Date: August 2009
With the rapid evolution of information and communication technologies, the advent of globalization, and a shift to a knowledge-based economy, information management (IM) and information technology (IT) are critical to helping the federal government and its departments achieve its delivery of programs and services to citizens, communities of interest, and businesses.
IM/IT has become a vital tool for the delivery of virtually every service. New and improved technology is rapidly deployed and quickly adopted everywhere, leading to ever-increasing expectations with respect to capability and capacity. Employees use IM/IT every day in delivering departmental services and share these increased expectations with the stakeholders that they serve. The new technical environment also presents the department with great opportunities to use electronic service delivery technology to transform the way it does business. Combined with IM/IT efficiency opportunities, the result will be better service, greater accessibility, lower cost and better administration and management.
This presents a major challenge for people working to deploy and support IM/IT as they respond to external and internal influencing factors as well as considering the implications of various technological advances and innovations. Of necessity, the Department must find ways to set priorities so effectiveness can be maximized and services can be provided more efficiently while at the same time responding to changing departmental priorities, government modern management, shared services, Transport Canada’s Strategic Review and other initiatives.
Transport Canada’s IM/IT capability must enable and contribute to internal employees and a diverse external stakeholder set to conduct program transactions electronically in a timely, efficient and, where needed, secure and private manner with the goal of facilitating access, sharing and exchange of information. The Transport Canada IM/IT Strategic/Investment Plan lays the foundation for a business driven IM/IT investment program, ensuring that all IM/IT investments across all business lines contribute toward departmental success, maximize program benefits and minimize risk and cost. The intent of this plan is to position IM/IT in the larger context of the department’s plans, priorities and directions, ensuring that the IM/IT priorities are aligned with the business, while controlling escalating costs and ensuring consistent service delivery.
The Transport Canada IM/IT Vision is:
Transport Canada will manage the IM/IT systems, policies and technologies required to responsibly do business electronically with clients and employees in a smooth, affordable and secure manner, which enhances business efficiency and client and employee satisfaction and recognition.
The Transport Canada IM/IT Strategic/Investment Plan FY 2009/10 – FY 2012/13 will support the IM/IT vision, continue to evolve to meet evolving departmental requirements and will be driven by Transport Canada’s business direction and priorities. There are three (3) overarching themes which will help guide the direction and focus: Infrastructure Operations, Business Enabling Technology,, and IM/IT Stewardship. Supporting those three themes are seven (7) long-term goals:
These goals are expressed as broad statements of an end state or desired environment/achievement that is in line with and supports the IM/IT and Departmental Results Framework. There is a cascading relationship – each goal has a set of IM/IT objectives, which in turn, define the major actions to be undertaken in order to achieve the desired goal. The projects / initiatives / investments represent the specific concrete actions that the Department, in collaboration with other governmental and non-governmental organizations, will take to implement the objectives.
These objectives will continue to evolve and be updated over time, just as past IM/IT strategic and investment plans set and accomplished their objectives. Past IM/IT investment spending (capital portion only) has increased over time and has also been a major contributing factor for a number of significant accomplishments that were identified as objectives in previous plans.
A departmental IM/IT Expenditure Profile is developed annually (last completed for the 2007/08 fiscal year once all IT financials were finalized) as a tool to assist in historical analysis of departmental IM/IT spending (capital, OOC and salaries and wages) against IM/IT categories coded into the Department’s financial system. In addition to analysis of past spending, investments and accomplishments, the TC IM/IT Expenditure Profile provides useful information to assist in analysis of IM/IT spending and identifying efficiency opportunities. It is also used as a checkpoint and monitoring reference to ensure that overall spending levels are managed and play a key role in modeling the IM/IT investments in a particular year based on the previous year’s IM/IT expenditures.
When comparing the previous years IM/IT expenditure figures, the total IM/IT spending level has remained relatively constant for the last three years, although the department had grown in number of employees and programs, there had been no corresponding variance in IM/IT costs. However, the 2005/06 spending levels increased from both the 2003/04 and 2004/05 spending levels, approximately 13% overall.. Variance analysis is on-going however, variance between 2007/08 and previous years are most evident in Hardware, Software, Application System and Salaries and Wages.
(Departmental Totals Table Removed)
(Departmental IM/IT Spending By Category Table Removed)
Effective management of IM/IT resources and investments includes continually being aware of and actively seeking out opportunities to reduce and/or manage costs. The focus for 2009/10 will be on strengthening the Corporate Services’ client service orientation while identifying new efficiency opportunities to be undertaken next fiscal year.
The IM/IT investments are comprised of carry-over projects (previously approved multi-year projects that are continuing) and new approved investments. There are a number of IM/IT projects that are identified as carry over capital investments for 2009/10 with a total committed investment of approximately $24M. The current approved IM/IT projects for 2009/10 are estimated to have a financial requirement of approximately $5.9M, some with additional carry-over requirements in 2010/11.
| Category | 2008-2009 | 2009-2010 | 2010-2011 | 2011-2012 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Allocation ($000's) |
Actual ($000's) |
Forecast ($000's) |
Forecast ($000's) |
Forecast ($000's) |
|
| Ongoing– Prior to 2008-2009 | 23,837.9 | 11,615.5 | 16,760.7 | 7,394.1 | - |
| New - 2008-2009 Starts | 2,000.3 | 1,327.4 | 7,752.3 | 4,759.4 | 543.6 |
| New- 2009-2010 Starts | 6,988.8 | 4,362.5 | |||
| Total | 25,838.2 | 12,942.9 | 30,428.3 | 19,142.3 | 4,906.1 |
The Department’s CIO Office, in full partnership with the various departmental management and IM/IT committees, will provide leadership for the Transport Canada IM/IT Strategic/Investment Plan and its initiatives. Implementation will require the full and active participation of all business and service lines. It will mean taking a creative approach to making the best technology choices to support business requirements, ensuring the best support for the tools and systems that are provided, and making the most effective use of staff and technical resources.
In addition to the IM/IT capital investments, there are also a number of initiatives and activities in the IM/IT Stewardship category related to portfolio management, governance and people development that will be conducted to assist in realizing the goals and objectives of the TC IM/IT Strategic/Investment Plan FY 2009/10–2012/13. For example, the current departmental IM/IT governance structure consisting of the TC Business IM/IT Council, TC Business IM/IT Investment Committee and TC IM/IT Architecture and Standards Committee will evolve and continue to be leveraged to provide improved management of departmental IM/IT. In addition, on April 1, 2009, the departmental IM/T Project Oversight Secretariat (POS) was launched as a service organization that builds on the existing IM/IT governance structure and processes, and whose focus is to ensure that the departmental IM/IT portfolio of investments is managed effectively throughout the project management lifecycle. As such the POS will play a crucial role in the planning, execution, monitoring and measuring and quality assurance of all IM/IT investments.
The mission of the POS is :
The TC IM/IT POS is a key project management framework component required to develop departmental IM/IT project management capacity in support of the TBS policies: Policy on the Management of Projects and the Policy on Investment Planning-Assets and Acquired Services.
The Transport Canada IM/IT Strategic/Investment Plan is a “living document” that will be updated regularly as part of a continuous cycle of strategic business planning within Transport Canada. It will evolve on an annual basis in step with the departmental activities underway to establish an integrated planning frameworks supporting the new PAA and Government of Canada / Departmental priorities.
Continuous improvement is an activity that is inherent to an iterative process. Future iterations of the planning cycle will identify changes and adjustments to the process and tools as they are used and applied that will be reviewed and approved by the IM/IT governance structure. Noteworthy Senior Management endorsements include utilizing the departmental IM/IT planning process for alignment of all capital (new and minor allocations) and external capital (MCs/TBS submissions, OGD partnerships, etc.) extending the monitoring program to include all IM/IT and non-IM/IT capital investments and to apply the measurement programs to all completed IM/IT and non-IM/IT capital investments. In addition, the establishment of the TC IM/IT POS will provide lessons learned and feed the work required to establish a departmental Project Management Office (PMO) governing all projects as prescribed by the TBS policies:” Policy on the Management of Projects and the Policy on Investment Planning-Assets and Acquired Services.
With the rapid evolution of information and communication technologies, the advent of globalization, and a shift to a knowledge-based economy, information management (IM) and information technology (IT) are critical to helping the federal government and its departments achieve its delivery of programs and services to Canadians, communities of interest, and businesses.
IM (paper and electronic based information) is the foundation of effective Departmental decision-making. It is the content that is necessary to support the business lines of the Department, and it must be managed within the federal IM legislative framework. IM includes organization, rules for sharing or protecting, standards for use, changing, integrating and disposing of information.
IT is the underlying technology of the Department and represents the costs and investments needed for accomplishing today’s program management and delivery. It comprises hardware, software, organization / architectures and the environment which enables and supports all aspects of the information lifecycle. The effectiveness of the technology infrastructure is evaluated by its compatibility with existing technology, its ability to reduce operational risk through the provision of a stable and flexible platform, and the extra capabilities that it enables, such as on-line information systems.
Transport Canada is dealing with a number of complex business forces that are reshaping the Department. Transport Canada has transferred most of the operator functions and is now focused on a regulatory and policy development role. The Government of Canada has also seized the opportunity to benefit from technological change and business transformation by adopting a whole-of-government approach to secure electronic service delivery (ESD) for service improvement. Externally focused ESD is positioned to better serve external clients, while internally focused ESD (internal service improvement) is positioned to better meet internal departmental needs.
Effective secure ESD capabilities require access to and the availability of accurate, relevant, timely and well-managed information delivered through fast, secure and reliable Internet based business applications and information technology based services. These capabilities will require skilled end users of sophisticated information services and systems, backed by well-trained IM/IT professionals and supported by the best affordable IM/IT based systems and services.
IM/IT enables the Department’s ability to follow through on its commitments to provide the best transportation, and transportation safety for Canada and Canadians. The departmental IM/IT infrastructure, applications and services, support approximately 5,122 employees nationally. These services are provided and supported by Corporate Services nationally and Program area IM/IT staff within a departmental annual budget of approximately $83.8M in FY 2007/08 (salary and wages, OOC and Capital).
The main purpose of this IM/IT Strategic / Investment Plan is to guide the development and management of the IM/IT environment within Transport Canada to contribute to effective program delivery and to meet a broad set of evolving client needs. These clients are diverse, from external stakeholders who help shape policies, to businesses and citizens transacting with Transport Canada, and to Transport Canada employees working together, with external clients, with other government departments and with other levels of governments in order to assure the best transportation systems for Canada and Canadians.
Transport Canada’s IM/IT capability must enable this diverse client and stakeholder set to conduct business transactions with Transport Canada in a timely, efficient and, where needed, secure and private manner with the goal of facilitating the access, sharing and exchange of information. The Transport Canada IM/IT Strategic / Investment Plan lays the foundation for a business driven IM/IT investment program, ensuring that all investments across all business lines contribute toward corporate success, maximize business benefits and minimize risk.
In doing so, the Transport Canada IM/IT Strategic / Investment Plan presents the Department’s:
Integrated business planning (IBP) is a current priority for the department and efforts are ongoing to ensure the IM/IT governance structure and investment planning and aligned with the IBP. IM/IT initiatives are a key component of the overall departmental resource commitments therefore aligning with the IBP and ensuring these investments are linked to departmental outcomes is instrumental in determining the best value for the use of limited departmental financial and human resources.
The Plan takes into consideration the Government and departmental direction and priorities, factoring Government-wide initiatives such as IM/IT Shared Services and major departmental initiatives such as the TC Strategic Review. It sets the departmental IM/IT strategic direction, describing the actions required to attain this direction and identifying the key short-term investments associated with these actions.
This Plan is a living document and will be updated annually and as required in order to remain in step with the departmental business planning process and to reflect business changes.
Departmental planning supports all aspects of the departmental program delivery. One of these is IM/IT planning, which is an integral component of the planning cycle since it provides the foundation for the use of technology, information and resources to support the business goals and objectives. Consultation and validation of program priorities is a critical step in the IM/IT planning process.
The following diagram illustrates the flow of information for constant monitoring and annual refresh of the TC IM/IT Strategic /Investment Plan. The Department has identified nine priorities, which IM/IT supports with six goals. Each goal is supported by individual objectives, and in turn, each objective is supported by IM/IT projects or initiatives requiring investments.
The reporting requirements feed into the cyclical or annual refresh of the Plan, which in turn feeds the planning process for the next cycle.
Figure 1: Information Flow for Planning
Transport Canada’s business is ensuring, through effective transportation regulation and policy instruments, that Canadians have an effective and sustainable transportation system that is safe, efficient and environmentally responsible.
Vision – A transportation system in Canada that is recognized worldwide as safe and secure, efficient and environmentally responsible.
The department’s vision of a sustainable transportation system is one that integrates and balances social, economic and environmental objectives. Our vision is guided by the following principles:
Mission – Transport Canada works to help ensure that Canadians have the best transportation system by developing and administering policies, regulations and programs for a safe, efficient and environmentally friendly transportation system; contributing to Canada's economic growth and social development; and, protecting the physical environment.
