resources, developing standards, and
facilitating access to critical information and services.
The vision must be achieved if government is to
- deal successfully with fiscal constraint;
- adapt to and exploit the accelerating revolution in information technology and the convergence of information,
computing and telecommunications;
- rekindle the sense of true public service in employees of the federal government, both on the front lines and in
the required supporting roles for delivering services to the public; and
- reverse the public's deep-seated frustration with government services.
The central underpinnings of the vision are listed below.
Bringing services to clients
- Direct Service to Clients. Delivering and providing easy access to services
through electronic means.
It envisions bringing services to the clients and providing them with "single-window" access for multiple services (as
opposed to developing services with the convenience of the service provider in mind).
- Transparent and Seamless Service. Streamlining and integrating processes across functional and
organizational lines to provide transparent, seamless services to clients (as opposed to continuing with stovepipe
processes that cannot interact with one another).
- Value-added Service. Rationalizing operations and empowering knowledge workers to provide value-added
services directly to the clients (as opposed to pursuing control-oriented solutions, well-removed from the client
interface).
Enhancing the skills of employees
- Continuous Learning. Enhancing the knowledge, skills and active participation of employees to ensure they
can meet the changing needs of clients and provide quality services in a fair and cost-effective way.
- Standardized, Interconnected Tools. Developing a standard suite of interconnected system tools, readily
available to management and staff, to support decision-making and service delivery (rather than having a proliferation
of different, incompatible and, often, proprietary computer applications).
- Shared Solutions. Routinely sharing solutions and resources for common functions and processes and using
departmental clusters to share common systems and services, reducing development, maintenance, and/or operating costs
(as opposed to each agency or department developing its own unique solutions, at greater overall expense).
- Shared Information. Developing and implementing a standards-based electronic information infrastructure
(consisting of common information, applications, technology platforms and networks) to make it possible to share
information and computing resources, as well as to rationalize operations enterprise-wide (as opposed to developing
isolated islands of information).
Reducing paper
- Paperless Environment. Redesigning as well as automating routine processes in order to reduce paper and the
need for human intervention (as opposed to manual processing or merely automating existing processes).
The Blueprint uses as its analogy the concept of an integrated architectural planning approach, consisting of five
interrelated architectural views. Each represents a different aspect of the way government services must be
re-engineered. This model is driven first by business needs and uses the enabling capabilities of information
technology. Underlying the overall model, with its five views, is the need to put a human, service-oriented face on the
services delivered by government; this requires special attention to human resource issues in all five views. These
five views, which are described in the chapters that follow, are shown in Figure 1 on the following page.
Taking a horizontal view of business
Business View. The Business View establishes the strategic business context for the necessary changes and
improvements to government services. This document takes an enterprise-wide view of government business and redefines
it as seamlessly serving clients. This differs from the traditional multi-functional orientation of government
administration and program delivery. The design of service delivery must recognize the situations where services are
interdependent and common. As well, the Blueprint expects that solutions and delivery mechanisms will be shared and a
more integrated suite of services to the public will be created. This approach will require a government-wide
electronic information infrastructure.
Work View. The Work View describes how the re-engineered government services will be delivered to clients.
The Blueprint identifies the importance of moving away from the stovepipe approach that is particularly common across
government. As work processes are adapted, so too must staff skills be modified -- to improve service by integrating
delivery and providing choices, thereby ensuring client satisfaction. The Blueprint also describes a number of
scenarios in which different approaches to service delivery can lead to reduced costs and improved services. These
range from complete automation, where all work activity has been replaced by computer applications (e.g., using
electronic data interchange), to client self-service (e.g., clients obtain service directly through a desktop
workstation), to various ways of assisting service providers to better support their client interactions (e.g.,
permitting clients to use telephones or modems to directly access "experts" who are fully connected and supported by
IT).
Renewing government through information sharing
Information View. The Information View reflects the critical role that information must play in renewing the
business of government. The Blueprint identifies shared information as a critical common resource, with information
delivered to clients in a fully automated and electronic manner. Examples of common information resources are
summarized in the Information View. The Blueprint emphasizes the importance of automated collection and dissemination
of information from administrative and business processes, in order to make it possible to automate and integrate such
services on a broader scale. The Information View identifies the types of information involved in process automation
and the ways in which information must be collected, managed and distributed. Under this approach, information will
need to be accessible, secure, captured once and validated close to source, properly maintained to ensure privacy and
integrity, and electronically distributed to authorized users.
Application View. The Application View links the work processes and information requirements together. The
goal is to have as much of the information as possible maintained in computer-accessible form. Applications create,
update, access, and delete these automated information bases. These applications support the work processes by
providing automated procedures and managing information storage and retrieval in support of service delivery. The
Blueprint makes key distinctions between applications that assist the user in performing the work processes (workflow
managers) and applications that manage the resulting updates to information files (transaction managers). Under the
Blueprint, applications will need to cooperate freely with one another, have a consistent look and feel, and be
modular, re-usable and broadly shared across the government.
Creating a more accessible computing environment
Technology View. The Technology View addresses the required platforms and network services to meet the needs
of various types of users at identified work locations, thereby closing the circle on the five views. Having many types
of IT applications means that different technologies have to cooperate in both operational and developmental
situations. The architecture for the technology must also deal with various information bases used by applications, and
ensure that the information can flow where it is needed. The challenge of integrating different technologies and
information resources requires an infrastructure based on a mixture of standard components and modern interconnectivity
tools. In this way, information technology will be open, capable of supporting distributed (as well as centralized and
mainframe) computing systems, and create a more accessible computing environment.
The Business View establishes the strategic business context for the necessary changes and improvements to
government services. It represents the first critical step in the Blueprint's approach to renewing government services,
i.e. asking the questions "what business are we in ?" and "how do we conduct business?".
Taking the enterprise-wide view
The Blueprint expects these questions to be asked from an enterprise-wide perspective, rather than from the
traditional departmental, program or functional viewpoint. Taking this broader view is especially important in
maximizing opportunities for restructuring government services. It is also important in making it easier to share
processes, information and technologies used in delivering these services across the federal government and, indeed,
different levels of government.
The Blueprint reflects the need to re-engineer radically in the face of fiscal pressures and rising public demand
for improved services. The re-engineering will involve focusing on clients' needs, working in partnership with other
groups inside and outside the federal government, improving the efficiency of service delivery by using information
technology judiciously, and reducing duplication.
In asking the question "what business are we in?", it is critical to seek the answer from the client's perspective
rather than from the organization's perspective. This will require a re-examination of the skills required by staff to
reinforce a client focus in the delivery of services.
Business of Government Services
Program Services. The government exists to serve the public. Government services include programs in various
areas such as agriculture, citizenship and culture, education and training, employment and labour, the environment,
foreign affairs, health and safety, immigration, international trade, industrial development, national defence, natural
resources, parks and recreation, public infrastructure, public information, regulated utilities, security and
protection, social assistance, and taxation.
Recognizing the interdependence of programs
Some program activities share common clients with one another in the federal government as well as across different
levels of government. In addition, there is an increasing awareness of the interdependency of programs within and
between governments. For example, recent discussions about redesigning the delivery of unemployment insurance recognize
the need to integrate labour training and retraining. Similarly, provincial governments recognize the growing
interdependence between unemployment insurance and provincial welfare programs.
Administrative Services. Administrative services support the delivery of government programs. Basically,
administrative services provide four types of essential resources for program delivery: human, financial, physical
(materiel or assets), and information. These resource services commonly exist in all federal departments and, in fact,
in all governments and organizations. Administrative services are closely related in that they need to be considered
together (including making trade-off decisions) in order to provide an optimal resource base for program delivery.
Seeking relief from bureaucratic processes
A key to renewing government service is discerning and taking advantage of the commonalities and interdependencies
of program and administrative services. Management and delivery structure can then be rationalized within and across
governments. In the final analysis, this rationalization must focus on serving the ultimate clients (i.e. the public)
who are seeking relief from bureaucratic processes and who are demanding services from their government rather than
from a multitude of departments.
Common Electronic Information Infrastructure. In today's information era, electronic information
infrastructure services are of critical importance to the delivery of government services. In effect, these
infrastructure services have stretched information as a resource beyond its traditional role. The common need for these
services necessitates a backbone infrastructure across the government. Elements of the electronic information
infrastructure are listed in Table 2.
Table 2
Elements of the Electronic Information Infrastructure
Networks to interconnect internal and external clients, suppliers and users with the applications, services
and information they require and share.
Servers to provide processing, storage and information services across the network. A range of operating
environments will be supported. Computing resources will be widely distributed for different applications and operating
areas.
Communication facilities to make it possible to transfer information reliably and interactively. A range of
standard multi-media connectivity solutions supporting the government's enterprise network will be available.
Workstations to access network-based services and information where and when needed. A range of user devices,
interface standards, personal and workgroup computing tools will be supported.
Services components:
Network services to support distributing and sharing information as well as the processing capabilities for
connected platforms.
Infrastructure management services to plan and design the integrated IT infrastructure of the government.
Standards management services to plan, develop, promote and monitor standards required to implement the IT
infrastructure of the government.
Guiding Business Principles
The Blueprint proposes a series of guiding business principles that should be used to shape the renewal of
government services. The principles are presented in greater detail in the Appendix.
- Client Service Focus - Client needs will drive the design and delivery of government services. This
will require a clear recognition that government programs must be responsive to the public's needs and that
administrative services must support program delivery. Service standards, consultations transparency and flexibility
will be necessary.
Involving employees is essential
- People Management - Employees, their involvement, development and commitment, will be critical to
successful business renewal. A new management philosophy of commitment to employees and their development within a
continuous learning culture will be necessary. There will be ongoing dialogue to discuss job structures and content,
training, development and other essential issues in managing change. The resolution of human resources management
issues is paramount to a smooth transition and the ultimate success of government services.
- Common Shareable Solutions - Common requirements will be addressed by common, shareable solutions.
This will require a government-wide focus and funding, to identify shareable solutions and roll them out to interested
departments. Participating departments will benefit through lower costs of acquisition and maintenance.
Pursuing partnerships
- Partnership - Strategic alliances will be pursued with other governments and the private sector. This
will allow risks to be shared with the private sector and with other levels of government and lead to lower costs
because of increased purchasing power. It will also promote innovation. Governments will benefit through lower costs
and new solutions to common problems. The private sector will benefit from having access to a potentially larger market
within the federal government. This access could be a springboard to other markets, such as other levels of government
and export markets.
- Accountability - Accountability performance standards and evaluation capabilities will be incorporated
into the design and delivery of government services. This will require a new approach to defining accountability
between the service provider and the client. Benefits will include a clearer definition of service levels and program
performance and costs lower than those associated with existing delivery processes.
Using technology to have common process design
- Enabling Technology - Information technology will be used to its full advantage for redesigning the
delivery of government services. This should lead to reduced labour costs and improved (faster) service. It will
require increased training for staff and new investments in computer technology. Other benefits will include new IT
opportunities for the private sector.
The Work View represents an important second step in the Blueprint's approach to renewal, following a fresh,
enterprise-wide look at the business. It proposes moving away from a stovepipe approach and instead refocusing on both
the delivery of services and the organization of associated work activities on an enterprise-wide basis. Clients must
be able to receive total service rather than piecemeal services from various component organizational units. As well,
modern information technology will be used to facilitate better communications, organization of work and service
delivery.
Pursuing total service
The Work View provides a brief outline of the nature of government program and administrative activities, including
their interrelationships and the similarities of the work processes involved. It proposes that the delivery of
government services be consolidated; streamlined; consistent in outlook and procedures; designed to provide clients
with options; independent of time and location; and measured and monitored for continuous improvement. The Work View
also provides illustrations of more efficient and effective ways to deliver government services using modern
information technology.
Maintaining a human touch
The Work View will produce significant changes in the work environment for staff. For example, services that are
independent of time and location may require employees to work split shifts, so that staff are available to deal with
client needs from the start of business on the East coast to the end of business on the West coast. Adopting more
integrated and consistent processes should increase the prospects for job mobility for staff. It will be essential to
maintain the human touch when redesigning work processes to deal with clients.
Work Processes of Government Services
Linkages across Services. Many government program and administrative activities are closely linked. They have
an impact on one another. For example, address changes reported by clients in one government program affect all other
programs to which the clients also subscribe. Inspection findings of one government program may be important for the
development and implementation of other programs. Program activities often require administrative support services.
Within the administrative domain, for example, staffing action usually requires committing salary budgets and procuring
office equipment and tools.
Coordinating work activities horizontally across programs, administrative functions, and departments will make
government operations more efficient and service delivery to the public more effective.
In his John L. Manion lecture on "Partners in the Management of Government: Changing Roles of Government and the
Public Services ", Mr. Marcel Massé observed:
there are now virtually no departments where problems are self-contained or where solutions do not involve more
than one traditional sector of government activity. As a result, there is a greater need to find new and more
horizontal ways of studying problems and finding solutions. Departments are essentially vertical structures, conceived
in the simpler times when fields of activity, such as agriculture or forestry or transport, could be considered as
reasonably separate domains. . . . Horizontal coordination is now essential and requires new mechanisms.
Taking account of linkages
In the administrative area, a good illustration of the need for coordination is resource planning. With mounting
fiscal pressures and the introduction of operating budgets, federal government managers at all levels need to look at
the resource picture in its totality and make trade-off decisions for program delivery. Unfortunately, many program and
administrative services continue to operate in a linear, sequential fashion, without taking into account the need for
horizontal coordination as well as vertical delayering. High costs and lengthy delays of services are the results.
Routine and Repetitive Processes. Many common, routine processes are done manually and repeated within and
across program and administrative areas. As a result, many government employees are unnecessarily buried under paper
processing, having little contact with clients or appreciation of their needs. Automating these processes and re-using
the information generated across programs and administrative functions will not only improve efficiency but will also
free up staff for value-added work. This will reduce overall costs and improve services to the public. Figure 2
displays a process model for service delivery. As one can see, most of the processes listed are routine, common, and
repetitive in nature.
Guiding Work Principles
In order to sketch out the Blueprint under the Work View, a series of work principles are proposed for shaping the
renewal of government service delivery. Adopting these principles will help eliminate the stovepipes and improve
service to customers.
- Single Window/Seamless Service - Government services will be delivered to common clients through a single
window and be free of functional and organizational barriers. This requires redesigning the way services are now
provided, including a refocus on customer service and client satisfaction. To succeed, it will require a greater flow
of information to and from associated service groups. Benefits will include improved service to customers and improved
staff morale.
Reorienting from task to services
- Streamlining - The process between the client and delivery of the government service will be
minimized. This will require re-aligning staff functions, from task-oriented to service-oriented, and significant
re-investments in staff training and new customer-oriented service delivery activities. Benefits will include good
client service levels and lower costs, due to eliminating non-essental intermediary activities.
- Choices - Where practical and cost justifiable, clients will have options as to how government services
are delivered. This will likely require new investments and regular reviews of clients' needs. Benefits will
include new opportunities for innovation on the part of staff, lower costs for service delivery, and improved choice
for clients.
- Consistency - Where the same types of work activities are involved for different government
services, they will be done the same way. This would require redefining existing activities, policies and
procedures and it could take time to implement. Benefits will include lower operating costs, lower training and
retraining expenses, and the potential for less disruption and increased staff mobility.
- Location and Time Independence - Clients will have access to government services at any time from many
locations, wherever such access is cost justified and warranted. This will make it possible to expand new automated
services (24 hours a day, 7 days per week, if appropriate). New investments in technology will be necessary, however.
It might also alter work patterns. Benefits will include improved customer service, lower costs for services that can
be located outside of expensive urban areas, and the opportunity for increased employment opportunities in areas that
can be economically connected through telecommunication links.
- Continuous Improvement of Service - Services will be improved on an ongoing basis, with measurements
embedded in the service processes. This will require new ways of measuring progress, customer needs and client
satisfaction. Benefits include the opportunity for ongoing improvements and elimination of unnecessary processes.
Future Service Delivery Scenarios
To help readers understand the implications of changes resulting from the Work View perspective, the Blueprint
includes six scenarios of how information technology could be applied in different ways in a client-focused business
renewal process. It should be noted that, in almost all cases, there are already examples within government of
activities or experiments within each of the six categories. For this reason, they are presented as near-future
examples, recognizing that other variations will likely emerge over time. How far each service can go in following
these scenarios will have to be determined through actual implementations, with proper consideration of such factors as
nature of the service, desire of the clients, staff implications and the operating environment.
The objective is to automate, streamline and network most work processes, using the appropriate IT infrastructure.
This will result in paperless transactions that are seamless to clients. These scenarios, therefore, provide the
direction for renewing the delivery of government services.
Six scenarios are presented, as follows:
- Auto-Service
- Self-Service (electronic)
- Self-Service (walk-in)
- Service with On-site Support
- Specialist/Expert Service Centre
- Supplier Interfaces (extended enterprise)
1. Auto-Service. A client's own computer system generates a service request and the supplier's system provides
a response, with minimal human intervention.
Example: At 4:00 a.m. every morning, a desktop computer in a large federal office building in Montreal
automatically places a call to a computer across the city. The purpose: to collect news that will be in the morning's
newspapers across the country and that will touch on areas of importance to the department's minister and senior
executives. By 6:30 a.m., the information is available on the department's Executive Information System, by opening an
electronic window. Meanwhile, down the hall, another computer is preparing to place an electronic data interchange
(EDI) order to restock the department's central office supplies. The order includes all the information needed to
complete the transaction, including payment on confirmation of receipt the next day.
In both cases, arrangements have been made ahead of time so that minimal human intervention is required for routine
transactions; these can be filled quickly.
Other examples of services that could be delivered in this scenario:
- payroll and deductions (such as direct deposit of pay), and
- accounts payable (such as recurring payments for rent and telephone).
Benefits include lower costs and increased speed of delivery and payment to both the service provider and recipient,
along with reduced record-keeping and manual data entry. This could translate into less repetitive work for staff and a
greater need for value-added, knowledge workers.
2. Self-Service (electronic). Canadian citizens, businesses and Public Service employees use workstations to
access information and to generate transactions, orders and payments, resulting in reduced (or eliminated) paperwork
and fewer approvals.
Example A: Instead of having to go to an employment centre in another part of town, a client visits an
electronic kiosk at a nearby shopping centre. Using a "smart card" issued by the government, he peruses jobs that seem
to match his computerized skill profile. A touch on an icon on the kiosk screen produces a print-out of local jobs that
seem promising. Another touch on the screen provides a just-released schedule of new training courses at a local high
school. He decides to apply for one course on the spot and, again using his individualized smart card, obtains almost
instant approval from the government and from the high school. It's just like using a bank machine, he thinks, as he
signs off.
Example B: An officer requires some specialized supplies for upcoming field work. She logs onto a purchasing
system from her desktop computer and browses an on-screen, electronic catalogue. As soon as she selects the supplier
and places her order electronically, the departmental accounting system also completes the internal paperwork (after
checking the officer's budget to make sure she has both the funds and the authority to place the order). The order is
transmitted directly to the supplier via EDI. It's as easy as ordering books by telephone or fax, she thinks, and the
goods will be delivered just as quickly and painlessly.
Other examples of services that could be delivered in this scenario:
- placement agency services for hiring temporary workers,
- travel and accommodation services, and
- government database searches.
Benefits include convenience to the user, lower costs and increased speed of delivery and payment to both the
service provider and recipient, and the ability to collect data on purchases electronically. For employees, it will be
easier to access information across government, allowing them to deliver enhanced service to clients. As a result,
there will be less frustration and wasted effort.
3 Self-Service (walk-in). Internal and external clients seek information, goods and services by visiting
common walk-in centres, where government workers use computerized services to respond efficiently and effectively.
Example: A businesswoman takes the elevator down to the main floor in her office building in Saskatoon.
Instead of going for a quick lunch, she decides to stop in the local government business service centre next door. Her
partner has been wondering whether it would be worthwhile to try to develop some foreign sales for their recently
patented polymer building panels. But neither one knows where to start. "Perhaps they'll know in here," she thinks.
Inside, she's directed towards a researcher who, after consulting a database of contacts, calls the building
material specialist at the National Research Council in Ottawa. The business centre researcher suggests that it might
take a little time to get all the information and perhaps he could fax it to her when it's ready.
Two hours later, a three-page fax arrives. The first page lists four upcoming trade shows featuring new external
building materials; one is highlighted, with a note in the margin from the building specialist in Ottawa suggesting
that this has proven to be the most successful show for manufacturers of similar products in the past. The second page
is a print-out from a Canadian commercial database and lists a two-day-old United Nations (UN) Request for Proposal for
innovative, light-weight, all-weather building material for experimental housing for central Africa; contact names,
telephone and E-mail numbers are provided. The third page lists three Canadian prefabricated building companies which
have all established records selling abroad. A marginal note from a trade official in Tokyo confirms that the embassy
will keep the new supplier in mind in upcoming discussions on joint Canada-Japan cooperation on new uses of polymer
building materials for the Japanese housing market.