Strategic Objectives and Priorities
In early FY 2009/10 Transport Canada adopted a new Program Activity Architecture (PAA) and Performance Management Framework. The new Program Activity Architecture strengthens Transport Canada’s ability to allocate resources, monitor results and realign spending to the highest priority programs, and reflects the department’s vision, focusing on four strategic outcomes:
Fifteen new program activities are aligned to these four strategic outcomes, with one additional program activity related to internal services. This new Program Activity Architecture structure contributes to the broader Government of Canada outcome areas of strong economic growth; a fair and secure marketplace; an innovative knowledge-based economy; a clean and healthy environment; and safe and secure communities
The details associated with the departmental priorities are contained in Appendix A.
IM/IT exists to support service delivery and business needs. (See Appendix A for detailed departmental business priorities). Development, implementation, and application support must be done in close cooperation with lines of business. Since business requirements drive IM/IT activities, the department needs to:
The TC IM/IT Strategic / Investment Plan will continue to evolve to meet the Department’s requirements and will be driven by TC’s business direction, priorities and levels of investment. Any strategies developed to respond to the major challenges facing Canada’s transportation sector in the future will be a major influence on the department’s IM/IT direction.
The current economic and political priorities affecting TC, and all government departments, are requiring a program change in approach to managing departmental services, including IM/IT. There are external, internal and IM/IT factors that influence the delivery of IM/IT services.
IM/IT will need to be in a position where it is easily able to effect changes in direction and priority in response to business and government changes. The change in portfolio at the department level (i.e. assuming responsibilities for Communities and Infrastructure) is an example of the changes that will need to be supported by IM/IT. The ability to re-prioritize quickly and be flexible will be an indicator of IM/IT’s added value. An annual IM/IT planning process provides the structure and the necessary checkpoints to ensure that this happens appropriately.
There are a number of initiatives that originate outside of TC (i.e. other government departments, legislation, etc.) that have a direct impact on the IM/IT environment within TC. TC IM/IT must be flexible to be able to respond to these initiatives while minimizing any potential negative impact on internal IM/IT investments and resources.
The effect of the change in government landscape has driven Transport Canada to acknowledge that there are four (4) key elements related to external influencing factors:
The government is facing numerous concurrent pressures for which its existing model for IM/IT service delivery renders it increasingly ill-equipped to respond. These include:
As the result of the work associated with the GoC expenditure and management review agenda, it was determined that the GoC expenditures on external service delivery, corporate administrative services (CAS) and information technology consumed a full third of gross operating expenditures – some $13 Billion annually. It concluded that those activities need to be structured in a client–centered manner with more transparency as to their costs and outcomes, and managed with a view to optimizing the overall value to the taxpayer and service to the client. It found substantial scope for more effective program structures and service delivery arrangements, both within the federal government and with other sectors and levels of government; and concluded that, while individual department and agency practices vary, GoC management practices as a whole need to be more robust and more mature in order to reduce duplication and optimize service delivery from a whole of government perspective.
The adoption of a long–term vision of mandatory government–wide common service delivery was recommended in order to realize savings on the order of 15% in the focus areas while enabling programs to enhance service to the public and improve management, comptrollership and organizational flexibility.
In April 2004, Treasury Board Ministers authorized proceeding to the next steps:
In response to these next steps, the GoC continues to work on the implementation of two shared service initiatives commonly referred to as Corporate Administration Shared Systems Organization (CA–SSO) and Information Technology Shared Services (IT–SSO). CA–SSO is focused on the implementation of enterprise transactional financial, human resources and materiel services applications. IT–SSO is focused on the implementation of an enterprise infrastructure and related service delivery model that will deliver shared and common IT support services to departments and agencies. Transport Canada is actively involved in both of these government Shared Services initiatives.It is expected that the Shared Services Initiatives will:
Other GoC initiatives impacting TC IM/IT include:
This PSMA will provide IM and IT communities with the flexibility to implement new development programs and government–wide collective staffing initiatives; while the associated modernization activities may impact the IM and IT support structure that is currently in place
Public Service Renewal. The Clerk of the Privy Council recently reinforced the need for Public Service (PS) Renewal. The Clerk recommended a series of renewal priorities focused on the following:
These government–wide renewal priorities will also translate into community–based priorities at the IM and IT community level.
The Department continues to be flexible enough to accommodate and embrace on–going change with additional oversight, which may impact its infrastructure and applications as a result of the addition of the Communities and Infrastructure (C&I) portfolio. C&I has its own IM/IT governance structure and processes for considering architectural impacts of new and on–going changes. TC can expect that there will be more partnerships, both private and public, and more high profile horizontal initiatives in the future. The result of these will be increased resource demands with more technology integration activities and standards and processes to consider, and therefore project dependencies, that are outside the scope of control of TC.
In addition to the departmental business priorities, there are a number of other initiatives within the Department that will have a direct impact on the IM/IT environment. These are typically short–term or major initiatives resulting in significant departmental change. TC IM/IT must be flexible to be able to respond to these initiatives while minimizing any potential impact on internal IM/IT investments and resources. In addition to the pressing program priorities, the following three internal factors will continue to influence the delivery, capacity, capability and expectations of IM/IT infrastructure and services.
There are a number of technology based factors that have the potential to influence the infrastructure and tools selected to deliver IM/IT services. The more pervasive information technology factors expected to influence the department's IM/IT strategy and implementation plans are:
These technological influencing factors will pressure IM/IT to manage expectations, manage the technology and require the access to personnel that can support, integrate, and most importantly understand the overall impact on TC, IM/IT, and the ability to serve clients while adhering to departmental policies and guidelines.
The IM/IT strategic direction is influenced by business drivers, guiding principles, broad service delivery themes and expected outcomes.
In addition to influencing external, internal and IM/IT factors, the Department's IM/IT strategic direction is primarily shaped by business priorities. It includes taking a holistic view of business needs and technology capabilities in order to provide the required departmental infrastructure and services in a most cost-effective manner.
The following key drivers help shape TC's IM/IT direction:
As well, the following IM/IT principles will guide the realization of Transport Canada’s IM/IT strategy, target objectives and projects. As a business delivery enabler, Transport Canada’s IM/IT capability must provide for the following:
Interoperability – interconnectivity, spanning Transport Canada and embracing its partners in the public and private sectors.
Foundation for Integrated Information and Business Processes – the foundation for an integrated information environment that will facilitate the integration of business processes.
Responsiveness – the capability to respond and react to events, rather than to just process work.
Accessibility - authorized and managed access to Transport Canada’s information and services from any place, at any time.
Security - an integrated security environment that protects the integrity and confidentiality of client and government information to the level required.
Well-Managed IM/IT Services - services and infrastructure that are both manageable and measurable using performance measures and benchmarks with appropriate accountabilities.
Innovation and Cost Effectiveness - promote innovation that represents the best investment for business.
Reliability - a high degree of reliability through cost effective use of redundant technology and tested business resumption plans.
Effective Planning Processes - effective and integrated business and IM/IT planning processes aimed at establishing IM/IT capabilities that will facilitate or enable changes in business processes.
Flexibility - accommodate business driven change in IM/IT architectural elements as required while minimizing any impact on business services, processes and information management.
Compliance with GoC Standards and Requirements – ensuring the department is in compliance with various GoC technology related initiatives.
The IM/IT Vision for Transport Canada
Transport Canada will manage the IM/IT systems, policies and technologies required to responsibly do business electronically with clients and employees in a smooth, affordable and secure manner, which enhances business efficiency and client and employee satisfaction and recognition.
Resulting from the influencing factors and business priorities, there are three overarching themes which will help guide the direction and focus for Transport Canada’s IM/IT vision and goals for 2009/10 – 2012/13:
(1) Infrastructure Operations – Maintain a stable and reliable infrastructure that is positioned to evolve to address the department’s changing capability and capacity needs. This includes:
(2) Business Enabling IM/IT Services – Transform business and program delivery through enabling technologies and planned investment.
(3) IM/IT Stewardship - The departmental IM/IT activities will be governed by a clearly understood and accepted management model which spells out:
Organizations concerned with effective corporate governance consider IM/IT governance structures as a key component that needs to be integrated into the overall governance structure. Nowadays, compliance is still a very important element in overall corporate governance projects; however, compliance is not the only driver for IM/IT governance. Research has shown that organizations with good IM/IT governance arrangements in place show better financial performance than comparable organizations without good IM/IT governance. Other surveys (2004 Economist Intelligence Unit Survey) indicate that “a view of IM/IT as integral to strategy and adaptive models” is one of the key success factors for organizations in the future. A sound governance model is crucial given the still growing cost and pervasiveness of IM/IT and the growing reliance on IM/IT for operational reasons and in support of strategic business initiatives.
It is clear that IM/IT needs proper attention, and that putting in place the structures and mechanisms to make well founded decisions on how IM/IT can deliver value to the business is not a luxury but a necessity. Some key impact of effective governance will be portrayed through the implementation of the government’s Financial Accountability Act. In response to GoC initiatives surrounding improved governance, TC has already implemented a governance structure as depicted in the following diagram.
This governance approach :
This departmental IM/IT governance structure integrates business and IM/IT through the Business IM/IT Investment Committee and the Business IM/IT Council. Additionally, there are documented processes for planning, decision-making and reporting. See Appendix F – IM/IT Investment Monitoring and Measurement Framework and Appendix G – Transport Canada IM/IT Project Selection Criteria.
From the three themes, there are seven IM/IT goals, with an associated set of objectives. These objectives define major actions to be undertaken in order to achieve each specific goal.
To advance the Department’s IM/IT Vision, the following seven goals will be pursued. These seven goals are in support of program delivery by ensuring that the base infrastructure and management functions are working in a coordinated fashion. These goals are aligned along the three themes:
Theme 1 – Infrastructure Operations
Goal 1 – Stable and reliable infrastructure: Maintain an infrastructure and environment that provides adequate, secure, reliable access for electronic information and transactions.
Goal 2 - Accessing, Managing and Storing Information (IM): Establish an information and knowledge sharing environment that recognizes knowledge as a strategic resource, and using sound information management principles, including information security. This goal requires a close partnership between business and IM/IT.
Goal 3 - IT Infrastructure and Renewal (IT): Expand capability and capacity, as needed to support an adequate, secure, reliable and interoperable IT infrastructure that enables electronic transactions and ensures secure information exchange among clients, employees and stakeholders, including individual Canadians.
Theme 2 – Business Enabling IM/IT Services
Goal 4 - Business Enabling IM/IT Services: Enable clients, employees and stakeholders to connect to Transport Canada's services and information resources and provide electronic functionality to support program delivery. This goal includes transforming program delivery through enabling technologies.
Theme 3 – IM/IT Stewardship
Goal 5 – IM/IT Portfolio Management: Maintain a methodical process for cost effective planning, managing and rationalizing the application portfolio for TC. This also provides an effective client engagement model and mechanism to maximize reusability thus reducing the overall total cost of ownership.
Goal 6 - Governance: Manage IM/IT at the departmental level, by leveraging and evolving current departmental-wide IM/IT governance, accountability and investment management frameworks. This includes the direct linking of business planning with IM/IT planning and the adoption of a set of departmental practices and processes to ensure that IM/IT investments are focused on departmental priorities.
Goal 7 – People: Increase IM/IT awareness throughout the Department and invest in our people by supporting and maintaining IM/IT skills to meet critical departmental objectives. This also includes ensuring that people in the department are trained to use the tools, as well as communicating and building support for changes relating to the management of IM/IT.
The objectives to support and achieve the goals are also based on the accomplishments to date of past IM/IT related strategic and investment plans. Increased emphasis on accountability and benefit measurement of IM/IT investments will require follow up activity in order to determine gaps in the plan and where to direct new investments and activities.
The IM/IT Expenditure Profile is a tool to assist in historical analysis of departmental IM/IT spending (capital, OOC and salaries and wages) and provides a retrospective of past spending trends along certain categories (refer to Appendix B for details on the categories and their descriptions). The TC IM/IT Expenditure Profile was used for the first time in 2004/05 and continues to play a key role in modeling the planned IM/IT investments based on the historical IM/IT expenditures. It is also used as a checkpoint and monitoring reference to ensure that overall spending levels are managed.
The total IM/IT spending level has remained fairly constant, within +7% at the largest variance across the last three years. See Appendix C for additional breakdowns of the TC IM/IT expenditure profile data.
(Departmental Totals Table Removed)
(Departmental IM/IT Spending By Category Table Removed)
Delivery of IM/IT services at Transport Canada requires specific skills and competencies nationally. A National Capital Region and Regional Human Resources plan is being developed that address the internal development of the required skills.
Based on the past achievements and supporting the seven departmental IM/IT goals, the following table sets out specific IM/IT objectives to be achieved for the planning horizon of FY 2009/10 - FY 2012/13. Section 4 contains details on specific initiatives and plans to meet the following goals and objectives.
| Goal | Description | IM/IT Strategic/Investment Objectives FY 2009/10 - FY 2012/13 |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stable and reliable infrastructure |
1.1 Monitor and maintain infrastructure services at the published service levels. 1.2 Establish and maintain a modern office productivity and communication environment on an enterprise basis that is common to all business lines and aligned with best commercial practices. 1.3 Establish and maintain a modern integrated network infrastructure that provides for connectivity, regardless of location or time, for all departmental employees and accommodates the transfer of any information, internal and external, to the department. 1.4 Establish and maintain a secure electronic information environment for the conduct of all departmental business regardless of format. |
| 2 | Accessing, Managing and Storing Information |
2.1 Establish a common departmental information sharing environment based on common technologies, common applications, common tools and common database structures 2.2 Establish and implement a departmental IM action plan (RDIMS #3742499) consistent with the TBS Policy on Information Management (RDIMS #884671) and associated Directives, supporting the Federal Accountability Act, MAF and other related legislation and policies governing IM 2.3 Develop departmental standards regarding the use of electronic signatures and digital signatures 2.4 Acquire tools that support IM priorities 2.5 Integrate IM into the application management life cycle 2.6 Establish a strategy for application data backup and retention 2.7 Establish plans for the retention and disposition of information |
| 3 | IT Infrastructure and Renewal |
3.1 Evolve a common application and database development environment across the department that facilitates sharing, re-use and repeatability of processes and programs.
3.2 Establish and maintain a mixed thin/fat client application architecture arrangement based on best practices, cost management and service level agreements 3.3 Establish and maintain security threat assessments. 3.4 Establish and maintain an ever-greening program for replacing departmental IM/IT components on an enterprise basis, such that selected technology (ex. servers and desktops) is refreshed as required based on business needs and in synch with changes in technology. 3.5 Evolve IM/IT business processes and enable them with automated tools for capacity, asset, configuration and service management. |
| 4 | Business Enabling IM/IT Services |
4.1 Support a mobile workforce with specialized tools 4.2 Enhance the ability to comply with corporate financial regulations, respond to audits 4.3 Provide timely and secure access to corporate information 4.4 Provide integrated access to Group or modal specific information 4.5 Provide access to integrated multi-modal operational and financial information 4.6 Increase TC’s ability to respond in the event of emergencies and crisis 4.7 Improve the management of web content and relevancy of web searches 4.8 Support the integration of multi-modal applications and data 4.9 Support integrated Web access to applications |
| 5 | IM/IT Portfolio Management |
5.1 Evolve the IM/IT client relationship model 5.2 Rationalize the departmental IM/IT application portfolio 5.3 Implement and enforce application life cycle management principles 5.4 Align the IM/IT portfolio process with the Integrated Business Planning process 5.5 Evolve the IM/IT investment management process to balance new and on-going project with business priorities 5.6 Expand the monitoring and measurement aspect of portfolio management 5.7 Establish a means to provide Project Management support, advice and supporting tools |
| 6 | Governance |
6.1 Evolve the IM/IT governance structure for improved departmental IM/IT management 6.2 Strengthen IM/IT governance 6.3 Maintain and evolve the Transport Canada IM/IT architecture and standards that supports and assists sound IM/IT governance and investment management and ensures viability of the Department’s long term IM/IT posture. |
| 7 | People |
7.1 Establish strategies for bridging the gaps in the Work 7.2 Establish strategies for bridging the gaps in the Workforce 7.3 Establish strategies for bridging the gaps in the Workplace |
Realizing the TC IM/IT Strategic / Investment Plan will result from a combination of reductions and careful management of costs, both through the IM/IT efficiencies, investing in new projects (feasibility studies, pilots, new projects and enhancements) and ensuring that the IM/IT goals and objectives not addressed by specific investments are achieved via other avenues through a series of planned, budgeted activities. Departmental IM/IT related spending must remain in line with the business needs and each project undertaken must be linked back to the goals and objectives of the TC IM/IT Strategic / Investment Plan.
Part of managing IM/IT investments includes continually being aware of and actively seeking out opportunities to reduce and/or limit costs. The overall goal of introducing IM/IT efficiencies are to reduce costs, increase efficiency or increase effectiveness, thereby minimizing IM/IT investments while maintaining an overall stable level of IM/IT related spending. Efficiencies and savings/cost avoidance can be realized through the adoption of best practices, standardization or tailoring a solution that is unique to the situation. Some savings are unique, i.e. one-time, some are continuous, i.e. on-going, and others are classified as being avoided costs. Some opportunities might not necessarily result in savings and would be cost neutral but will result in increased service, capacity or production.
TC has historically taken a proactive approach in identifying and implementing IM/IT efficiencies. More recently (in 2005/06), the following seven (7) IM/IT efficiencies were identified in the TC IM/IT Investment Plan 2005-2008 to assist the Department achieve its three (3) year corporate efficiency targets from the Expenditure Review Committee (ERC):
At the end of the 2007/08 fiscal year these seven (7) IM/IT efficiencies had realized a total of $11.5M savings/cost avoidance, exceeding the target savings of $7.4M. Of this $11.5M savings/cost avoidance, the Program areas achieved $2.9M, TIMSD achieved $7.9M and the Regions achieved $715K. See Appendix D-1 for detailed descriptions of past efficiency initiatives, including the ones listed above, with a breakdown of the saving/cost avoidance achieved to date.
The current focus for 2009/10 is on effectiveness improvements rather than primarily on efficiency savings. This is being tracked through the “Strengthening Corporate Services” initiative which includes:
It is anticipated that additional efficiency opportunities will be the next focus of activity once the current effectiveness initiative nears completion. Potential efficiency single and multi-year initiatives identified to date to be considered for further definition and implementation in the future include:
See Appendix D for a description of these efficiencies. Any new IM/IT efficiencies undertaken, will estimate, plan, and realize additional savings that can be used to support departmental review targets or release additional funds for IM/IT investments. Each will require an OPI and plan to identify and realize cost savings. Timing is crucial to success, as is the ability to manage and measure the benefits and/or savings associated with each of the IM/IT efficiencies. These efficiency initiatives are subject to the same rigor and scrutiny in terms of the application of the monitoring framework used to track approved departmental IM/IT investments.
IM/IT investments need to be initiated across all three themes in order to provide a balanced go forward approach. Capital and OOC investment in IM and IT goals is usually done via specific business initiated application systems or enhancements and infrastructure replacement or upgrades.
The IM/IT investments for 2009/10 are made up of three (3) components:
The following table summarizes the total investment from previous years that have carry over implications for 2009/10. See Appendix H for full details of the projects included in the summary information table. See Appendix I for short descriptions of the various projects.
All Figures as at April 2009
Summary of previous investments with carry-overs into 2009/10
Some IM/IT projects span multiple years and some projects that were originally intended to be completed at the end of fiscal 20008/09 will continue into 2009/10. It is these projects, the carry-overs, and re-profiling of funds that accompanies these carry-overs that affect the amount of IM/IT capital investments that may be approved for funding allocation for 2009/10 IM/IT project starts. When considering the total investments in previous years, it appears that there is a maximum annual departmental capacity for IM/IT initiatives that is approximately $15M to $17M.
All IM/IT investments, both carry-overs and new investments, are reporting quarterly to the TC Business IM/IT Investment Committee following the approved Monitoring and Measurement Framework. Refer to Appendix F for additional details on this framework. These monitoring reports will form the basis for the TC Business IM/IT Investment Committee to make recommendations to the TMX Capital Investment and Asset Management Committee on whether multi-year projects should continue to receive funding without being re-prioritized and the required degree of reporting by the Project Manager.
Proposed IM/IT capital investment submissions are submitted through the TC Business IM/IT Investment Committee for evaluation and scoring based on the Project Selection Criteria. (See Appendix G for the criteria descriptions). Using a structured approach the Committee assigns each proposed IM/IT investment a numerical score that reflects the overall departmental priority based on the project selection criteria.
The approved new capital IM/IT investments for 2009/10, as of April 1, 2009, as prioritized by the TC Business IM/IT Investment Committee, are described in Appendix K.
(IM/IT investments for 2009/10 Table Removed)
Prioritized 2009/10 starts
In this era of accountability and judicious cost management it is important not to assume that all submitted capital IM/IT investments will be approved. There was approximately $17.9m in approved IM/IT investments at the beginning of fiscal 2005/06, although not all of the allocated funds were expended. Many of the IM/IT projects have re-profiled funds from the original allocations into the following fiscal year as development progresses and delays are experienced. This has the end result of increasing the carry over investment total into 2009/10 and therefore potentially reducing the amount of funds available to be allocated to new capital IM/IT investments that can be started in 2009/10.
To assess the potential fiscal year 2009/10 IM/IT capital investment envelope it is necessary to take into account the multi-year investments, any re-profiled projects, and any new investment submissions. Based on these figures the potential IM/IT investment envelope for 2009/10 is forecasted below.
| Category | 2008-2009 | 2009-2010 | 2010-2011 | 2011-2012 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Allocation ($000's) |
Actual ($000's) |
Forecast ($000's) |
Forecast ($000's) |
Forecast ($000's) |
|
| Ongoing– Prior to 2008-2009 | 23,837.9 | 11,615.5 | 16,760.7 | 7,394.1 | - |
| New - 2008-2009 Starts | 2,000.3 | 1,327.4 | 7,752.3 | 4,759.4 | 543.6 |
| New- 2009-2010 Starts | 6,988.8 | 4,362.5 | |||
| Total | 25,838.2 | 12,942.9 | 30,428.3 | 19,142.3 | 4,906.1 |
Overall, the approved investments should remain within an investment envelope to ensure that new investment spending does not spiral too high and the overall IM/IT budget does not continually increase. The structure and rigor applied by the TC Business IM/IT Investment Committee and TC Business IM/IT Council ensures that all approved investments are justified, aligned with departmental goals and objectives and will provide benefits.
The majority of new submissions are prepared, reviewed and prioritized in the December/January timeframe in order to be prepared for budget approval and allocation of funds in the new fiscal year. This does not preclude any new submissions from coming forward during the year for consideration. The role of the IM/IT Business Relationship Manager is key, ensuring that the submissions for new initiatives are prepared and submitted to the Business IM/IT Investment Committee. Depending on the number and timing of new in-year submissions the committee will decide whether to convene a separate prioritization session or to handle the submission secretarially with recommendations and decisions being communicated appropriately.
The essence of portfolio management is making informed decisions regarding the lifecycle management of applications to support the Department’s IM/IT objectives. It is about leveraging good information to make good decisions for the betterment of Transport Canada’s investment in its application inventory. It comes down to how the organization must track and assess relevant information to plan and specify an appropriate course of action for each application – i.e. buy, hold or dispose/enhance, maintain, reposition or retire. IM/IT Portfolio Management needs to be seen as a recurring event that plans for all products in use today in the Department. The Application Review and Consolidation Study (ARCS) IM/IT efficiency has been a first step towards addressing some of these issues. The steps below outline the common activities in the execution of IM/IT Portfolio Management;
This plan does not seek to prescribe solutions, but to provide structure and direction for effective and collaborative planning and implementation. As the Department moves forward, working within the IM/IT governance structure, it will continue to revise the criteria by which priorities will be set, and undertake ongoing monitoring of progress. Consistent with this Plan and organizational business requirements, Director Generals will be active participants in the development of implementation details, projects, and time lines, under the functional authority of the Chief Information Officer and the direction of TMX.
The projects/investments and initiatives highlighted in Section 4 focus, for the most part, on shared and standard IM/IT applications, infrastructure, systems and services. The TC IM/IT Strategic/Investment Plan’s emphasis is on areas of common interest and of greatest benefit to the organization overall. The action plan for implementing the TC IM/IT Strategic Investment Plan consider program/project management; leadership and governance; and critical success factors when developing the activity list.
Integrate at every opportunity
Technology and Information Management must be integrated at every opportunity. Integrated technology enables business-driven initiatives and improved services by supporting shared data, applications, security, infrastructure, and standards. Improved information access and sharing, and greater efficiency are desired outcomes of strong integration. Integration is a means to achieve reasonable economies of scale, by thinking holistically while acting locally. The collective interest must not be compromised; deviations from standards that put others at risk must be managed. This means:
Invest strategically
Through strategic IM/IT investment, the Department can reduce the cost and time to deliver and manage IM/IT solutions, reduce maintenance and support costs, and improve quality. Alternatives must be investigated (e.g. re-use, adaptation, strategic partnering, outsourcing, buy, build), and the implications for others considered. Investing strategically also means:
Working together
The Department must work collaboratively to take full advantage of its multiple skills and capabilities. This will ensure effective delivery and management of IM/IT solutions, and effective use and deployment of IM/IT resources, while respecting service delivery requirements. Sharing expertise can help maximize the advantages of new technologies across the Department, and reduce the time it takes to deliver IM/IT solutions.