Other examples of services that could be delivered in this scenario:
- Old Age Security, Guaranteed Income Supplement, Unemployment Insurance, Veterans Allowances benefits
administration,
- training and skills development, and
- library services.
Benefits include enhanced convenience to the user, lower operating costs for service delivery and improved levels of
service delivery (faster, more accessible service). For staff, there will be greater job satisfaction, since
information and tools will be available to respond quickly and efficiently to client needs. It will also be easier to
work with colleagues electronically, via "virtual networks", reducing the need for endless face-to-face meetings.
4. Service with On-site Support. An intermediary group or agency provides multiple services, sometimes for
several clients, maximizing the benefits of information technology and minimizing duplication and paperwork.
Example: A prominent Canadian is on the telephone with a government minister, agreeing to chair a special
task force. The work has to be completed in four months. He is promised a small staff, a modest budget and "all the
support you need".
Twenty minutes later, after a couple of quick calls to contacts in the federal government, he dials the telephone
number of the head of "Accommodations Canada" *, a special operating agency responsible for providing office
accommodations and support services for small agencies, judicial inquiries and, yes, special task forces.
Three days later, while the Chairman interviews candidates for executive director and research director, the phones
are being installed in his new suite of temporary offices five blocks from the minister's department. A technician is
making the final connections to a small network of computers, the automatic voice messaging system is already storing
messages, and the office manager is signing the delivery receipt for the Chairman's five boxes of critical reference
books.
For the next four months, the Chairman will only have to authorize one monthly bill for the complete suite of
offices, technology and support staff. The same billing system and technical support facilities are also shared with
several dozen other small agencies, meaning lower costs than the traditional "one-off" approach.
Other examples of services that can be delivered in this scenario:
- staff and organizational planning,
- retirement and job assignment counseling,
- financial planning,
- government lands and facilities maintenance,
- site security services,
- office maintenance and services, and
- publishing and communication services.
Benefits include greater convenience to the user, shared costs and improved pricing, and less administration and
paperwork. For staff, it will mean less hassle in getting a new operation up and running.
5. Specialist/Expert Service Centre. Through the use of computer technology, internal and external
clients can access "experts" in government directly and quickly, reducing the need to duplicate similar services and
improving the rate and success of client response.
Example: It's 5:00 p.m., Tokyo time, and the trade officer clicks the mouse on her computer to transmit the
meeting report on a just-completed international conference on new building materials. Seconds later, in the very early
hours of the morning, the report arrives at six computers back in Ottawa, awaiting action from a "virtual group" of
experts who meet as required by computer. By noon that day, the building materials expert at the National Research
Council has electronically routed a summary of the report to a list of six Canadian companies which the expert group
decided could benefit from three marketing opportunities unearthed at the conference by the trade officer. A
businesswoman and her partner in Saskatoon receive the report by fax and have a request for more information on their
fax back to Tokyo by end of day in Saskatoon. Six months later, the Saskatoon company is closing a deal with companies
in Vancouver, Calgary and Tokyo to participate in a bid to provide a UN aid agency with portable all-weather shelters
in refugee camps in a war-torn part of the world. Back in Ottawa, the expert group of building material specialists is
commenting on a consultant's report prepared for the World Bank. A summary is scheduled to be faxed to nine Canadian
companies which might benefit, including one in Saskatoon. The trade officer in Tokyo will also get a copy overnight by
E-mail.
Another example of a service that could be delivered in this scenario:
- a cross-country consultative process where professional association executives participate with departments using
computer conferencing.
Benefits include convenience to the user, and lower travel costs for experts and other employees. There will also be
increased opportunity for carrying out activities that add value and for generating revenue.
6. Supplier Interface (extended enterprise). Suppliers and internal consumers are connected directly
to the government's order and payment systems, becoming an extension of these systems.
Example: In the offices of six different suppliers, sales managers are watching the clock and their computer
screens. In 10 minutes, and for the following hour, the federal government will be holding an electronic auction-style
competition for the right to provide a year's supply of optical disks, magnetic tape and computer disks. It's an
experiment, a bit like electronic trading on the stock market, but it beats shipping a five-pound document by courier
every month to the government's bidding centre in Hull. One of the advantages is that, because the products are to be
delivered to federal and provincial agencies in 16 separate geographic locations, there's a good chance that all of the
suppliers will get some business, depending on how they bid on transportation costs for each of the regional "buys".
And, of course, because the bids are made in electronic form, payment is made directly to the supplier's bank account
as each shipment is received.
Another example of a service that could be delivered in this scenario:
- an electronic news service, in which the information provider delivers news to client departments on a daily basis
through direct links. In exchange, the supplier regularly downloads relevant, authorized government information from
databanks.
Benefits include convenience to the user, lower handling costs and increased speed of delivery and payment to both
the service provider and recipient. For staff, it will translate into more demand for knowledge workers, to handle and
interpret the electronic information coming into and leaving government.
The Information View represents the third step in the approach to government service renewal and underscores the
importance of redesigning processes and systems to gather, access and share common information.
The two main objectives of this view are to
- eliminate the need to collect the same or similar information more than once within a department or within
government; and
- provide government programs with access to information collected by other programs, especially where this would
improve the efficiency and effectiveness of government service delivery.
In order to achieve the above objectives, it will be necessary to give due regard to privacy and security issues,
including assuring that information collected by law for only one purpose will not inadvertently be used for other
purposes.
As with other views in the Blueprint, the Information View benefits considerably from taking an enterprise-wide
perspective. Information gathered for a program or service that is being re-engineered may, upon examination with a
broader view in mind, be extremely valuable to programs or services in another part of government or at another level
of government.
Sharing information is essential
The common collection, analysis and sharing of information within and between government programs and services will
be essential in delivering government services to clients in a more unified way. For example, the Revenue Canada
project to create a single system for corporate taxes, including customs, income tax and GST, is founded on the ability
to share taxpayer information between programs and systems. Creating a single registration number and consolidated
account for a corporate taxpayer requires having access to and sharing information.
The Blueprint vision of increased connectivity within government, with other governments, with private industry and
with members of the public reflects the view that collecting, analysing, using, managing, transferring and
disseminating information will soon become an even more essential role of government departments and agencies.
To play its proper role in the improved delivery of government services, information must either be collected
originally in or translated into a digital format. The information must be shared and re-used rather than re-collected
in different forms by various programs and services. Special steps must be taken to ensure the integrity and quality of
the information and the consistency of its use. Government will also have to ensure that special precautions are taken
to respect individual privacy, security and information access laws that have been enacted by governments to protect
its citizenry against unwarranted information intrusion.
Some of the information collected by government will have additional value when shared with other levels of
government and with the public. For example, aggregated and segmented economic information will be of special interest
and value to the business sector. There may be new opportunities for partnerships. Private-sector information
enterprises, for instance, could disseminate government information and provide government with the external
information it needs to manage and renew the Public Service, while public-sector institutions, such as public
libraries, could expand their roles as repositories of government information. Demographic and statistical information
will become more readily used in business, education, research and other everyday activities.
Benefitting from an integrated approach to information
The integrated approach to information set out in this blueprint provides a variety of benefits: improved
decision-making by program managers and policy-making by government as a whole, at both strategic and operational
levels; enhanced client service, especially where government processes collect usable information about clients and
their wants and needs; and easier and speedier service delivery to all regions of the country, especially rural and
more remote areas. In addition, information is a vital instrument of government accountability.
The existence of timely and reliable information in electronic form permits the creation and operation of "virtual"
groups of experts or decision-makers. These groups can make faster and more accurate decisions on, for example, the
entitlement of individual Canadians to social benefits. It is also an essential ingredient for new forms of remote
training and education. Staff will gain greater interaction with colleagues and easier access to mission-critical
information. They will also be required to upgrade knowledge-worker skills through continuous training.
Treating government information as a national resource
Under the Information View, there are two types of information: that required for internal processes and, therefore,
for automating processes; and that which has value as a common resource, for third parties. Some would argue that both
categories of information residing within government represent a public good. Government information, in this way,
should be treated as a national resource, vital to the country's social, cultural and economic development.
Another area of growing importance is external information brought into government for decision-making. It may be
electronic news used to keep abreast of government announcements and relevant political and business developments, or
statistical or financial information required for the analysis of business trends and conditions. Or it may be reports,
via electronic mail, of international trade opportunities from government posts abroad.
Information Management for Automating Processes
Information is collected for use across government to carry out its business. This information can be managed so
that business processes related to delivering common support services over a networked environment can be automated.
Examples follow.
- Client Information - profiles of the requesting individual or group, and their entitlements under the
service offerings
- Service Information - descriptions of the service offerings available, the associated rules and guidelines,
and the appropriate means of supply
- Client Service Order Information - descriptions of the requested services from the clients and the related
status
- Resource Information - descriptions of the available resources to deliver the requested service and their
scheduled commitments
- Supplier Information - descriptions of the available suppliers of the requested service or materiel and the
associated contracts and agreements
- Administrative Information - charts of accounts, financial transactions, financial assets and liabilities,
and employee agreements
Managing Common Information
There is also a need to provide various types of government information of common use across the government. These
can readily be put into a computer-accessible form and made available via the government enterprise network. These
include:
- directories of people, places, services and information;
- references and databanks on federal legislation, policies, procedures and guidelines;
- schedules of government events and periodicals (e.g., budget and planning cycle dates, collective bargaining, bid
closures);
- catalogues of supplies, services and suppliers;
- on-line libraries of government reference information and financial reports;
- training and course curricula, schedules and provider lists;
- Canadian geographical, demographic and statistical information; and
- news media reports.
Common information, once captured, can be shared among multiple users. After information that satisfies many
requirements is identified, services can be developed and shared for planning, acquiring, maintaining and disposing of
it. Common information is an integral part of the renewal efforts for re-engineering work processes and developing and
sharing application systems.
The public and special interest groups also have a direct interest in many of these information resources. Providing
improved access to this information by using the government enterprise network will benefit many client groups.
As with technology, there is a need to increase the use of standards for collecting and exchanging data in order to
minimize costs, maximize efficiency, and encourage the free flow of information.
The valid concerns regarding copyright, privacy and security are fully recognized in the Information View of this
blueprint.