The Department’s CIO Office, through direction approved by the ADM Corporate Services, and in full partnership with the various departmental management and IM/IT committees, will provide leadership for the TC IM/IT Strategic / Investment Plan and its initiatives. Implementation will require the full and active participation of all business and service lines.
Compliance with the TC IM/IT Strategic/Investment Plan and the shaping instruments will help to ensure that approved projects contribute to the Transport Canada IM/IT environment, that they deliver the required IM/IT capabilities and duplication and overlap are minimized. The Transport Canada IM/IT environment will continually evolve to match changing business needs and to exploit technology based opportunities for performance improvement.
In managing internal processes, work will ensure that IM/IT investments are well coordinated, and projects/investments are managed effectively in accordance with the principles of the Treasury Board’s IM/IT policies, directives and guidelines. A departmental IM/IT framework will help guide IM/IT standards and policies and define the architecture of departmental IM/ IT systems.
The following factors are seen as critical for the successful implementation of the Transport Canada IM/IT Strategic/Investment Plan:
Other critical success factors – measures of success for the TC IM/IT Strategic/Investment Plan – will include:
| Goal | Description |
IM/IT Strategic/Investment Objectives FY 2009/10 - FY 2012/13 |
Activities to complete the objective |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stable and reliable infrastructure |
1.1 Monitor and maintain infrastructure services at the published service levels. |
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1.2 Establish and maintain a modern office productivity and communication environment on an enterprise basis that is common to all business lines and aligned with best commercial practices. |
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| 1.3 Establish and maintain a modern integrated network infrastructure that provides for connectivity, regardless of location or time, for all departmental employees and accommodates the transfer of any information, internal and external, to the department. |
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| 1.4 Establish and maintain a secure electronic information environment for the conduct of all departmental business regardless of format. |
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| 2 | Accessing, Managing and Storing Information | 2.1 Establish a common departmental information sharing environment based on common technologies, common applications, common tools and common database structures |
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| 2.2 Establish and implement a departmental IM action plan (RDIMS #3742499) consistent with the TBS Policy on Information Management (RDIMS #884671) and associated Directives, supporting the Federal Accountability Act, MAF and other related legislation and policies governing IM |
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2.3 Acquire tools that support IM priorities |
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2.4 Integrate IM into the application management life cycle |
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2.5 Establish a strategy for application data backup and retention |
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2.6 Establish plans for the retention and disposition of information |
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| 3 | IT Infrastructure and Renewal | 3.1 Evolve a common application and database development environment across the department that facilitates sharing, re-use and repeatability of processes and programs. |
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3.2 Establish and maintain a mixed thin/fat client application architecture arrangement based on best practices, cost management and service level agreements. |
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3.3 Establish and maintain security threat assessments (TRA). |
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3.4 Establish and maintain an ever-greening program for replacing departmental IM/IT components on an enterprise basis, such that selected technology (ex. servers and desktops) is refreshed as required based on business needs and in synch with changes in technology. |
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3.5 Evolve IM/IT business processes and enable them with automated tools for capacity, asset, configuration and service management. |
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| 4 | Business Enabling IM/IT Services |
4.1 Support a mobile workforce with specialized tools |
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4.2 Enhance the ability to comply with corporate financial regulations, respond to audits |
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4.3 Provide timely and secure access to corporate information |
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4.4 Provide integrated access to Group or modal specific information |
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4.5 Provide access to integrated multi-modal operational and financial information |
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4.6 Increase TC’s ability to respond in the event of emergencies and crisis |
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4.7 Improve the management of web content and relevancy of web searches |
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4.8 Support the integration of multi-modal applications and data |
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4.9 Support integrated Web access to applications |
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| 5 | IM/IT Portfolio Management |
5.1 Evolve the IM/IT client relationship model |
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5.2 Rationalize the departmental IM/IT application portfolio |
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5.3 Implement and enforce application life cycle management principles |
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5.4 Align the IM/IT portfolio process with the Integrated Business Planning process |
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5.5 Evolve the IM/IT investment management process to balance new and on-going project with business priorities |
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5.6 Expand the monitoring and measurement aspect of portfolio management |
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5.7 Establish a means to provide Project Management support, advice and supporting tools |
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| 6 | Governance |
6.1 Evolve the IM/IT governance structure for improved departmental IM/IT management |
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6.2 Strengthen IM/IT governance |
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6.3 Maintain and evolve the Transport Canada IM/IT architecture and standards that supports and assists sound IM/IT governance and investment management and ensures viability of the Department’s long term IM/IT posture. |
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| 7 | People |
7.1 Establish strategies for bridging the gaps in the Work |
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7.2 Establish strategies for bridging the gaps in the Workforce |
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7.3 Establish strategies for bridging the gaps in the Workplace |
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The Transport Canada IM/IT Strategic / Investment Plan will be a “living document” that will be updated as part of a continuous process of strategic business evolution within Transport Canada. It will evolve in close cooperation with the integrated Transport Canada business planning activities and Plan.
Continuous improvement is an activity that is inherent to an iterative process. Just as there are always new technologies and systems being developed and improved, the processes and tools supporting this plan will also be improved. Future iterations of the planning cycle will identify changes and adjustments to the process and tools as they are used and applied. Once approved by the governance structure, continuous improvements will be incorporated, communicated and implemented.
The IM/IT projects will be shaped by a number of important instruments:
The TC IM/IT Strategic/Investment Plan will be subject to an annual refresh that maximizes its use of the governance structure and focuses primarily on approved investments. It is critical for this process that the timing be aligned with work underway to establish and integrated business planning cycle and the TMX Capital Investment and Asset Management Sub-Committee in order to ensure timely fund allocation as depicted in the following diagram.
As this is an iterative cycle, there are multiple opportunities to continually improve and to refine various elements of the Framework. As a result of applying the Framework and criteria to IM/IT investments while formulating this document a number of recommendations were identified for implementation prior to future iterations. These include:
The three themes support a movement towards a future desired state having the following essential characteristics:
The expected outcomes of the Plan goals and objectives are in line with the expected results of the TC IM/IT Results Framework which covers the broader set of IM/IT services within the Department. See Appendix E for additional details on the TC IM/IT Results Framework. The framework is designed to be an overarching IM/IT results framework that factors HQ and Regional IM/IT. It is expected that there may be some minor changes to this results framework from the annual refresh cycle, but for the most part it will remain fairly static. This framework focuses on the overall mandate of TIMSD rather than specific initiatives.
Performance measures will continue to be under development as part of the objectives and activities associated with the 2009/10 action plan.
| Goal | Expected Outcome | Measurement |
|---|---|---|
|
1) Stable and reliable infrastructure |
|
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|
2) Accessing, managing and storing information |
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3) IT Infrastructure and Renewal |
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4) Business Enabling IM/IT Services |
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5) IM/IT Portfolio Management |
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6) Governance |
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7) People |
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(Business Plan Goals Table Removed)
Government wide priorities that affect Transport Canada are identified through the Speech from the Throne, Budget speeches, ongoing initiatives such as the Management Accountability Framework the Federal Accountability Act and various other initiatives such as Shared Services. Not all of these initiatives affect all business lines of Transport Canada but some have direct and indirect affects on departmental IM/IT plans.
|
Departmental Priorities* and Initiatives Identify an operational or management priority that has significance for the reporting period. In addition, describe the potential initiatives or plans for achieving or making progress toward this priority |
SO Link |
PA Link |
Priority Previously committed to; Ongoing; or New |
Expected Status and Define each initiatives in terms of the expected status over the next three years, with the foreknowledge that the DPR will require the department to report whether the priority was: “Successfully met”; “Not met”; or “Exceeded expectations” |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Operational Priority #1 - Advancing trade and competitiveness through the transportation system Transportation Infrastructure:
Gateways and Corridors:
Transportation Marketplace frameworks:
|
SO 1 |
PA 1.1 |
Ongoing |
Expected status for 2009-2010:
Expected status for 2010-2011:
Expected status for 2011-2012:
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|
Operational Priority #2 - Advancing the Clean Air Agenda through new transportation emission regulations
|
SO 2 |
PA 2.1 |
Ongoing |
Expected status 2009-2010:
Expected status of 2010-2011:
Expected status of 2011-2012:
|
|
Operational Priority #3 - Strengthening transportation safety
|
SO 3 |
PA 3.1 |
Ongoing |
Expected status 2009-2010:
Expected status of 2010-2011:
Expected status of 2011-2012:
|
Operational Priority #4: Strengthening transportation security
|
SO 4 | PA 4.1 | Ongoing |
Expected status 2009-2010:
Expected status of 2010-2011: Note that the following expected results are based on the assumption that Budget 2009 will provide proposed funding and policy approval is received.
Expected status of 2011-2012: Note that the following expected results are based on the assumption that Budget 2009 will provide proposed funding and policy approval is received.
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Management Priority: Enhancing portfolio governance through integrated management strategies
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N/A | N/A |
Canada Post Corporation
Expected Status for 2010-2011:
Ridley Terminal Inc.
Expected Results for 2010-2011
Expected Results for 2011-2012
Input for Marine Atlantic Inc.
Expected results for 2010-2011
Expected results for 2011-2012
Federal Bridge Corporation Ltd 2009-10
2010-11
2011-12
Promoting intregration
Promoting integration by establishing joint TC/INFC processes and initiatives with respect to: Expected status for 2009-2010:
Expected status for 2010-2011 and 2011-2012: Action to continue to develop joint TC/INFC processes and initiatives with respect to: (a) governance; (b) corporate planning; (c) public service renewal; and (d) reducing the government’s “web of rules: - In terms of governance, internal committee structures are reviewed, and opportunities for collaboration are identified - for example, could TC's Policy Committee be broadened as a Portfolio Policy Committee, or entertain portfolio-wide attendance on an ad hoc basis? - An informal managers community is created and supported by both departments, bringing together departmental managers to share their experiences, and thereby supporting PS renewal objectives. (Or an ES community, or IS community, or "new public servants" community, for example.) - Staffing actions are generally opened Portfolio-wide, rather than within each department, to ensure better integration of expertise. - More joint TC-INFC training opportunities are undertaken, sharing training on central agency policies or requirements (ATIP training or Official Languages training, for example). - Research activities are planned so as to be complementary within the portfolio, with results widely shared internally across both departments. |
|
Management Priority: Supporting public service renewal and improving people management
|
N/A | N/A |
Expected status for 2009-2010:
Expected status for 2010-2011:
Expected status for 2011-2012:
|
*Departmental Priorities: Specific items that a department has chosen to focus its attention and resources on during the three-year reporting period in order for progress to be made toward one or several of the organization’s outcomes. Priorities are not intended to be an exhaustive list of every departmental initiative, but should focus on a half-dozen or strategic items the Deputy Minister or Minister has identified as crucial towards the department’s progress. There are two main categories of priorities – operational and management:
Note: Progress on departmental priorities identified in the RPP must be reported in DPR.
**Priority Type: is separated into three categories: Previously committed to – committed to in the first or second fiscal year prior to the subject of the report; Ongoing – committed to at least three fiscal years prior to the subject year of the report; and New – newly committed to in the reporting year of the RPP or DPR. Note: given that all departmental priorities have been reframed/recast in the context of TC’s new PSS, the Corporate Planning Unit is suggesting to call all priorities for 2009-2010 “new”, but will consult with the TBS Secretariat for a ruling on this matter.
Definitions for each of the categories and how the business lines were to allocate their IM/IT spending across Capital, OOC, Salaries & Wages and Professional Services for each of the categories is outlined below.
| Category | Definition | Sustain/ OOC | Enhance/ Capital | Salaries & Wages | Professional Services |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Hardware |
Acquisition/ maintenance costs related to all distributed computing hardware - including servers, workstations, PDAs, printers, LAN devices, etc. |
Maintaining the technology currency of the existing hardware infrastructure |
The introduction of new hardware technology or significant architecture upgrades. |
Unburdened salaries for internal TC staff (work effort) in support of this category. |
Professional services (contractors) costs in support of this category. |
|
Software |
Acquisition and support costs (license fees, etc.) related to all common infrastructure distributed computing software - including operating systems, document management systems, office suites, utilities, etc. |
Maintaining the technology currency of the existing software infrastructure |
The introduction of new software technology, major software architecture upgrades or new services |
Unburdened salaries for internal TC staff (work effort) in support of this category. |
Professional services (contractors) costs in support of this category. |
|
WAN |
Wide Area Network (WAN) - including PWGSC and TC supplied components |
Maintaining the technology currency of the existing WAN infrastructure |
The introduction of new WAN technology or significant WAN architecture upgrades. |
Unburdened salaries for internal TC staff (work effort) in support of this category. |
Professional services (contractors) costs in support of this category. |
|
Telephony |
Telephones, voice circuits, voice mail, video conferencing, teleconferencing, faxes, pagers, cell phones and related support services including Help Desk, etc. |
Maintaining the technology currency of the existing telephony infrastructure |
The introduction of new telephony technology or significant telephony architecture upgrades. |
Unburdened salaries for internal TC staff (work effort) in support of this category. |
Professional services (contractors) costs in support of this category. |
|
Application Systems |
Corporate, regional and group application systems, including data administration |
Ongoing application software license fees related to existing applications, minor functional enhancements |
Additional license fees for new applications or major functional enhancements to existing applications |
Unburdened salaries for internal TC staff (work effort) in support of this category. |
Professional services (contractors) costs in support of this category. |
|
Mainframe Services |
Mainframe processing and related support services (via PWGSC) |
Ongoing service provision and support of existing processing services |
Major new services or features |
Unburdened salaries for internal TC staff (work effort) in support of this category. |
Professional services (contractors) costs in support of this category. |
|
IM/IT Strategic Planning and Security Operations |
Common IM/IT architecture design, strategy development, business and service transformation, relationship management and IM/IT security |
Tools and equipment required on an ongoing basis in support of this category. |
New tools and equipment required in support of this category. |
Unburdened salaries for internal TC staff (work effort) in support of this category. |
Professional services (contractors) costs in support of this category. |
|
Information Management |
Information modeling, correspondence management, data management infostructure (Data Warehousing, Business Intelligence, Information Needs Assessment and Knowledge Management), records management, electronic document management, forms management, mail management, library services, postage, freight, courier services, printing and publishing services, photocopier rentals, storage and warehousing services, printed matter |
Maintain existing services |
Introduction of new services or service contracts, or major enhancements to existing services |
Unburdened salaries for internal TC staff (work effort) in support of this category. |
Professional services (contractors) costs in support of this category. |
The IM/IT Expenditure Profile is a tool to assist in tracking and understanding the historical IM/IT spending. When comparing the 2005/06 figures to the TC 2006/07 IM/IT Expenditure Profile data, it shows that the total IM/IT spending level decreased by 4% which was due to a decrease in professional services. However, in 2007/08, spending levels rose back up to the equivalent spending level for 2005/06 despite the 8% increase in employees supported.
(Table 1: TC 2005/06 – 2007/08 Expenditure Profile Comparison Removed)
(IM/IT Corporate Expenditure per Category Table Removed)
In 2004/05, cost increases were noted in Software, Telephony, Application Systems, and IM. On the other hand, those cost increases have been offset by cost decreases in Hardware, Data, Shared Services (formerly Mainframe), Salaries and Wages, Professional Services and Strategic Planning. The fluctuations are most likely attributed to the constantly changing investments on an annual basis. However, the decrease in Hardware in 2004/05 is partially attributed to the freeze on non-essential replacements, despite 130 (net new) indeterminate and term employees (> 3 months) brought into TC that year. The decrease in Professional Services may be partially attributed to an increased awareness of efficiency targets and ongoing efforts to convert consultants to FTEs for on-going long-term needs.
In 2005/06, when compared to 2003/04 figures, increases were noted in Software, IM, Hardware, Shared Services and Strategic Planning. Shared Services showed an increase in spite of the 2005/06 activities to decommission the mainframe since the mainframe wasn’t decommissioned until fiscal 2006/07 where there were still a number of ancillary services being provided.
In 2006/07, overall capital expenditures decreased by $1.7M which is attributed to the completion and/or re-profiling of IM/IT capital projects. Other significant 2006/07 variations were noted as the increases in the Software, Telephony, IM and Salaries categories. These variances are explained as follows:
There were also decreases in expenditures noted in the Hardware, Data, Shared Services and Professional Services categories. These variances are explained below:
In 2007/08 the overall spending increased by approximately $5M, or 7%, from 2006/07 spending levels with the variances attributed to the following:
(Table 2: Expenditure Profile by Business Line Tables/ Graphics Removed)
(IM/IT Corporate Expenditure by Business Line Tables –Graphics Removed)
(Table 3: Expenditure Profile by Region Tables/ Graphics Removed)
(Table 4: S&S Breakdown by Category Tables/ Graphics Removed)
(Table 5: Programs Breakdown by Category Tables/ Graphics Removed)
(Table 6: Policy Breakdown by Category Tables/ Graphics Removed)
(Table 7: DA Breakdown by Category Tables/ Graphics Removed)
The following IM/IT efficiencies represent continuous improvement activities undertaken previously in the areas of services / tools, process and people which have produced departmental savings and / or productivity gains. These activities for the most part represent industry best practices and have been considered a model for many public sector organizations. They have been divided into three (3) major categories: Services/Tools; Process; and People. The department received a silver GTEC medal in FY 2008/09 in recognition for how the TC IM/IT efficiencies contributed to the improvement of overall government operations.
The Department increased client productivity by upgrading TCI connections substantially at 40 sites, by adding 19 new sites and introducing new connectivity options such as Contivity Gate-to-Gate technology, DSL and Broadband cable at 15 sites. Although dollar savings were realized with service changes in some areas such as routed connections being changed to gate-to-gate connections, these dollars were reallocated to fund TCI access improvements in many other areas. This resulted in many improvements in access to the TCI with a cost neutral affect on the bottom line of the budget.
The Department has increased productivity by reducing the number of different software that needs licensing, may cause conflicts or interoperability/compatibility problems and at the same time reducing support requirements. Over the years through consolidation efforts, much duplication in technology and support efforts have been reduced, increasing employee productivity through consistent desktops tools, increased ability to access and share information and focused training. For example, much work was completed to transition form 4 desktop operating systems to one , 200+ physical LANS to one national network, 15,000+ desktops to 5000 standardized services, multiple office application products to one suite, fragmented/no document storage to RDIMS, multiple financial, HR, & e-mail systems to BIRM, TIPS, MS Outlook with a web Mail Client, and 5+ data networks to one.
A small example of this savings is in support costs (approximately $56K per year) realized through automated deployment of security patches and applications. This automated process ensures that departmental desktops are at the same patch level and have the same version of software at a national level.
Through service, tools and research assistance, the library contributes to the efficiency, effectiveness and productivity of the organization by keeping TC employees informed of current developments in their field by setting up electronic journal alerting and with the “What’s New” updates in the Virtual Library. The TC Library provides “better access to better information” by organizing information in the Virtual Library. We save time for employees in finding and using relevant information, which leads to the development of policy, strategy or action.
With the advent of the Virtual Library, the library realized cost savings for the Department by licensing electronic e-journals, databases and e-books for all TC employees thus limiting the duplication of purchasing in the Department. Clients can obtain the information they need without having to make a visit to the library and the information is always available, whether it is on CD or through on-line subscription. The requirement to manage multiple copies of journals, CD’s or core reference tools (dictionaries, directories etc.) has been greatly reduced in the Department.
By creating a one-stop searchable database of Canadian transportation resources, the Canadian Transportation Research Gateway, the library has demonstrated its citizen-focus. This web site has saved time for TC employees, researchers, students, government, and industry.
Transport Canada is a long-time supporter of shared government services. PWGSC services are tightly integrated into Transport Canada’s operation. These services are provided under the umbrella of a 3-year Memorandum of Understanding renewed every three years since 1994. The services include Oracle Financials Infrastructure, Mainframe computing, server hosting, a major national data communications network, remote access and Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) services, Data Center services, Firewall services, URL filtering services, Intrusion Detection Services (IDS), 7/24 offsite support and location (TC-Assist help desk services) and on-site professional services (technical support, problem and change management). The service costs in fiscal year 2004/2005 were over $9.5M. Initiatives and solutions have been developed for departmental IM/IT challenges that result in annual cost savings for the Department. For example, it is estimated that the MOU with PWGSC’s ITSB has resulted in a cost avoidance of $2M annually for Data Centre services alone. The department also saved over $800K in fiscal year 2004/05 and 2005/06 on the wide area network services.
This cost avoidance approach began in 1997, and has been leveraged to attain the level of savings the Department benefits from today. In addition, strategic sourcing of LAN desktop support and voice services has resulted in $500K annually in salary savings. There are other tangible benefits to this type of arrangement: PWGSC assumes much of administrative burden of procuring and managing the services; they can take advantage of a volume discounts to provide more cost-effective infrastructure, support and software procurement; by having PWGSC manage services, standardization is promulgated more easily and economies of scale are brought to bear.
webMail + Hi-Speed / Teleworking has increased employee productivity by allowing the connection to their corporate e-mail services by way of virtually any device that has an Internet connection. Employees are no longer required to carry expensive and cumbersome equipment while in travel status as any e-mail café provides them instant access to their e-mail from anywhere in the world.
Hi-Speed / Teleworking has increased productivity by allowing employees to connect at high-speeds from remote locations including their homes. Processing of documents and emails can now be dealt with in real-time as opposed to in the past when employees would transfer large amounts of data usually on a removable media (floppies) and wait hours for their emails to download via modem.
Mainframe Services (2004/05 – 2008/09)
There has been a concerted effort in TC to eliminate mainframe applications (and consequently associated costs) over the past several years to remove the need for mainframe equipment and the accompany support contract. TC has only two remaining mainframe applications. Removal of these applications and relocation to other hardware will be expedited in order to generate savings of approximately $400K after year two (2).
Professional Services (2004/05 – 2008/09)
The departmental annual spending on IM/IT related professional services was approximately $14m. These services were being used nationally in application development and support, IM/IT strategies/studies, LAN administration, database administration areas and various service contracts. Closer functional scrutiny and management of professional services, at a departmental level, would allow more efficient and economical use of IM/IT related professional services resources.
The overall objective is to reduce spending in IM/IT related professional services across the department. The net target savings is $4.1m over the 3 years ($1.2m in 2005/06, $1.4m in 2006/07 and $1.6m in 2007/08). The benefits would include reduced expenditures, greater efficiencies and consolidated management of services.
Server Rationalization (2004/05 – 2008/09)
Through the introduction of innovative new technology such as VMWARE, multiple servers can be functionally integrated on one physical larger server. This would reduce the number of servers and associated hardware acquisition and support costs for applicable infrastructure areas and business applications.
The objective of this plan is to reduce the amount of equipment requiring support, service and maintenance; lower annual acquisition and refresh costs; fewer servers to manage; reduce network components and complexity. Cumulative net target savings for this efficiency are $400k over 3 years.
Telecommunications (2004/05 – 2008/09)
The telecommunications efficiency opportunity included telephones, voice circuits, voice mail, videoconferencing, teleconferencing, faxes, pagers, cell phones, remote access, and related support services including help Desk, but excludes the Transport Canada Internet (TCI) itself. Although a large amount of procurement is centralized via the outsourced telecom help desk (National Telecommunications Support Services), control of expenditures is distributed among the NCR, regions, and groups. Approximately 50% of the expenditures occur outside the Technology and Information Management Services Directorate (TIMSD). By reviewing these expenditures and the introduction of new technology on a national scale, cost savings can be achieved.
The objective of this plan is to reduce telecommunications costs; ‘one stop’ shopping; easier implementation of new technology by managing more standard equipment; supports capacity planning. Net cumulative target savings for this opportunity are $720k over 3 years.
Managed Output Services (2004/05 – 2008/09)
Currently, Transport Canada expends approximately $4m per year for “office” print output including use of network-attached printers, local printers, fax machines and stand-alone photocopiers in the NCR. Large volume special finishing requirements (binding, stapling, etc.) are satisfied via private sector reprographic companies. The adoption of Managed Output Services within the NCR would yield a number of financial and other tangible benefits / efficiencies. The strategy is to support the output environment whereby all equipment, supplies and related maintenance and support services are provided by a Vendor on a “usage based” pricing using current multifunctional device technology.
The benefits of adopting a Managed Output Service would include cost efficiencies and containment (i.e.: price per page): improved access to up-to-date devices with increased functionality; a consistent interface whereby fewer devices to learn; increase service levels and performance of equipment through managed preventative maintenance agreements; equipment lifecycle managed by vendor in consultation with TC; and, service / support provided by Vendor. Cumulative net target savings for this efficiency are $460k over 3 years.
Infrastructure Services (2004/05 – 2008/09)
Government-wide initiatives are expected to bring down the costs of infrastructure services currently being borne by departments. TC expends in the range of $4.5M per year to support the desktop, server, e-mail and LAN support functions in the NCR and regions. In the event that projected savings from TBS and PWGSC initiatives do not materialize, a ‘move forward’ approach, including selective outsourcing, will be adopted by TC in order to drive these costs down unilaterally.
The objective of this plan is to reduce costs for infrastructure support and managing asset lifecycle and to reduce specialized skills to be trained and retained internally. The cumulative net target savings to be achieved are $820k over 3 years.
The Department saved over $1.8M in fiscal year 2004/5 by “freezing” procurement of desktop and laptop computers, printers etc., unless absolutely necessary (i.e.: for operational reasons, new employees etc). The savings were achieved despite the fact that the Department grew in number by approximately 130 employees in 2004/05. TIMSD manages desktop and laptop lifecycle plans for the Department in the NCR. Equipment is refreshed on an established cycle to ensure employees have the tools they require, while ensuring fiscal prudence in this fast-changing environment. In the NCR today, most IM/IT hardware and software procurement is done centrally. With the introduction of Thin Client technology, the lifespan of the desktop will double and support costs will decrease significantly.