Guiding Information Principles
Simplifying the search for government information
- Managing Government Information - Government information, in all forms (e.g., print, voice, electronic,
or image), is a strategic resource and will be effectively managed throughout its lifecycle. Metadata (information
about work processes, information, applications and technology) is an information resource and must be managed
according to the same principles as information itself. Management of electronic and hard-copy information will need to
be integrated. Coordinating and integrating the management of electronic and hard-copy information and voice and data
networks will be important. It will be necessary to implement mechanisms to easily and accurately find government
information. Benefits include improved availability and quality of information for processing and decision-making,
resulting in improved service.
- Data Administration - All government information will be subject to data administration to ensure common
definitions, integrity and consistency of use. This will require having standards at all levels and maintaining a
data dictionary and repository. Benefits include reduced costs to obtain and manage information.
Capturing information once
- Sharing and Re-using Information - Information will be captured once, as close to the source as possible,
then shared and re-used by authorized users. This will require investments in new telecommunications links, common
standards, and special precautions to protect privacy and security. Benefits include significant cost savings
associated with eliminating duplicate data entry and the need to verify data.
- Exchanging Information - Once captured, government information should be stored and exchanged
electronically to avoid transcribing and re-entering it manually. This will require further study on who is
responsible for maintaining the data. Exchange standards will have to be developed and implemented. Benefits include
higher data integrity and reduced costs of collection and dissemination.
- Protecting Information - The security, integrity and privacy of government information will be ensured by
integrating information technology security measures with physical, personnel screening and other security
measures. This will require security and privacy measures to be designed into all new information technology
systems through an integrated set of safeguards which ensure the confidentiality, integrity and availability of
information and its related processes. Benefits include improved privacy, the protection of information from loss, and
increased public confidence in how the government handles information.
- Retaining Information - Government information will be retained only while there exists a business need,
a legislative or policy requirement, or when it has historical or archival importance. Benefits include reduced
costs in maintaining information records and a full archival base for future generations of Canadians.
- Stewardship - Specific organizational units will be accountable for managing designated classes of
government information to ensure its integrity, quality and relevance and to restrict its accessibility to authorized
users. Benefits include improved ease of access to government information, improved productivity and a lower
overall cost.
The Application View (the fourth step in the approach to government service renewal) links the work process and
information models together. The goal is to have as much of the information as possible maintained in
computer-accessible form. Applications create, update, access and delete these automated information bases. These
applications support the work processes by providing automated procedures and managing information storage and
retrieval in support of service delivery. The Blueprint makes key distinctions between applications that assist the
user in performing the work processes (workflow managers) and applications that manage the resulting updates to
information files (transaction managers).
Future Application Environment
- The Blueprint is proposing to continue to move away from traditional approaches to an application architecture:
from centralized and integrated to modular and shareable.
Moving away from large integrated applications
- In the past, most applications were designed as highly integrated, on-line transaction processing systems for a
given functional area of the business. They included, usually in a centralized location, all of the associated business
transactions for that function, all of the related information files or databases, the required data capture screens,
and inquiry and reporting capabilities. They became large, complex, expensive and difficult to maintain. The Blueprint
proposes separating these functions into different application components.
- In the Blueprint application environment, there will be suites of systems (consisting of modular, "Lego-like"
interconnectable pieces), each dealing with specific functionalities.
Providing staff with desktop intelligence
This future application environment will provide staff with the "intelligence" at their desktop computers to handle
the information and the transactions associated with their day-to-day activities. While the skills required will be
higher in many cases, challenge and job satisfaction should also be much enhanced.
The different types of applications are described below.
Application Components
- Workflow Managers. These are used to guide users through the computer-based processes of requesting,
planning, executing and delivering services. At each step, the workflow managers capture the required information,
present and explain the options available, apply the associated rules, track the progress of the request and link to
the appropriate service transaction manager when the preparation is complete. Workflow managers should have the same
look and feel, independent of the type of service being used.
- Service Transaction Managers. These are transaction processing engines that create and update the
information that supports process automation. Each service transaction manager will be dedicated to handling a specific
type of transaction. Each can generate further events to trigger other transaction managers. Functions of service
transaction managers include:
- managing client information - maintaining information on clients such as identification, location and
entitlements (this application information is shareable across multiple services);
- managing services - maintaining information on the nature of the services available, the
associated rules and guidelines, and planning management information on forecasted and actual usage;
- managing orders - maintaining information on the nature, status and performance of a specific
client's service requests; and
- managing delivery - maintaining the plans for and status of the methods of executing the
client's service order.
Using middle-ware as a bridge
Service transaction managers will evolve gradually to become generic and discrete, dedicated to a very specific
common type of transaction. By using middleware, older, mainframe-based applications can continue to be used. They can
be treated as quasi-service transaction managers by suppressing reporting and other functionalities. Their transaction
processing capability can be adapted to accept data capture from readily available workflow automation mechanisms such
as intelligent electronic forms.
- Supporting Productivity Tools. In the target architecture, a number of personal and workgroup productivity
tools will be available to the users on a network through a standard interface on intelligent workstations. These
include:
- document creation tools - a standardized set of functions for composing documents, supporting the full range
of mixed media requirements (such as text, tables, diagrams, images and voice annotation, as needed);
- electronic mail and bulletin boards - technologies for distributing messages and documents to clients across
the common resource services network;
- decision support tools - a range of selected analysis and modeling tools to support individual and work
group decision-making. These will include standard spreadsheets with graphic display capabilities, as well as more
advanced simulation and modeling tools for special applications; and
- interactive conferencing tools - functions for bringing various parties together interactively and,
especially, for linking with support service experts over the common services network. In their simplest form, these
are enhanced telephony audio conferences, but technology breakthroughs now make video and shared-screen conferencing at
the desktop a distinct possibility for high-demand areas.
- Client and Supplier Applications. To some extent, these are also part of the application environment.
Certain program area applications (mostly resource related) can be directly linked to the support services, through
such techniques as electronic data interchange (EDI) or sharing databases.
Supplier applications can also be directly linked with support services through such techniques as EDI, bulletin
boards or sharing databases. Typically, the common support services would interface with supplier information
applications and order processing, order status management and settlement processes.
Considerations for Development and Migration
Developing re-usable modules
- As discussed, many work processes and sub-processes for government services have a high degree of commonality -- a
circumstance well suited for modular design, sharing and re-using. Large departments may customize applications around
core common workflow and transaction managers for added functionalities. A repository of re-usable modules should be
developed for broad distribution.
- Modular systems design will be used to develop the next generation of applications, leading ultimately to the
Blueprint environment made up of workflow managers, service transaction managers, productivity tools, and interfacing
with client and supplier applications using EDI.
Guiding Application Principles
- Sharing Systems - Computer systems for common processes or functions will be shared broadly across
the government. This will require developing funding mechanisms for co-operating efforts and addressing change
management issues. It will also be necessary to plan the development and migration of shared systems. Benefits include
reduced systems development and maintenance costs since departments will no longer manage systems independently.
- Modularity - Applications will be designed using modular components for basic and optional
functions. This will require an organization responsible for driving and managing the common modules.
Benefits include increased ease of reconfiguration, which will reduce costs and improve service. The approach should
also shorten development time for new and reconfigured systems.
- Rapid Application Development - To minimize risks in application development, use joint
development teams on short term (i.e. 4-6 months) projects which focus on yielding a working prototype, which may then
be refined and improved via successive iterations through to implementation. This will require a revised system
development lifecycle methodology using Rapid Application Development tools. Users will have to assume more
accountability for application development and will work as partners with information technology professionals.
- Re-usability - Applications will be designed to use common, shareable components. This will require a
methodology and organization to identify, acquire and manage common modules. Benefits include reduced development time
for new applications and lower costs for maintenance, implementation and staff training.
- Distribution - Applications and tools will be structured so they can be replicated and distributed on the
government enterprise network. Using the network to maintain and distribute software should lower costs and reduce
duplication of effort. Licensing agreements and partnership issues will have to be addressed.
- Standard Inter-application Interfaces - Standard interfaces between application modules will be used to
accommodate information sharing and transfer of transactions. This will require managing application interfaces.
Benefits include improved interconnectivity and applications being shared more easily, resulting in lower costs.
- Consistency - Applications will be designed to use industry-standard user interfaces, providing a
consistent look and feel to the users of multiple applications and tools. This will require decisions and standards
on user interfaces, e.g., Graphical User Interface (GUI). Benefits include lower costs for training and support and,
over time, reduced costs for developing applications.
Enhancing the human elements
The Technology View, the final step of the approach, addresses the
architectural (networks, servers, communications and workstations) and service
(networking, infrastructure and standards management) components of the
Blueprint. This technology architecture must deliver the common IT
infrastructure services required to support the Business, Work, Information and
Application views. The goal of this architecture is to allow for flexibility in
placing user- accessible services at different places on a government enterprise
client/server network. Finally, the technology architecture must enhance the
"human face of government", not depersonalize the delivery of
government services to the public. It must enable staff to serve clients better
by giving them access to the information and tools they require.
Components of the Technology Infrastructure
This section describes the four components of the technology architecture of
this blueprint:
- networks that connect internal and external clients,
suppliers and users with the applications, services and information they
require and share;
- servers that provide processing services, storage and
information services;
- communication facilities for sharing
information interactively and transferring it reliably; and
- workstations to access
services and information where and when needed.
The Blueprint recognizes the heterogeneous nature of computing platforms and
networks in government. A multi-layered network, from local-area through to
global networks, is part of the architecture.
Pursuing alliances to share costs and benefits
Networks are themselves shareable and can serve multiple layers of government
or other partners. In order to maximize benefits to the Canadian public, the
government will actively pursue alliances with industry and other governments to
share the cost and the benefits of all networks, whether they are within a
shared office complex or metro area or are global.
A brief description of each type of network follows. Subsequent parts in this
section provide more details on architectural elements, including networks.
Local-Area Network (LAN). These networks will link
workstations and servers of program service delivery locations that are in close
proximity to one another, such as in a common office complex or building.
Authorized users of workstations connected to a LAN will be able to use all
services and to share resources on the LAN.
Metropolitan-Area Network (MAN). In metropolitan areas where
several government service delivery locations need to interact extensively with
one another, such as the National Capital Region, a high-speed MAN will
interconnect the area's government LANs.
Wide-Area Network (WAN). This type of network will support
high-end services such as desktop, video-conferencing and the exchanging of
large volumes of data. It will interconnect various MANs and LANs in wider
geographical areas such as regions. Though these may be distinct physical
networks, they will be transparent to users as part of the government enterprise
network.
Linking local networks
Government Enterprise Network (GEN). This global network
will link the government's various LANs, MANs and WANs, so that users see them
as a single network. Some special workstations like public infocentre kiosks may
be connected directly to this network.
Public Networks. Public networks, such as telephone company
networks, may be used to provide access to employees working at home, the
general public, suppliers, and staff whose offices cannot economically be
connected to the government enterprise network. Since users will not be aware of
the fact that a public network is involved in the connection once it is
connected to the GEN, public networks will be, in effect, an integral (albeit
external) component of the architecture.
Servers
Network File Servers. Network file servers can vary
significantly from one application to another. In a small to medium-sized
environment, powerful personal computers with added storage and processing
capacity will typically be adequate for servicing most day-to-day user needs. In
larger installations, several high-end micro-computers may be required to act as
file servers for the several workgroups involved.
These servers will usually provide common processing (and information
storage) to users and may be accessible from remote locations. Applications
typically running on these stations include electronic mail, project management,
scheduling, and sharing local resources. These servers will support the workflow
managers as identified in the Blueprint. Applications can be shared by LAN users
and workload management can be implemented to balance work and optimize the use
of resources.
Metropolitan- and Wide-Area Network Servers. These
processors provide distributed computing at the metropolitan and regional
levels. They typically support a number of work sites. Applications are
replicated in multiple servers, using information that pertains to a
geographical area of operation. Some of the service transaction managers may use
these distributed servers where applications can effectively use distributed
transaction management processors.
Mail Servers. Mail servers act as a post office for storing
and distributing messages, documents, and files en route to recipients or
applications. The scale (low, mid-range, high-end) of the server that will be
used to service these requests varies with message volumes, traffic and types.
In general, high-end micro-computing resources, storage capacity and
connectivity to the LANs, groupware, inter-application messaging processes
(e.g., mail-aware applications) and various E-mail gateways are the major
considerations in drawing up the specifications.
Special Purpose Servers. Print, telecommunications and other
special-purpose servers dedicated to managing the requests for specific
components of the IT architecture will be used wherever they provide improved
service delivery. These servers will generally be of the typical micro-computer
class since their functions, as a rule, do not require high-end technologies.
They may, however, manage requests for very sophisticated resources.
Information Servers. This class of server provides various
information services to users or to applications through the common services
network. The services provided include:
- data warehouses - storing and retrieving shared
information resources (structured, relational data);
- databases - storing and retrieving application
information (databases and data warehouses are often referred to as database
servers);
- document libraries - storing and retrieving documents
(text and image-based, from computer sources or scanned documents);
- software libraries - storing and distributing re-usable
software objects (repository services) for constructing and disseminating
applications across the network;
- courseware libraries - storing and distributing
computer-based training.
Application Servers. The Blueprint has identified four types
of application servers based on the types of applications (identified in the
application architecture), their associated usage and transaction rates. These
are:
- the personal computer - These are desktop or mobile
workstations that, in addition to providing the front-end user interface for
applications elsewhere on the network, can run many applications. These
include typical composition or modeling tools such as word-processing,
presentation graphics and spreadsheets. It can also support individualized
workflow managers. These may be used when only one workstation is required
in a program client area, when workflow is highly customized to individual
users, or to support mobile users.
- the high-end workstation - The second level of processing
uses higher-end micro-computers to provide shared work group services on
local-area networks (LANs), metropolitan-area networks (MANs) and, in some
cases, on wide-area networks (WANs).
- the mid-range processor - Traditionally called "the
minis", this level of processing is rapidly merging with the
high-end workstation. A distinction is made here to highlight some of the
typical application services that are targeted at the higher-end micros and
minis. These include the MAN, and regional and departmental WANs, described
previously.
- the traditional mainframe processor - There will continue
to be requirements to use mainframe processors for large,
data-processing-intensive applications that may not be easily downsized or
for which the costs and benefits do not justify migration to other
platforms. They may also act as large data repositories and network service
providers. These ongoing roles must be recognized on a case-by-case basis
and consequently lead to the heterogeneous aspects of the Blueprint over the
foreseeable future.
Departmental Servers. Departmental servers provide
centralized processing resources for transaction management applications that
are best organized around a single consolidated database. Note that there will
be many of these "centralized" processors supporting the Blueprint
transaction managers, as well as program area applications. They can be placed
in different locations on the network, allowing the distribution of government
programs and "head office" functions.
External Servers. External suppliers of shared computing or
information resources should be considered for delivering certain types of
applications or IT services. These servers could service applications such as
electronic mail, bulletin boards and EDI to provide an external reach for
suppliers and the general public. These servers also help maintain security by
isolating external client accesses from the full range of departmental user
accesses.
Planning for change
Conversion Considerations. The incremental fade-out of
applications from central (mainframe) processors to high-end workstation
processors (distributed MAN, WAN and departmental servers) will need to be
addressed in terms of a case-by-case costs and benefits analysis. The following
elements should be considered:
- converting applications and maintaining application programs;
- converting data (distribution and other impacts on data);
- networking needs (leveraging existing and new installations); and
- operation and administration (impact on
personnel, training, startup).
Various communication facilities are required to support the Blueprint's
technical directions. High bandwidth linkages are required in several scenarios
involving multi-media and high-traffic information flowing from site to site on
the enterprise network. In other cases, public communication networks, such as
those of telephone utilities, will be adequate. The following elements need to
be incorporated into the communication facilities component of the technology
infrastructure:
- connectivity to and from other governmental networks (e.g., those
belonging to provinces or international trading partners) that share common
information or service common needs;
- common and secure mechanisms and interfaces (e.g., GUI) to be used by the
public when accessing and using government services;
- touch-tone phone access to interactive voice response (IVR) applications;
- support for television-based workstations interfacing over interactive
broadcast facilities;
- global network directory services unifying users and services across the
government enterprise network;
- support for connections, on-line access, and transfer of files and
messages to public global networks;
- support for electronic data interchange (EDI) and other electronic
commerce communications requirements; and
- support for teleconferencing and telework
services (voice, video, shared screen, advanced telephony).
This section describes five classes of users and the related functionalities
required by their workstations.
Converging on connectivity and openness
Program Area Client. In general, government employees are
increasingly using applications directly. Because of the extensive installed
base of workstations, it is not practical to restrict the workstation and user
interface to only one type. Practical considerations will prevail, but efforts
should be made to reduce the number of environments to a manageable level and
migrate to newer technologies that converge on connectivity and openness.
Workflow managers may have to be customized to accommodate some workstation
environments that may also impose limitations on certain tools or applications.
Many program personnel will spend more time "in the field", and
have closer contact with clients. Staff will increasingly telecommute, creating
a need for portable, mobile, and home office workstations.
Public Client. External client access must be included in
the common IT infrastructure to support the delivery of program services. These
workstations may vary widely and include home or office computers, mid-range and
central processors, interactive television-based workstations that interface
over interactive broadcast facilities, and touch-tone phones that interface
through interactive voice response (IVR).
Support Service Personnel. Empowered groups of support
service personnel will be able to address routine needs in all support areas.
They will be highly integrated with program area clients and work closely with
them, either physically or through the network. Their workstations should
support multi-media capabilities, including interactive video and desktop video
conferencing. Support service personnel will handle routine transactions using
workflow managers. All non-routine requests will be turned over to support
service experts or resolved with their help. Training and support will use
multi-media-based courseware and inquiry.
Support Service Experts. These specialists handle
non-routine or special service requests. In general, their workstation
requirements should be the same as for support service personnel. They will have
special authorities to use applications and information to address unique
requirements or fix problems. The support service experts will be accessible
from any other networked workstation.
Suppliers. Government suppliers are a final class of
workstation users in the Blueprint. It is only practical to specify interface
standards (e.g., EDI) for supplier workstations, taking into account the
diversity of environments in the business community. However, there will be
several types of transactions, such as E-mail, bulletin board access and down
loading, inquiries, and supplier data updates that will use interactive
workstations. The use of touch-tone phones and IVR is expected here as well.
Information Technology Services
This section focuses on the three major services that will be incorporated
into the technical infrastructure: networking; managing the infrastructure
itself; and managing standards. Each is described briefly below.
Network Services
Distributing and sharing
In an information technology context, network services are designed to
support distributing and sharing information, as well as processing capabilities
for connected platforms. These services link government sites, clients,
suppliers and other external sites in order to communicate, distribute or share
data, or to access services. All elements under "communication
facilities" must be supported by the network infrastructure.
Infrastructure Management Services
The technology infrastructure has to be managed and coordinated as a common
service. This includes:
- acquiring, managing and maintaining common systems such as workflow
managers on a shared basis;
- planning and implementing new or extended services or features;
- coordinating security, integrity, privacy, audit and accounting
requirements related to accessing, using and updating services, applications
and information;
- issuing user access rights and related codes or devices;
- establishing and managing network service levels, including performance
and reliability; and
- coordinating network operations including
repair, maintenance and implementation activities for related equipment,
software and communications services.
Technology Architecture Standards
Flexibility, interoperability and portability of applications can be achieved
using a well-balanced set of modern connectivity tools (e.g., middleware, work
automation tools) and standards. In this blueprint, it is expected that both
will be used. When the word standards is used in the following
sections, it must be considered in terms of the range of solutions available
from this dual approach.
User and Application-Oriented Standards. This category
includes standards that support the interface between the user and the
application. These standards require the collaboration of five key types of
experts:
- business process engineers (to identify better ways of doing business);
- application distribution engineers (to ensure portability and conceal
application location from users, programmers and system designers);
- user interface designers (to ensure a homogeneous interface and conceal
interface requirements from programmers and designers through an API for the
interface);
- data distribution engineers (to combine data and database administration
to conceal the location of data across the client-server environment); and
- systems designers (to integrate work from the other four types of experts
into a system that appears seamless to users).
Three types of standards are included in this category:
- user interface standards (for a common look and feel and consistency of
commands, options and messages across applications);
- information standards (for consistent data structures in transactions and
in application program interfaces); and
- user-oriented media standards (for common standards for user-oriented
media such as smart cards).
Delivery Platform Standards. The delivery platform covers a
wide range of services. It includes standards for hardware, software and
telecommunications network facilities. Standards in this category will be
transparent to the users and remain independent from the underlying
technologies. Where it is cost-effective and practical, the required platform
migrations should consider the Open Systems Environment (OSE) approach. The
Office of Information Management, Systems and Technology (IMST) will continue to
manage the government standardization program.