Three departmental governance forums have been created to improve the management of departmental IM/IT. The membership weighs heaviest on senior program representation:
Through this IM/IT governance structure, the following activities were completed:
These deliverables have been program-driven, and have provided the departmental executive with greater overall transparency as it relates to the management of departmental IM/IT and with a clear picture for overall departmental IM/IT spending; furthermore, it has ensured that the expenditure profile for IM/IT is in keeping with departmental priorities and fiscal realities; and has addressed the need to measure departmental IM/IT investment outcomes and validate business benefits - accountability for results and performance. IM/IT enabled projects that have effective governance and are executed well. Steering committees are established to provide oversight for mid-to-large IM/IT related projects and ensure effective governance of funded IM/IT initiatives. Various content, process and IM/IT related forums exist to support the Steering committees. All forums include membership from the business and the IM/IT domains. IM/IT project managers provide on-going project status information in pre-defined templates which form the basis of status reports to the senior executive committee on the health of departmental IM/IT investments.
Productivity gains and departmental savings are reflected through increased awareness of the value of IM/IT, implementation of best practices, improved decision making, increased promulgation / conformance to policies / standards, reduced duplication, increased alignment of IM/IT and the business, and increased national coordination of IM/IT.
A national bilingual training contract for desktop/LAN and customized end user and technical IM/IT related training has been available for departmental use since 2001. This IM/IT training vehicle provides just-in-time, customized training for TC (including personalized sessions), with convenient on-site or on-line courses , in a standardized method across the country. Under this contract, the administration functions are off-loaded to the training service provider through automation techniques. This includes the provision of course evaluation forms, a centralized reservation capability, usage and evaluation stats for quarterly reports to TC, including web access stats, credit card payment and invoicing options, as well as an ability for a TC administrator “point of contact” to access schedules, reports, and to track a learner’s progress etc.. It is estimated that the Department has saved in excess of $500K since contract inception when compared to other means of providing similar services. Plans are underway to add Project Management courseware to be available in FY 2009/10. In parallel, a restructured national training contract will be tendered in FY 2009/10 for establishment of a new delivery vehicle for FY 2010/11 – FY 2012/13.
TIMSD values its people and recognizes that having a sustainable workforce which is adequately trained and equipped is essential to maintaining and in fact enhancing productivity levels in support of departmental business priorities. Over the years the departmental IM/IT Management Team has focused on devising strategies for recruiting and retaining such workforce. The very low attrition rate in the TC IM/IT workforce is a good indicator that the strategies are working and higher productivity is achieved by avoiding long learning curves for new employees and minimizes corporate memory loss.
Approved Departmental IM/IT Efficiency Opportunities
Cost Avoidance / Savings as of March 31, 2008
(Table Removed)
In the current time of government fiscal restraint and as part of an ongoing effort to increase departmental IM/IT efficiency and effectiveness while containing costs, IM/IT efficiency opportunities are continuing to be identified. The intention is that these initiatives could be implemented, resulting in savings that could potentially be used for internal departmental reallocation. The following key commitments and actions have been identified for their potential to deliver efficiencies in overall client service delivery at a national level :
Supporting the implementation of a strengthened Corporate Services Service Delivery Model over the next 36 months by:
Action 1:
Action 2:
Action 3:
Action 4:
Supporting the implementation of a strengthened Corporate Services Service Delivery Model over the next 36 months by:
Action 1:
Action 2:
Action 3:
Supporting the implementation of a strengthened Corporate Services Service Delivery Model over the next 36 months by:
Action 1 :
Action 2 :
Action 3:
Action 4:
Action 5:
This document contains the IM/IT Results Framework. This is designed to be an overarching IM/IT results framework (including NCR and regional scope), that may require revisions from year to year, but that would otherwise remain fairly static over time. Activities and outputs refer to the overall mandate of TIMSD, rather than identifying specific initiatives (e.g. redesign Intranet).
The information contained in the IM/IT Results Framework, involved a comprehensive review of numerous TC IM/IT related documents. Most of the information used in the results framework came from the following documents:
Note: One of the greatest challenges in developing an appropriate results framework based on these documents is that the activities of IM/IT are defined/categorized in a different manner in each document. An attempt has been made to categorize the information in a manner that incorporates and respects the information in each document. However, to allow linkages between the strategic plan, service line plan, performance accords and results frameworks, , in future, standard categorization/vocabulary for describing the activities/services of IM/IT will be developped.
IM/ITResults Framework
| Activities | Outputs | Reach |
Immediate Outcomes |
Intermediate Outcomes | Ultimate Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
IM/IT Infrastructure/Applications Planning and Implementation
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IM/IT Plans and Strategies
IM/IT Policies, Standards and Processes
IM/IT Services and Support
IM/IT Tools and Products
Advice and Guidance
Communication Plan
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Internal
External
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TC employees have increased access to tools IM 1 - Internal and external stakeholders have access to timely, accessible, quality information IM 2 - Increased usage of electronic services by internal and external clients IM 3 - Increased understanding/ knowledge of technology among TC employees IM 4 - Improved management of IM/IT IM 5 - Increased awareness of GOC and TC IM/IT directives and policies |
Increased capacity and productivity IN 1 - IM/IT investments and services are aligned with business requirements IN 2 - Improved service delivery to internal and external clients IN 3 - Improved information exchange among clients, employees and stakeholders IN 4 - Increased ability to conduct transactions electronically IN 5 - Compliance with GOC and TC IM/IT directives and policies |
U 1 - TC manages through continuous innovation, promotes organizational learning, values corporate knowledge, works cooperatively with other government departments and learns from its performance. U 2 - Client-centric service delivery U 3 - Responsible IM/IT spending and stewardship U 4 – Risk Management Process is in place |
RDIMS # 714400 - is not allowed
Below are the indicators for each of the defined outcome areas. The “source” column also includes some possible sources to be used in measuring these indicators. However, this needs to be further defined based on an understanding of available sources at TC.
| Immediate Outcomes | Indicators | Source | Frequency/ Responsibility |
|---|---|---|---|
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IM 1 - Internal and external stakeholders have increased access to tools that allow them to access the information they need in a timely fashion (1) |
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IM 2 - Increased usage of electronic services by internal and external clients |
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IM 3 - Increased understanding/knowledge of technology among TC employees |
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IM 4 - Improved management of IM/IT |
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IM 5 - Increased awareness of GOC and TC IM/IT directives and policies |
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( 1) Combines two outcome areas. In the previous draft, there were two distinct outcomes:
| Intermediate Outcomes | Indicators | Source | Frequency/ Responsibility |
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IN 1 - IM/IT investments and services are aligned with business requirements |
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IN 2 - Improved service delivery to internal and external clients
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IN 3 - Compliance with GOC and TC IM/IT Directives and Policies |
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| Ultimate Outcomes | Indicators | Source | Frequency/ Responsibility |
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U 1 - TC manages through continuous innovation, promotes organizational learning, values corporate knowledge, works cooperatively with other government departments and learns from its performance. |
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U 2 - Client-centric service delivery |
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U 3 - Responsible IM/IT spending and stewardship |
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U 4 – Risk management process is in place |
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This framework provides guidelines for Project Managers to meet the monitoring and measurement reporting responsibilities to the TC Business IM/IT Investment Committee and Council. This framework builds upon the work begun in the IM/IT Investment Plan 2005-2008 and supports ongoing departmental initiatives regarding performance reporting, stressing accountability for results. It provides additional guidelines and processes around monitoring the status of the approved departmental IM/IT Capital projects during execution and measuring the results at completion.
While the framework deals specifically with those projects that are funded through the TC IM/IT Capital Strategy, the concepts are applicable to all projects. The Monitoring and Measurement requirements described here do not replace the requirements established by the Project Steering Committee and/or Project Sponsor during the Initiation Phase of the project, although they may be deemed to be sufficient for their purposes.
This framework provides straightforward, clear methods and tools that enable Project Managers to easily report on the status of their departmental IM/IT projects. In turn, this communication aids the TC Business IM/IT Investment Committee and Council in assessing the performance of capital-funded departmental IM/IT projects, better enabling them to prepare review reports and recommend any corrective actions, should they be required, to TMX.
There are two phases of reporting for IM/IT projects: Monitoring phase and Measurement phase. While both phases are initiated at the start of an IM/IT project, the bulk of the activities in each phase occur at different times. The Monitoring phase occurs throughout the duration of the IM/IT project; it is a repetitive cycle of status reporting throughout the lifecycle. These activities follow standard project management practices and will remain the same for each departmental IM/IT project.
The Measurement phase provides a final assessment in the post-implementation phase of the project and occurs mostly after the completion of all project deliverables. However, there is an aspect to the measurement phase that occurs during the Review and Approval activities, prior to the start of the project. In the Project Approval document and again in the Project Approval Document (PAD), the Sponsor is required to identify both the expected benefits what will result from the project and also the method(s) that will be used to determine whether the benefits have been realized. The activities related to this phase will be similar for all projects although the specific metrics and results will vary depending upon the project deliverables and business case.
The timelines for monitoring and measuring with respect to the life cycle of IM/IT projects is represented in Figure 1.
Figure 1
This section describes the framework for monitoring the status of IM/IT projects on an ongoing basis.
| Step | Description | Role | Responsibility | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Establish monitoring checkpoints |
TC Business IM/IT Council |
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| 2 |
Capture information on project status |
Project Oversight Secretariat |
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Project Manager |
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Financial management Advisor (FMA) |
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Project Sponsor |
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Project Oversight Secretariat |
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| 3 |
Submit IM/IT Project Monitoring Reports to the TC Business IM/IT Investment Committee |
Project Oversight Secretariat |
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| 4 |
Review Monitoring Status Reports and prepare recommendations for TC Business IM/IT Council |
Business IM/IT Investment Committee |
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Project Manager and/or Project Sponsor |
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| 5 |
Review IM/IT Project Monitoring Report summary and recommendations |
Business IM/IT Council |
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| 6 |
TMX Capital and Asset Management Sub-Committee Review |
TMX Capital and Asset Management Sub-Committee |
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| 7 |
Implement recommendations |
Project Manager |
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Project Sponsor |
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Project Oversight Secretariat |
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| 8 |
Store IM/IT Project Monitoring reports in official project record |
Project Manager |
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The IM/IT Project Monitoring Report is intended to capture a summary of the project at a specific moment of time.
There is a standard template available for IM/IT Project Monitoring Report.
| Initiative/Project Status | |||
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| Metric | Green | Yellow | Red |
| Scope |
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| Schedule |
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| Operational Requirements |
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This section describes the framework for measuring the results of IM/IT Capital projects upon completion of all project deliverables.
| Step | Description | Role | Responsibility | Timing |
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| 1 | Establish key measurement criteria (Benefits) and expected results (e.g. improvements, savings, etc.) | Project Manager |
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| Project Oversight Secretariat |
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| FMA |
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| Project Sponsor |
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| 2 | Establish Project Baseline Measurements | Project Manager |
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| Project Sponsor |
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| 3 | Capture information on project results | Project Manager |
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| Project Sponsor |
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| Project Oversight Secretariat |
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| 4 | Submit Results Measurement Report | Project Manager |
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| Project Sponsor |
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| Project Oversight Secretariat |
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| 5 | Review IM/IT Results Measurement Report summary and observations |
TC Business IM/IT Investment Committee |
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| Project Manager/ Project Sponsor |
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| 6 | Review IM/IT Project Results Measurement Report summary and recommendations | Business IM/IT Council |
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| 7 | Review IM/IT Project Results Measurement Report summary and recommendations | TMX Capital and Asset Management Sub-Committee |
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| 8 | Implement recommendations | Project Manager |
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| Project Oversight Secretariat |
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| 9 | Store IM/IT Project Monitoring reports in official project record | Project Manager |
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| Initiative/Project Results | |||
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| Metric | Green | Yellow | Red |
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Cost Savings/ Cost Avoidance* |
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Budget – Actual Spending vs. Budget (including approved changes) |
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Efficiency |
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Client Satisfaction |
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* Not all projects will have cost savings/cost avoidance elements, in cases of compliance or non-cost savings benefits these may be measured in terms of degree of compliance achieved or degree of benefits realized. Alternatively there may also be multiple cost savings that can be measured.
This framework, including metrics, processes, guidelines, timelines and report templates, will change as monitoring and evaluation needs evolve over time. The following guidelines apply to any proposed changes to the framework:
Upon implementation of these processes and templates, any resulting activities relating to project management best practices and lessons learned shall be captured and stored in RDIMS for future reference..
(endorsed by the departmental IM/IT governance forums)
This document contains information required for processing the Project Proposals submitted by the Branches as part of the Project Planning and Prioritization Process. The information is presented in sufficient detail to be used by both the Branches (to produce and self-evaluate the proposals) and the TC Business-IM/IT Investment Committee (to evaluate and prioritize the proposals).