Enterprise Environment Standards. This category includes
generic standards insofar as their characteristics apply to the federal
government in general. It includes aspects such as security, ergonomics,
documentation, IT management and quality.
Guiding Technology Principles
- Modularity - The architecture will use technology
components that can accommodate expansion, upgrading and substitution easily
with minimal disruption to services. Benefits include reduced
development costs due to the "building block" approach. An
organization will be required to manage the components.
- Inter-operability/Connectivity/Portability - Information
technology components will interactively work together through modern
connectivity tools and standard components and interfaces. This will
favour vendor-neutral standards and avoid unique federal government
standards. Benefits include improved competition in the marketplace and
lower costs to the government.
Local-area networks are key elements
- Distribution - Processing, storage and communications
technologies may be distributed to multiple levels in the architecture,
where appropriate, to support dispersed business operations. Local- and
wide-area networks are, therefore, key elements of the strategy. Benefits
include increased flexibility in locating applications, services and information.
- Workstation Orientation - Intelligent multi-function
workstations supporting industry-standard user interfaces are the preferred
means of delivering end-user functionality. Benefits include reduced
training costs and a lower-cost platform. There may be initial acquisition
costs to equip users and there will be ongoing support needs.
- Network Orientation - All workstations will be
attached (wired or wireless) to the government enterprise network, with
appropriately secure communications linkages to all authorized servers and
users. This will require an investment in common infrastructure,
especially as demand for connectivity increases from other governments and
from the private sector. Benefits include reduced duplication, especially
where networks become more standardized.
- Infrastructure Management - The architecture will
provide for the management and security of the technology infrastructure.
Security will be provided through an integrated set of safeguards designed
to ensure the confidentiality, integrity and availability of information and
its related processes. This will require, for example, taking steps to
protect the network from disasters, sabotage and failures. It will ensure
effective planning and management of system operations.
Implementation Approach
The Blueprint is a dynamic, integrated framework for implementing government
service renewal over the next five years. It builds on initiatives already under
way. The following six elements are critical to its implementation.
- Community Leadership. Ministers and deputy ministers,
with the strong and effective support of the Chief Informatics Officer
(CIO), must champion the service renewal in government, recognizing that
significant benefits will accrue to departments and their clients. Treasury
Board policy centres will provide supporting functional expertise. The
Office of Information Management, Systems and Technology (IMST) will
coordinate implementation and provide support in business re-engineering and
IT architectural design.
- Commitment to the Vision. Leaders, having espoused the
Blueprint's vision, will communicate and explain it to all government
employees and will seek their effective commitment. This commitment, which
will also be sought from potential partners, must be sustained over time,
since it constitutes an essential ingredient of change management.
Involving and committing people
- People Management. Strategies and plans must be directed
towards involving and committing people; fostering open communication;
involving employees in conceptual design and implementation and facilitating
their shift to the new culture and structures; assessing composition and
competencies of the work force; and resolving the human resources issues
associated with the transition and change.
- Partnerships. The implementation of the Blueprint will
require an effective and sustained partnership among staff within
departments. In recognition of the increased interdependencies reflected in
the Blueprint, partnerships will also extend to other departments, other
levels of government and the private sector. Partnerships must be pursued
and promoted aggressively to leverage common requirements, to take advantage
of specific skills, to spread risks, and to share experience, innovation and
investment.
Identifying change management requirements
- Forging Ahead for Results. The Blueprint represents an
architectural framework that will be implemented and, where necessary,
adjusted over time. To accomplish this, a set of service renewal projects
will identify change management and technology requirements, develop
migration plans, provide incentive through success, and begin a
government-wide rollout. A government-wide electronic infrastructure project
will support these service renewal projects as they spread across
government.
- Departmental Implementation. Departments will use the
Blueprint in planning and implementing their own internal renewal
activities. They will reflect their planned approach to implementation in
such planning instruments as annual operational plans and information
management plans, starting in fiscal year 1994-95.
Overall, the Blueprint does not start at square one, but builds on
existing renewal activities and policies (for example, Enhancing Services
Through the Innovative Use of Information and Technology: Strategic Direction
for the 90s, issued by Treasury Board). The transformation envisaged in the
Blueprint will be achieved through continuous improvements. There will be
ongoing measuring and monitoring of government service delivery.
Key Issues
- Communications. Business transformation can only be
successful if all participants (e.g., ministers, Public Service employees,
clients, the IT industry) involved in bringing about the IT-enabled future
are consulted throughout the process of design, development, and
implementation.
Promoting participation and commitment
On going internal communication is the first step towards ensuring a smooth
transition of employees to an open and responsive environment. A well-managed
communication strategy will heighten awareness, address anxieties, and promote
the participation and commitment of management and employees to the change
process. Effective internal communication is of value to client satisfaction and
to the improvement of services.
Consulting with Canadian industry is important to help it use the experience
gained from government business for competitive advantage in global markets.
- People Management. Successful implementation of the
Blueprint vision of service renewal will hinge on the human dimension. It is
critical that the people issues associated with implementing a new
management philosophy and an organizational culture of continuous learning
and service improvement be addressed from the onset.
Moving the existing workforce to the new culture and structures, assessing
the composition and competencies of the workforce, renewed training and
development, open communication and consultation, empowerment of employees and
greater accountability are but some of the challenges of transition that must be
addressed.
New competencies and enhanced skills (e.g., network management, project
management, architecture and design, client service focus, team-building, etc.)
are required for an information-based operation focusing on client service.
Empowered employees will need to operate in a more open non-traditional
organizational environment to provide value-added services.
There must also be conscious recognition that change as a positive force must
be introduced with sensitivity to the needs of people within the organization as
well as those of clients.
- Information, Technology and Operations. The key players
must discuss and resolve issues about the privacy and security of
information, standards for information and technology management, pricing
and funding mechanisms for using the infrastructure, and developing and
implementing common, shareable solutions.
- Partnership with Other Governments and Industry. Common
requirements and interest dictate that governments work together to seek
shareable, cost-effective solutions in the delivery of programs to the
general public.
The industry has the expertise and resources to provide modern equipment and
services to support the renewal of government operations. It also needs
government business to leverage investment and enhance competitiveness.
- Communicate. The draft Blueprint will be communicated to
interested parties inside and outside the federal government in order to
refine the document, and to obtain feedback, buy-in and departmental
participation in pilots. Distributing this document has started the process,
which will continue for the next several months.
- Endorse the Principles. The Treasury Board Ministers will
be asked to adopt the principles set out in the Blueprint as a policy for
renewing government services for internal and external clients. The
Blueprint will serve as a basis for reviewing, adopting and promoting an
integrated, enterprise-wide approach to the delivery of government services,
following the consultations.
- Review the Requirements. There will be consultation with
groups such as the Blueprint Program Advisory Committee, the Advisory
Committee on Information Management, the Government Systems Committee, the
Council for Administrative Renewal, the Treasury Board Senior Advisory
Committee Information Management Subcommittee, and the Treasury Board Senior
Advisory Committee, on the requirement for resources, skill sets,
methodologies, and governance processes. This will take place at the same
time as the communication activities.
- Launch Service Renewal Projects. IMST will work with
departments and policy centres to select the first wave of renewal projects.
The federal government will actively seek out partners in the private sector
and other levels of government. Project champions from the community will
then organize and plan project implementation; IMST will support them, as
required. This will take place beginning the second half of 1994.
- Launch a Government-wide Electronic Information Infrastructure
Project. There will be an examination of the issues relating to
developing a government-wide electronic information infrastructure, designed
in part to meet the connectivity needs of the first wave of service renewal
projects and future efforts. This review will be undertaken in close
collaboration with Public Works and Government Services Canada, Industry
Canada and other interested parties, parallel to the service renewal
projects.
Already, some departments are using this blueprint in planning and
implementing their own internal renewal activities. The Blueprint proposes that
departments collaborate through sharing experiences (both failures and
successes), development costs and efforts, and solutions.
Architectural Principles
Architectural principles are simple, direct statements of preferred
architectural direction or practice. They help establish a context for
architectural design decisions and a common language for business and technology
managers in making technology-related decisions. They address how the
organization proposes to conduct its activities, and how it intends to use
information technology to support its business. Like zoning laws, principles
change relatively infrequently.
Each principle states a fundamental belief of the organization that is
understandable to both technical and non-technical staff. Each principle is
shown with supporting rationale that relate the principle to the business
drivers (i.e. improved service and reduced costs). Additionally, the specific
implications of each principle, or impacts resulting from its adoption, are
identified. The implications can be used as the foundation for developing
specific action plans.
Some implications are common to most principles and have not been identified
explicitly. These are the:
- need to review, modify or design rules and procedures governing the
management, operation, and use of services;
- need to consider the applicability across levels of government;
- roles and responsibilities of the clients and service providers;
- initial and ongoing investment in technology;
- resources and skill sets required (e.g., specialist requirements); and
- importance of managing people, sharing values, creating a responsive and
flexible work environment, and investing time and resources in enhancing
employees' knowledge, skills and abilities.
Details on who should address the implications and when will be defined
through the consultation process, as outlined in the Approach and Issues for
Implementation chapter.
There are five categories of architectural principles that correspond to the
five architectural views.
- Business principles govern the overall architecture.
- Work principles guide how information technology should
support the work organization.
- Information principles guide how information resources
will be used and managed.
- Application principles guide how applications will be
constructed, implemented and managed.
- Technology principles guide how the technology
components will be selected, acquired, assembled and managed.
Business Principles
Client Service Focus
Client needs will drive the design and delivery of government
services.
Rationale
- Quality of service (as judged by clients) is a key measure of government
and is the most visible.
- It reflects the intention to improve client service.
Implications
- Requires publicly available service standards, linked to costs of
providing services.
- Need to closely align client expectations with the capacity to provide
these services.
- Need to communicate service standards and manage services accordingly.
- Need to consult clients on a continuous basis.
- Clients increasingly expect technology to be used to deliver services.
- Services must be accessible in the official languages of Canada.
People Management
Employees, their involvement, development and commitment, will be
critical to successful business renewal.
Rationale
- Securing employee participation and commitment and resolving people
management issues are key to successfully transforming business. Employees,
with their knowledge, are well-positioned to know what the client requires
and are vital for implementing re-engineered processes and improving service
delivery.
- Employee participation during business renewal provides the opportunity
for employees to link their competencies, development and career aspirations
with the direction of the organization.