The structure of this document is consistent with the Project Proposal Template (RDIMS # 1713229).
This section of the Project Proposal contains basic information about the initiative. This information provides both identification and background material that is not part of the overall evaluation.
The TC Business-IM/IT Investment Committee Secretariat will assign the Project ID number when the proposal is received. This ID will be used as a standard identifier for all information related to the proposal and will also be used to identify the subsequent project, should the project be funded/approved.
The Branch and Directorate submitting the proposal.
The proposal must be categorized to ensure that it is correctly integrated into the Department’s Project Portfolio Management processes. The categorization will define the project in terms of the value it will bring to the Business Line and the support it will provide for the Department’s IM/IT Strategy. The categorization also ensures that the correct weighting factors are applied to the various elements and that the project is properly grouped with others of its type for funding consideration.
If the TC Business-IM/IT Investment Committee determines that the classification selected by the proposal author is inappropriate, it will be changed before the evaluation is started.
The following categories will be used:
The Branch representative with ultimate responsibility for the project, including its resourcing, conduct and results.
The person (likely Director-level) who will be responsible for making decisions and resolving issues related to development and implementation activities. The Project Manager will report to the Project Director.
The person who is assigned to achieve the project objectives by planning and managing the project activities on a day-to-day basis. This person may not be assigned when the Project Proposal is submitted, so this field may be left blank.
The individual who prepared the Project Proposal.
The date this version of the Project Proposal was submitted. This date will be to identify the most current version of the document.
Since Program Review in the mid-nineties, the department has prioritized spending on capital based on departmental priorities. The following set of capital investment priorities are as per the departmental Long-Term Capital Plan (LCTP), are approved by Treasury Board and reflect the government’s and Transport Canada’s priorities of the day, with due regard to the department’s divestiture program and its environmental stewardship with respect to the assets under its control.
An identification of the priorities that best describe the requirement for this project. The choices are:
The purpose of this initiative.
A brief description of the expected results of the project.
A brief description of the justification for the project. The reasons why the initiative is important and the consequences if the project is not approved should also be provided.
This section of the Project Proposal contains the information about the initiative that will be evaluated by the TC Business-IM/IT Investment Committee.
Each element will be scored within a range of 0-4. In addition to instructions for providing the information about the initiative, a Scoring Guide is included that discusses the criteria for assigning a particular score. With this Scoring Guide, the author can easily identify the weaknesses in the project concept or in the information provided to the TC Business-IM/IT Investment Committee and modify the proposal to maximize the final score.
The following information describes how the project aligns with the Departmental and/or GoC strategic objectives. It also identifies the contribution it will make to improve the conduct of the Department’s business.
Demonstrate how the project will support the Department’s business priorities for the FY.
Each of the priorities is discussed in greater detail in the most current version of the Transport Canada Departmental Performance Report (DPR) document. The list of priorities in the Project Proposal Template, the Business Rules and Scoring Worksheet will be updated annually, prior to the start of the Project Proposal and Prioritization Process cycle.
Scoring
Each element in this group will be scored separately using the following guideline:
| Score | Criteria |
|---|---|
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0 |
No information provided, or |
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1 |
Support for the priority is questionable |
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2 |
Support for the priority is valid but not clearly described |
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3 |
Clear description of how the project supports the priority |
This factor establishes the level of urgency and high-level support for this initiative. While the source of the initiative may score quite highly, there may be several viable alternatives to meeting the requirement and the PAD that will be used to request project approval must explore these alternatives to establish that the proposed solution is the best option.
Where applicable, the description should include the name of the legislation or initiative and a brief discussion of the contribution the project will make in helping the Department meet its obligation.
Note: There is a distinct difference between the business requirement and the way that the sponsor has chosen to satisfy the requirement (this proposed solution). For example, a piece of legislation may state that the department is responsible for managing transportation infrastructure but if it does not specifically state that an automated system will be used, the development of the system is discretionary.
Scoring
The factor will be scored using the following guideline:
| Score | Criteria |
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0 |
This initiative is discretionary
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1 |
Initiative has been requested by
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2 |
Initiative inferred by or strongly suggested in legislation, regulation or GoC initiative |
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3 |
Initiative specifically required by law, regulation or GoC initiative |
Describe how the project will contribute to transforming the business processes.
The description should include a general description of the business transformation that will occur and the workgroup(s) that will benefit, including the numbers of individuals.
The impact and value of the transformation should also be reflected in the information provided under R6: Cost Analysis and R7: Benefit Analysis.
Scoring
Each element will be scored separately using the following guideline:
| Score | Criteria |
|---|---|
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0 |
No information provided |
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1 |
General description of the transformation that will result |
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2 |
Detailed description of the transformation that will result; and |
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3 |
Detailed description of the transformation that will result; and |
Describe the opportunities for sharing the costs and/or results with other organizations, both within the Department and externally (other GoC departments/agencies or other national/international public and private organizations).
If the other organizations are participating in the development of the project, describe their contribution to the total cost, both financial and “in kind”. The value can be expressed either as a dollar value or as a percentage of the cost. The total of all formally committed partnership contributions (from one or several partners) will be used for the purposes of scoring (below).
Note: Other workgroups within the sponsoring Branch cannot be considered as collaborators/partners in this context.
Scoring
This section will be scored according to the following guideline:
| Score | Criteria |
|---|---|
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0 |
No information provided; or |
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1 |
Partners are identified; and |
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2 |
Partners are identified; and |
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3 |
Partners are identified; and |
The following sections provide quantitative information that indicates the scope and magnitude of the project, its value and its likelihood of success.
In this group the author is asked to describe either how the proposed solution fits within the Department’s existing IM/IT environment, or to justify why an exception to the standards is required.
Answer either element 1 (Standard Architecture) or element 2 (Non-Standard Architecture).
Element 1 – Describe briefly, whether the proposed project will be based on the current IM/IT policies, architecture standards, management of information accountabilities, and tools. Also discuss whether the project will leverage any existing IM/IT application systems.
Element 2 – Briefly discuss why the project cannot be based on the current IM/IT architecture, standards and tools. Describe the required technical architecture and tools and the impact that this solution will have on all other branches (e.g. TIMSD, Security) and how the department will benefit from these changes to the standard architecture.
Scoring
Element 1 (Standard Architecture) will be scored according to this guideline:
| Score | Criteria |
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0 |
No information provided |
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1 |
Project conforms to existing policies and architecture standards |
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2 |
Project conforms to existing policies and architecture standards; and |
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3 |
Project conforms to existing policies and architecture standards; and |
Element 2 (Non-Standard Architecture) will be scored according to this guideline:
| Score | Criteria |
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0 |
No information provided |
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1 |
Proposal justifies the requirement for a non-standard solution |
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2 |
Proposal justifies the requirement for a non-standard solution; and Proposal describes the required non-standard solution; and |
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Proposal justifies the requirement for a non-standard solution; and Proposal describes the required non-standard solution; and |
The information provided in this section will be used to establish Overall Project Cost (OPC) of the Initiative and to identify the sources of funding required to support those costs.
The OPC is defined in the Financial Policy and Procedures Manual (RDIMS # 77810, Section 1.5 Definitions. It includes:
All costs should be presented in constant (without inflation) dollars and without GST/HST.
Note – a Project Approval Document (PAD) will require additional financial information, specifically both constant and current dollars and the GST/HST.
3.2.2.1 Overall Project Cost
The summary is divided onto the following sections
Each section includes several standard categories of cost. The level of granularity is intended to help the Sponsor ensure that the full range of costs is considered in planning the project. If there are no costs for a category/year, enter zero.
The proposal must also include a description of the methodology/sources that were used to develop the cost estimates.
Note: Estimation of the Total Estimated Cost should be prepared with as much accuracy as possible. As per the TMX decision, a maximum variance of $100K will be allowed between the approved funding (based on the information provided in this Proposal) and the amount contained in the PAD. Funding will be rescinded if the PAD amount exceeds this variance and the proposal must be resubmitted through the IM/IT Planning and Prioritization Process as a new request.
Scoring
This information will be scored according to the following guideline:
| Score | Criteria |
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0 |
No information provided; or |
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1 |
Complete cost information is provided and reasonable |
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2 |
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3 |
Complete cost information is provided and reasonable; and |
3.2.2.2 Sources of Funding
Identify the expected source of the one-time and ongoing funds for each year of the project. These may include:
Funding sources should be appropriate to their use; e.g. feasibility studies and implementation activities cannot be addressed using capital funds.
The total Sources of Funding should equal the Overall Project Cost on a year-by-year basis.
Scoring
This information will be scored according to the following guideline:
| Score | Criteria |
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0 |
No information provided; or |
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1 |
Source(s) of funding is consistent with Overall Project Cost |
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2 |
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3 |
Source(s) of funding is consistent with Overall Project Cost; and |
In this section, the author is required to supply details of both the financial and non-financial benefits that will result from the project. This information will be used to assess the value of the project to the Department and also to establish the Performance Measurement metrics that will be used to determine the project’s success.
In each of these sections, use the same FYs beginning with the year in which the project was initiated (FY1). That will mean that Benefits are likely may be less than 5 years; i.e. if the development takes 2 years, Benefits may not start to be realized until years 3, 4 and 5.
All financial benefits should be presented in constant dollars. Do not include an allowance for inflation.
3.2.3.1 Financial Benefits
Identify each of the benefits that can be measured in financial terms.
For each one, include a descriptive title, a brief description and the approach that will be used to measure its actual value.
In the financial table, summarize the expected annual value (in $000s) of each of the benefits by FY, starting with the first FY in which the benefit will occur.
Scoring
The information in this section will be scored according to the following guideline:
| Score | Criteria |
|---|---|
|
0 |
No information provided |
|
1 |
Potential benefits are identified |
|
2 |
Potential benefits are identified; and |
|
3 |
Potential benefits are identified; and |
3.2.3.2 Non-Financial Benefits
Identify each of the benefits that are not generally measured in financial terms (e.g. improved customer satisfaction).
For each one, include a descriptive title, a brief description, the FY when the benefit will first occur and the approach that will be used to measure the benefit.
Scoring
Each element in this group will be scored separately using the following guideline:
| Score | Criteria |
|---|---|
|
0 |
No information provided |
|
1 |
Minor benefits are identified |
|
2 |
Significant benefits are identified |
|
3 |
Significant benefits are identified; and |
This section is intended to identify the significant events/conditions that may affect the Project Manager’s ability to achieve the required project outcomes within the planned, budget, schedule and scope. For example, a significant delay to completion of a critical Request for Proposal will affect the scheduled completion date; the risk can be mitigated by providing the Contracting Authority with advance notice of the requirement and by engaging them throughout the development of the RFP document to provide ongoing reviews and adjustments.
For each identified risk, include:
Scoring
This section will be scored using the following guideline:
| Score | Criteria |
|---|---|
|
0 |
No information is provided |
|
1 |
High risk or multiple Medium risks |
|
2 |
Medium risks |
|
3 |
Low risks |
This section documents the relationships between the proposed project and any other projects or systems, either under development or in production. The intention is to provide the evaluators with an understanding of the importance of the proposed project to other work; e.g. this project is required for another one to be successful.
For each project/system that depends on the proposed project, the following information is required:
Scoring
This section will be scored using the following guideline:
| Score | Criteria |
|---|---|
|
0 |
No projects depend on the proposed project |
|
1 |
One or more projects depend on the proposed project |
|
2 |
One or more projects depend on the proposed project; and |
|
3 |
One or more projects depend on the proposed project; and |
This section documents information related to the key governance and control aspects that will be applied to the proposed project to ensure its successful completion.
3.2.6.1 Governance
Briefly discuss the individuals and/or committees (including composition) that will be involved with decisions related to the successful completion of the project. Descriptions should include an outline of the responsibilities or mandates as well as the planned frequency of any meetings.
Scoring
The following guideline will be used:
| Score | Criteria |
|---|---|
|
0 |
No information provided |
|
1 |
The Governance structure is not fully developed or is inappropriate for the scope and complexity of the project |
|
2 |
The Governance Structure is fully developed and appropriate; and |
|
3 |
The Governance Structure is fully developed and appropriate; and |
3.2.6.2 Project Change Management
Briefly discuss the process that will be used to manage changes to the project scope/deliverables, budget and schedule throughout its duration.
The discussion should include the composition of the Project Change Control Board, (PCCB) its mandate and interaction with the Steering Committee and the approach that will be followed to modify the Project Plan to reflect approved changes.
Note: The influence of the PCCB is limited to this project. It is a different organization than the TIMSD Change Control Board, which is mandated to monitor and approve changes to the TC IM/IT Infrastructure.
Scoring
The following guideline will be used:
| Score | Criteria |
|---|---|
|
0 |
No information provided |
|
1 |
The composition of the PCCB is appropriate |
|
2 |
The composition of the PCCB is appropriate; and either |
|
3 |
The composition of the PCCB is appropriate; and |
3.2.6.3 Monitoring and Reporting
Briefly describe the approach that will be utilized to monitor the project (progress, schedule and budget) and the format, frequency of the reports to the Project Sponsor, Steering Committee and other interested parties.