Implications
- Need active employee consultation, involvement and participation on the
team throughout the renewal process, i.e. from design to implementation.
- Need open, honest and timely communication with all employees and
consultation with their bargaining agents.
- Need a rigorous and thorough analysis of the human resources implications,
strategies and costs as a prerequisite to project approval. Human resources
specialists must be fully involved in all projects from the initial phase to
help identify the full range of human resources issues arising from the
re-engineering and to contribute actively to their resolution.
- Departmental management must provide an atmosphere of continuous learning
and development in a flexible and responsive work environment.
- Resolving the full range of human resources management issues will take
time and money.
Common Shareable Solutions
Common requirements will be addressed by common, shareable solutions.
Rationale
- Avoids re-inventing the wheel, thus reducing costs.
- Provides an opportunity for cost reductions in retraining and duplication
of work.
- Supports mobility of staff and, thus, using them more effectively.
Implications
- Requires standards to facilitate sharing in many areas.
- Requires modular government services.
- Need a government-wide mechanism to identify common requirements and to
promote innovation and common, shareable solutions.
- Implementation will take time.
Partnership
Strategic alliances will be pursued with other governments and the
private sector.
Rationale
- Yields more cost-effective solutions by using other parties who have
specific skills that the government does not or who have common
requirements.
- Leverages broader opportunities for common, shareable solutions by:
- using a third-party investment capacity and
- forming innovative relationships.
Implications
- Need a policy framework that is supportive while protecting basic
governmental contracting principles (openness, transparency, accessibility,
equity).
- Need a mechanism for finding partnership opportunities and for identifying
and selecting partners.
- Need to establish roles, responsibilities, and accountabilities of
partners, including standards of service.
- Need to manage ongoing relationships with our strategic partners.
- Need to provide appropriate safeguards for privacy, security and access.
- Official language requirements must be taken into account when evaluating
and implementing partnership opportunities.
Accountability
Accountability performance standards and evaluation capabilities will
be incorporated into the design and delivery of government services.
Rationale
- Reduces the direct labour costs and the overhead associated with a
separate control system.
- Provides the foundation for improving service.
Implications
- Need to clearly define a notion of accountability that is suitable for the
service provider and the user.
- Need to report actual performance against established service standards.
- Requires a mechanism to ensure that the appropriate metrics are gathered.
Enabling Technology
Information technology will be used to its full advantage for
redesigning the delivery of government services.
Rationale
- Reduces direct labour costs for manually intensive tasks and the
associated overhead costs for management, support and facilities.
- Improves service (quicker response, reduced errors, collection of better
management information and accessibility of information).
- Improves service by enabling employees to move to more value-added,
knowledge-based functions.
Implications
- Need an ongoing capability to identify, evaluate, promote and exploit the
opportunities of enabling technology across government.
- Need to encourage innovation and early, direct involvement of affected
Public Service employees in designing and implementing re-engineered
business processes.
- Need standards.
- Need a (re)skilling program to ensure employees can make the best use of
enabling technologies.
Work Principles
Single Window/Seamless Service
Government services will be delivered to common clients through a
single window and be free of functional and organizational barriers.
Rationale
- Improves service since clients would no longer have to deal with several
different administrative functions, programs, and departments in order to
complete a transaction.
Implications
- Requires a concentrated focus on customer service.
- Requires commitment of the entire organization to the concept because of
the potential impact on existing organizational structures.
- Requires active management of relationships with other single-window
services, providers and external parties.
- Requires rules and procedures for service delivery and standards for level
of service to guide the operations of the single-window concept.
- Necessitates establishing new cooperative networks and communication
flows.
- Requires longer term adjustment to organizational structures to obtain
maximum benefits from single-window client service delivery.
- Does not prevent specialized service where warranted.
Streamlining
The process between the client and delivery of the government service
will be minimized.
Rationale
- Reduces costs for both the client and service provider by eliminating
intermediate processes that do not add value once the technology is in
place.
- Improves service to the client by focusing on tasks that contribute to
meeting the client's needs.
Implications
- Need to align personnel with client requirements rather than to process
tasks.
- Need to consider accountability issues when streamlining the service.
- Need to re-invest time or financial dollar savings from streamlined
processes into desirable new activities.
- Has an impact on existing jobs and responsibilities, which must be
redefined in the light of the new processes.
- Services must have a consistent look and feel for direct access and
self-service.
Choices
Where practical and cost justifiable, clients will have options as to
how government services are delivered.
Rationale
- Improves service by allowing the client to choose a system best suited to
his or her need from a range of affordable service delivery options.
Implications
- Need a feedback mechanism to understand changes in client preferences and
requirements.
- Need to assess the costs and benefits of new and existing service delivery
options.
- Need performance measures to compare the quality of service delivery
options.
- Requires an investment in network technology which supports multiple
end-user delivery alternatives.
Consistency
Where the same types of work activities are involved for different
government services, they will be done the same way.
Rationale
Reduces costs by
- eliminating administrative or program processes that contribute no added
value;
- reducing process design, implementation, maintenance and training for
different work activities; and
- promoting common applications, which will allow Public Service employees
to move more easily across the government.
Implications
- Requires common terminology, definitions and transactions.
- Need policies and procedures for the transformed processes, particularly
for staff redeployment in common functional areas.
- Will be easier to transform services with a consistent look and feel into
"seamless" processes.
- Processes and activities that do not add value will be eliminated.
- Implementation will take time due to difficulty in obtaining consensus
across multiple departments involved in common delivery functions.
Location and Time Independence
Clients will have access to government services at any time from many
locations, wherever such access is cost justified and warranted.
Rationale
- Provides a basis for reducing such costs as real property, accommodation
and transportation by focusing on low-cost geographical locations and
IT-enabled network applications.
- Improves service since the client accesses services when it is
convenient.
Implications
- Need to provide authorized individuals with tools and access privileges to
communicate through the network.
- Need well-defined service standards to make service independent of
location and time.
- Need to address the requirements of clients with special needs.
- Requires investment in the telecommunication/computer network and its
linkages.
- Automated services must be provided in both official languages.
Continuous Improvement of Service
Services will be improved on an ongoing basis, with measurements
embedded in the service processes.
Rationale
- Defined service levels are essential to enabling line managers to respond
to continuous reductions in operating budgets by making appropriate
investments in technology and in pre-determined service levels.
- Improved service is not just a one-time occurrence, but occurs
continuously.
Implications
- Need to review the relationship of the organization with external groups
whenever the organization is re-engineered.
- Requires a performance measurement framework that takes into account
service levels and available resources.
- Need to redesign the management framework to focus on client service.
- Managers and employees must increasingly participate as team members.
- Certain processes and activities may be eliminated.
Information Principles
Managing Government Information
Government information, in all forms (e.g., print, voice, electronic,
or image), is a strategic resource and will be effectively managed throughout
its lifecycle.
Rationale
Improves service by
- enhancing the availability and quality of information for processing
transactions and decision-making; and
- providing clients and service providers with the information they need, in
a variety of media and forms.
Implications
- Need to effectively manage both government information and its
"metadata" (information about information, including the work
processes associated with information, information itself, and the
supporting applications and technology).
- Need to establish the accountabilities and service standards for managing
information and metadata.
- Need to be able to classify and define data and metadata.
- Need directory services to provide clients with a secure, simple, and
accurate way of finding government information and need repository services
to store metadata.
- Need policy guidance on production, pricing and publication of government
information, including Crown copyrights.
- Need to integrate the management of electronic and hard-copy information
and of voice and data networks.
- Need legislation and policies to facilitate appropriate public access to
government information through a diversity of sources (i.e. libraries,
private sector information industry and networks).
- Need applications and technology infrastructures capable of storing,
transporting and processing information in multiple forms and media.
Data Administration
All government information will be subject to data administration to
ensure common definitions, integrity and consistency of use.
Rationale
- Enhances service through improved quality and consistency of information
and improves overall effectiveness of management information systems.
- Reduces costs by making it easier and more efficient to manage
information.
- Supports capturing data only once, and sharing solutions and timely,
accurate data for common process requirements.
Implications
- Need a data dictionary and a repository.
- Need to maintain a comprehensive catalogue of standard data definitions.
- Need a mechanism to access the standard information definitions and
communicate them to system developers.
- Requires common data standards across all levels in the information
architecture of government service delivery.
Sharing and Re-using Information
Information will be captured once, as close to the source as
possible, then shared and re-used by authorized users.
Rationale
- Reduces costs by
- eliminating duplicate data capture and reducing errors resulting from
transcription and re-entry;
- improving the consistency of information so it can be shared and re-used,
eliminating duplicate data capture and storage; and
- improving the quality of information through increased standardization.
This improvement decreases the need to reconcile inconsistent information
and reduces the risks of poor decisions based on erroneous information.
- Improves service by reducing the burden on clients of having to provide
information that has already been captured.
Implications
- Need an applications and technology infrastructure to support electronic
transmission of information from point of capture to point of use.
- Need a technology infrastructure and tools to enable users to locate and
access all of the information they require for their work.
- Need government-wide standards for describing and defining common and
specific information.
- Need to define the requirements of users to access information.
- Need to protect the privacy and security of information in accordance with
the relevant legislation and best management practices.
- Common and specific information must conform to government-wide models and
standards.
- Must ensure that information is accessible and that quality of information
is maintained.
Exchanging Information
Once captured, government information should be stored and exchanged
electronically to avoid transcribing and re-entering it manually.
Rationale
- Produces savings from reduced paper usage and paper storage, improved
productivity, reduced error rates in entering data and less need for
reconciliation.
- Improves service because the necessary information will be readily
available with more assured integrity.
Implications
- Need to provide the appropriate security and confidentiality of
information so that only authorized users who have a need to know can access
data.
- Need data interchange standards and a common network to access data.
- Need a policy addressing who is responsible for maintaining the data.
- Electronic information exchange may affect the organization of work.
Protecting Information
The security, integrity and privacy of government information will be
ensured by integrating information technology security measures with physical,
personnel screening and other security measures.
Rationale
- Reduces costs by protecting information from loss, damage, unauthorized
access or alteration and lowers the expense of recovering information.
Implications
- Need to incorporate an integrated approach to ensuring the
confidentiality, integrity and availability of information and related
processes when designing information systems and technology.
- Need security and backup mechanisms.
- Need low cost security solutions for LAN-based systems.
Retaining Information
Government information will be retained only while there exists a
business need, a legislative or policy requirement, or when it has historical or
archival importance.
Rationale
- Reduces costs by eliminating the storage and management of information
that is no longer required.
- Improves service by ensuring that required information is available when
needed, that obsolete information is disposed of and that information of
enduring value is preserved.
Implications
- Must consider retention and disposition as part of the lifecycle of
information management.
- Must incorporate the requirements for retention and disposal when
designing information systems and technology.
- Must provide services for archival storage and disposal of information.
Stewardship
Specific organizational units will be accountable for managing
designated classes of government information to ensure its integrity, quality
and relevance and restrict its accessibility to authorized users.
Rationale
- Improves service by
- equipping managers and staff with reliable, accessible information; and
- giving clients appropriate access to information and enabling service
providers to deliver responsive services.
- Reduces cost. By improving productivity, it gives the empowered employee
the information necessary to perform duties.
Implications
- Must define the role of custodian and to develop appropriate
accountability frameworks.
- Need performance standards to measure the effectiveness of the custodian's
role.
- Need to define the standards for information exchange (e.g., magnetic,
EDI).
- Need to define the information that will be made accessible to various
service providers.
- Requires a policy addressing who owns the data.
- Need directory services to facilitate access to the necessary data.
- Access must be provided regardless of the physical location or the form of
the information.
- Need to manage access to information in conformance with Treasury Board
policies.
Application Principles
Sharing Systems
Computer systems for common processes or functions will be shared
broadly across the government.
Rationale
- Reduces systems development and maintenance costs since departments would
no longer manage systems independently.
- Improves service through better "product" management and
improved capability for sharing information.
Implications
- Need to establish a user-focused management framework with clearly defined
accountabilities for shared systems.
- Need to address change management considerations.
- Need funding mechanisms for cooperative efforts.
- Need to plan and co-ordinate the development and migration of shared
applications.
- Need to consider factors such as the departments' operating needs and
investments in existing systems.
- Implementation will take time.
Modularity
Applications will be designed using modular components for basic and
optional functions.
Rationale
- Reduces costs by:
- promoting sharing and common solutions;
- making each application cheaper and quicker to develop and maintain; and
- facilitating new ways of doing business through easy reconfiguration of
system components.
Implications
- Need to determine the criteria to identify application modules.
- Need to promote awareness of the basic modules.
- Need to promote system design approaches that ensure modularity and
separation of application functions.
- Requires an organization and mechanism to drive and manage the use of
modular application components.
- Must be able to recognize both common and unique requirements of clients.
- Pre-packaged applications will be preferred over custom development
wherever they are available and cost-effective.
- The functional separation should be invisible to the user.
Rapid Application Development
To minimize risks in application development, use joint development
teams on short term (i.e. 4-6 months) projects which focus on yielding a
working prototype, which may then be refined and improved via successive
iterations through to implementation.
Rationale
- Reduces costs by forcing out unnecessary and costly functionality and
design changes, thereby avoiding time delays and cost overruns.
- Reduces cost of failure by providing decision points at each successive
prototype stage.
- Improves service by having clients and information technology
professionals work closely together as a team in developing applications and
by providing clients with systems which can meet their essential needs over
a short period of time.
Implications
- Users will assume more accountability for application development.
- Need Rapid Application Development tools to provide fast prototyping
across multiple platforms.
- Need a revised system development lifecycle methodology which will support
this iterative approach.
- Need change in approach in departments which would encourage client and
information technology partnerships within tight and demanding timeframes.
- IT professionals will need to develop expertise required to manage rapid
application development projects.
Re-usability
Applications will be designed to use common, shareable components.
Rationale
- Reduces costs by
- facilitating re-usability, which promotes the efficient use of resources
and minimizes redundancy; and
- shortening the time required to develop and maintain applications.
Implications
- Need a methodology and an accountable organization to identify, acquire
and manage common modules.
- Need to identify who is responsible for maintaining modules.
- Need a repository for common modules and documentation.
- Need to identify common requirements that can be met via common, shared
components, recognizing that there are some unique client requirements that
cannot be met this way.
- Using common modules will significantly affect the existing IT development
process.
Distribution
Applications and tools will be structured so they can be replicated
and distributed on the government enterprise network.
Rationale
- Reduces costs by providing applications that are easily distributed and
maintained using the network.
- Improves service by providing clients with the appropriate applications
when they need them.
Implications
- Need to define the architectural levels and the application environments
they support.
- Need to consider all associated costs and management issues of
distribution.
- Need to consider the various criteria to determine the placement of
applications.
- Need to classify, organize, distribute and manage applications based on
their scope of use.
- Need to provide access to applications regardless of where they are
located physically.
- Need to address issues about licensing, partnerships and sharing
agreements for applications.
- It may be desirable to distribute applications physically to improve
accessibility.
- Applications may reside on different platforms and process in an
individual or cooperative fashion.
- More controls, such as procedures for backup and recovery, may be required
due to the more highly dispersed environment.
Standard Inter-application Interfaces
Standard interfaces between application modules will be used to
accommodate information sharing and transfer of transactions.
Rationale
- Reduces costs and improves service by
- promoting sharing and re-usability;
- promoting connectivity and integration; and
- maintaining modularity.
Implications
- Need application programming interface (API) standards.
- Requires a process for establishing, adopting and managing application
interface standards.
- Requires infrastructure-level data management for inter-application
messages.
- Where appropriate, applications will interconnect across administrative
functions and government.
Consistency
Applications will be designed to use industry-standard user
interfaces, providing a consistent look and feel to the users of multiple
applications and tools.
Rationale
- Reduces costs by:
- supporting ease of use, thus improving efficiency;
- reducing (re)training required to use new or expanded applications; and-
eliminating a significant amount of coding and testing for development and
maintenance.
Implications
- Requires decisions regarding the appropriate user interfaces.
- Need to evaluate industry user interface products.
- Need to define types of users and workstations.
- Supports mobility of staff and, thus, using employees more effectively.
- Implementation will take time because of the inherent difficulty of
obtaining agreements on common application and appearance.
- Need to separate management of the user interface from the application.
- User interfaces should have options to accommodate unique or special user
requirements.
Technology Principles
Modularity
The architecture will use technology components that can accommodate
expansion, upgrading and substitution easily with minimal disruption to
services.
Rationale
- Reduces development costs by specifying and using components that permit a
"building block" approach to the technical architecture.
- Supports improved service and operational flexibility by accommodating
continuous changes in business, organization and technology.
- Supports efficient use of technology by tuning platforms to meet local
requirements and by allowing components to be re-used.
Implications
- Need to specify and develop standard components for application and
technical environments and hardware platform types.
- Need a mechanism to manage and maintain the components.
- Requires a careful migration strategy with new investments.
- Vendors must develop families of specialized functionality that can be
used on the various processing components of the government (i.e. that are
scalable).
- Architecture must be able to take advantage of external developments.
- Technologies that support scalability will be preferred over more limited
choices.
Inter-operability/Connectivity/Portability
Information technology components will interactively work together
through modern connectivity tools and standard components and interfaces.
Rationale
- Improves service by enabling any authorized workstation and user to access
all applications, services and data on the government enterprise network.
- Provides cost-effective solutions for the government through increased
competition in the marketplace.
Implications
- Requires standards for the processing, network and development
environments.
- Need to develop specifications based on adopted standards and common
connectivity and interface tools. Solutions unique to the Government of
Canada should be avoided in favour of open, vendor-neutral ones.
- An increased emphasis on security, network bandwidth and
telecommunications cost controls is implied.
- Must be a means to interface legacy systems to new environments until the
former are replaced or upgraded to meet open requirements.
Distribution
Processing, storage and communications technologies may be
distributed to multiple levels in the architecture, where appropriate, to
support dispersed business operations.
Rationale
- Improves service by recognizing varying needs for accessing and sharing
applications, services and information in different departments, levels of
operation, and management and operating locations.
- Provides flexibility for placing applications, services and information at
different levels and different operating locations to optimize performance,
availability, cost, management and other factors.
Implications
- Must address how to provide support services for managing distributed
environments.
- Requires a means for determining and evaluating distribution options.
- Enterprise networking is vital to the operation of the distributed
architecture.
- Multiple-level distribution introduces operational and management
complexity.
Workstation Orientation
Intelligent multi-function workstations supporting industry-standard
user interfaces are the preferred means of delivering end-user functionality.
Rationale
- Improves service by providing maximum flexibility at the interface with
the user.
- Provides a low-cost processing platform that can be dedicated to local
user functions (e.g., word-processing, spreadsheets) or portions of
shared applications, off-loading networks and host (server).
- Reduces training costs by providing an easy and consistent look and feel
for users of the workstation.
Implications
- Need procedures and readily available ongoing low-cost support for users.
- May result in initial costs to appropriately equip users with hardware.
- Business needs should drive the selection of the workstation subject to
requirements for interoperability, connectivity and portability.
Network Orientation
All workstations will be attached (wired or wireless) to the
government enterprise network, with appropriately secure communications linkages
to all authorized servers and users.
Rationale
- Improves service by providing users with access to information and tools
required to deliver services.
- Reduces costs by reducing the duplication of effort for planning,
implementing and operating service facilities such as electronic mail, file
transfer, development services, and directory and network management.
Implications
- Need to manage network security risks.
- Requires adopting appropriate communications and inter-networking
standards.
- Some application and technology environments may require direct mainframe
connection, but these should be avoided or minimized.
- New relationships with other governments and the private sector will
require more two-way access.
- The government enterprise network must be managed as a corporate resource.
- Increased requirements for expanded bandwidths and telecommunications cost
controls.
Infrastructure Management
The architecture will provide for the management and security of the
technology infrastructure.
Rationale
- Reduces costs and improves service by making it easier to effectively plan
and manage business and system operations. The architecture will provide
timely and accurate information pertaining to work loads, usage patterns and
performance.
- Reduces costs by reducing the cost of manual (and potentially
inconsistent) collection of usage and performance information.
- Supports continuous improvement and change.
Implications
- Need to define who will manage the infrastructure.
- Need to identify the basic requirement to ensure the integrity and
security of applications, services and data.
- Need an integrated set of safeguards to ensure the confidentiality,
integrity and availability of information.
- Need to identify the multiple levels of security that the architecture
will support.
- Need to define and monitor management responsibilities for security.
- Need to identify the resource and management tools required to monitor and
manage the infrastructure.
- Need infrastructure service standards and a performance measurement
framework that also address non-technical criteria.
- Need to develop a mechanism to account for usage and costs.
- Need for recovery management across the network.
- Requires a framework for auditability and accountability.