Scoring
The following guideline will be used:
| Score | Criteria |
|---|---|
|
0 |
No information provided |
|
1 |
The approach to monitoring the project is appropriate |
|
2 |
The approach to monitoring the project is appropriate; and |
|
3 |
The approach to monitoring the project is appropriate; and |
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The purpose of this project is to upgrade TC’s ATIP imaging technology; to improve the security of records processed by the ATIP Unit using imaging and redacting technology (electronic severing of documents to replace current cutting and pasting practices when part of a record must be protected from disclosure) and to provide related training to the ATIP staff. This would be required for ATIP v.12 workstations.
The upgrade to Oracle 11.5.10 and its technical infrastructure (completed for January 2008) enabled Transport Canada to stabilize its business environment in preparation for the major upgrade during 2008 and 2009 to Oracle’s Version 12 and/or Fusion. The Scoping and Planning Phase in the 4th quarter 2007-08 will ensure that the planned major upgrade to either R12 and/or Fusion is thoroughly analyzed and appropriate recommendations and decisions made to ensure improvement from new functionality and the most appropriate migration path to follow. It will also analyze the implementation of Oracle iExpense and options for the replacement of Oracle Financial Analyzer (OFA)
This three-year project (2008-2009, 2009-2010, and 2010-2011) includes work to scope and develop the system infrastructure to support Transport Canada management with the decision-making and reporting tools necessary for the new Management, Resources and Results Structure (MRRS) policy as mandated by Treasury Board. This project encompasses the system tools that will be developed, in conjunction with existing management and business intelligence data and reporting, to support the Department’s management obligations.
In accordance with the Treasury Board’s MRRS policy, these business intelligence tools will result in:
(Human Resources Information Management Systems update related to the Public Service Modernization Act). The Public Service Modernization Act is bringing legislative changes that affect the way departments do HR business. Increased delegation and accountabilities, and modifications to business processes and practices bring new information requirements and additional reporting requirements. To ensure Transport Canada can comply with those requirements, the Human Resources Management Systems (including TIPS) will need to be updated in order to support the new information and reporting requirements. With new HR business processes being introduced and additional authority being delegated to the Department, Transport Canada will need to update its Human Resources Management Systems (including TIPS) to ensure it can gather and process the information to meet legislative requirements on a national basis. If the Department cannot report back to central agencies on legislative reporting requirements, delegation could be withdrawn from the department causing embarrassment to the Deputy Minister.
This new project would implement, Transport Canada-wide, a web-based software learning management system (LMS) to facilitate ‘anytime, anywhere’ access to learning content and administration. The LMS would enable distributed management of all aspects of learning administration, including online content material delivery and tracking mechanism to learners, competency management and training workflow approvals. The LMS to be implemented is Oracle iLearning, a stand-alone, enterprise LMS that provides a complete infrastructure to manage, deliver, and track training for online and classroom-based environments. The LMS also includes learner and administrator features, assessment, and report and integration features. This project is also linked to the Finance ERP submission around the Oracle Learning Module.
This initiative encompasses the development of an electronic Public Service Staffing Tribunal (PSST) complaint workflow and management system that will enable Transport Canada to effectively and efficiently manage its PSST complaints. The system will support the policy requirement for timely processing of each sequential step in the process. Process support will capture data and will, through the development of metrics, allow for analysis of the complaint process and subsequent revision of any parts that are under departmental control to ensure efficient and timely response to complaints.
This initiative encompasses the complete revision and update of all material on the Transport Canada Staffing and Recruitment website. This revision and update will support accountabilities under the Staffing Management and Accountability Framework (SMAF) and provide an enabling infrastructure for TC managers, employees and HR professionals in support of Public Service renewal, as outlined in the Clerk’s priorities.
To allow the enhancement of a number of “key” departmental business applications to provide the capability of integrating unstructured data (stored in RDIMS, ex. Word documents, faxes, spreadsheets, diagrams etc) with its corresponding structured data, from the business data base itself (e.g. tombstone data, inspection data, registration data, etc.) to provide a single window of access into a given business line’s electronic information holdings (e.g. a virtual repository). It should be noted that while significant benefits have been achieved in managing our unstructured information with the implementation of the RDIMS solution, even greater benefits would be anticipated with the integration of both information types. While the funding for this project would not address the requirements for integrating RDIMS for all of the departmental business applications, it would serve as a sufficient critical mass of credible examples from which other business owners could build their own business cases upon for same.
The scopes of requirements addressed include servers, Local Area Network (LAN) components, common disk storage and related support components such as Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPS), server racks, etc. The general approach is to replace servers on a 3-year life cycle basis (other types of servers are replaced on a 5-7 year cycle). Other components, such as network, Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPS), etc. are upgraded/replaced based on other factors such as performance/capacity, obsolescence, increased requirements, etc.
Each Region receives a portion of this funding to address their respective Infrastructure requirements.
Microsoft Office 2007 / Exchange 2007 Upgrade Project
The purpose of this initiative is to upgrade TC’s current baseline office suite (MS Office 2000) to Microsoft Office 2007, which includes Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint, as well as all corporate E-mail servers to MS Exchange 2007.
Microsoft has officially announced that it will drop all support for Office 2000 by mid-2009. This provides Transport Canada with a brief window of opportunity in which to upgrade this key piece of software on all its desktops in order to maintain compatibility with other GoC Departments as well as with its external clients.
The introduction of MS Office 2007 on the corporate desktop will present TC users with a latest-generation interface and with a set of up-to-date desktop features and functionalities designed to improve productivity and the quality of the material produced. For its part, the Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 is a key functional infrastructure component that is essential in maintaining overall E-mail communications. By upgrading TC’s E-mail environment to Microsoft Exchange 2007, we will ensure this vital IM/IT functionality is kept up to date. From a corporate standpoint, the Exchange 2007 new clustering features will provide TC with a fully redundant and high availability E-mail infrastructure.
Transport Canada (TC) has an established Web presence with more than 105,000 externally facing web pages and over 100,000 internally facing Web pages as well as Extranet Web sites. Communications, through the IM/IT Investment process, received funding for a Web Content Management System (WCMS) solution, to be implemented in collaboration with TIMSD. The purchased product is the RedDot Web Content Management System and RedDot LiveServer products.
The project scope includes:
Phase I of the ECATS initiative, completed in March 2005, was directed at collecting electronically operational air carrier data from all domestic and foreign commercial air carriers operating in Canada. Phase II of the program would extend the initiative to electronic collection of air cargo statistics, general aviation-related operational data and financial information from both commercial air carriers and general aviation operators.
The Transport Object Dictionary (TOD) project aims to establish a database access bridge between the numerous Transport Canada systems. The project’s main objective is to harmonize and logically integrate disparate systems. It is expected that this will translate into an increased ability for the Department to dynamically address issues and provide timely response and accuracy in a cost effective fashion. Intelligent integrated data system also provides a mean of retaining corporate knowledge.
This system will integrate information from disparate datasets, bringing together textual and spatial data held by Transport Canada. The data will be geo-referenced and displayed as different layers or views to the user and displayed through a map interface over the Intranet to real property and environmental practitioners across the country. Pilot project activities will include conversion of the Property Records System database, geo-referencing of property plans, integration of property data and creation of a graphical user interface. If the pilot is successful, the land information will become base-level data on which to layer environmental datasets. Once fully implemented, the EIS will enable the Department to meet Treasury Board requirements for custodians of federal real property to report spatial information pertaining to land holdings and contaminated sites. It will also capture data relevant to the Department’s environmental obligations and responsibilities and allow Transport Canada’s Environmental Programs Branch to share information relevant to the Environmental Management System, Contaminated Sites and Environmental Assessment.
This electronic database will create tombstone data for TC-managed port facilities’ stakeholders. It will also allow the stakeholders to make their comments online when consultation is required on proposed regulatory or legislative changes. Regional offices will have access to the database to update the data, query information, create reports, etc. The database will be flexible enough to be expanded for new requirements.
The objective of this project is to develop an integrated tracking system that will be used on a national basis by TC environmental assessment advisors and environmental managers (HQ and regions) to track, monitor and report on environmental assessment (EA) projects.
This project will enhance the functionality of the Surface Contribution Management System (HCoMS) by centralizing the Surface Infrastructure Program’s contribution agreement/project information related to results based management, performance measurements and evaluation information. As well, this plan will focus its attention on issues relating to the creation and enhancements of HCoMS data capture fields. Both initiatives are required in order to meet reporting requirements of both current and new funding programs (i.e. Building Canada Fund, Asia Pacific Gateway Initiative, etc.). The project will also address items raised by the Auditor General of Canada regarding improving information management aspects.
PNR Human Resources Branch publishes a Stability report that provides Executives and Managers valuable snap shot information on our organization’s HR position. The information within the report is used in human resource planning, secession planning, monitoring goals such as diversity. It allows the Regional Director General, and Regional Directors to gage the health of their organizations through the various demographic charts. While this report has proven to be useful, the downside is that the report is generated manually and is very labour intensive to produce. This project is to explore ways to design a system and leverage the current in house technology of Business Object to create an automated Stability report.
The project consists of creating an Intranet site for Aboriginal issues in Québec equipped with utility modules in order to provide effective support to Transport Canada stakeholders, in particular those involved in aboriginal cases. This site will enable the department to ensure:
In 1998 an Aircraft Maintenance and Dispatch System (AMDS) to meet this requirement was approved at a total estimated cost (TEC) of $6.6 million. A contract was subsequently awarded to a company (“InAir”) for the acquisition and implementation of their software. Shortly after the company delivered the Material Module and interface to IDFS in 2001, the company went bankrupt. In 2002, Electronic Data Systems (EDS) acquired the rights to assume the balance of the InAir contract. However, EDS was unable to complete the project and subsequently sold its organizational division that had assumed the work on the ASD system. A decision was taken to place EDS in default and the contract is in the process of being terminated with $2 million project funds remaining. It is imperative that a new system be implemented as soon as possible since the existing InAir Material Module, which interfaces with IDFS no longer has vendor support, and given termination of the EDS contract, the remaining principle features of system requirements are still outstanding. ASD has conducted informal evaluations of two COTS products to control the maintenance of their aircraft. These industry standard COTS products have been certified by Transport Canada and the Federal Aviation Administration and follow the Air Transport Association standards.
This initiative is planned to develop and implement Computer Based Training as part of the fixed wing and rotary wing pilot training programs. This project will enable ASD to meet increasing training demands successfully.
A Safety Management System (SMS) is a business like approach to safety. It is a systematic, explicit and comprehensive process for managing safety risks. Implementation of a SMS is required as a mandated requirement for Aircraft Maintenance Organizations and Air Operators. Failure to implement an effective system may cause ASD to be in violation of Canadian Air Regulation (CAR) requirements. The implementation of a database will enable ASD to efficiently track, assess, manage, and report information that is relevant to complying with safety and/or other quality assurance requirements.
The General Aviation (GA) Branch is responsible for the licensing of all pilots and flight engineers; the licensing and testing standards; and the safety regulations, inspection and monitoring of all Canadian flight training units. The Branch is also responsible for regulating aircraft registration and leasing; maintaining a Canadian Aircraft Register; and maintaining a safety oversight of recreational aviation and special flight operations such as air shows. The GA System model is a phased approach to a fully integrated functional system for the future of General Aviation. From this single system, all current GA functionality will be possible.
The Aerodromes and Air Navigation Branch currently has a number of data repositories, both electronic and otherwise, which were designed to meet the needs of individual sections or divisions. As a result of a recent merger of branches there is a requirement to modernize the databases and data management tools into a common data management system that meets the overall business requirements of the new branch, and incorporates other databases and sources of data from other areas of Transport Canada, other government departments and non-government organizations.
Since inception, order frequency and complexity have increased steadily by 75% in the first three quarters of 2006 over the same period in 2005. Order fulfillment is managed by the Multimedia Publishing Services (MPS) and carried out by Oracle Inventory and Order Management modules that form the backend of Transact and iProcurement. Bar code scanning technology is available both through Oracle and third party vendors. It is expected that bar code scanning of products for order fulfillment will increase the accuracy of orders shipped (correct items and quantities) as well as decrease the amount of time for order fulfillment, item returns, stock takes and inventory receipt. The purchase of bar code scanning technology should further increase employee job performance and satisfaction by decreasing job complexity and easing operational time constraints as they arise due to increased workload.
NTARS serves 500 Marine Safety employees on a national basis. It is a critical tool used to measure workload and guide management in effective decision-making. The continued development and enhancement of NTARS is critical to Marine Safety’s reporting capability from a modern management perspective and could over time become a departmental investment used by other business lines and groups. The NTARS could provide cost savings to other departmental business lines wishing to implement a similar activity reporting system. NTARS could link to Marine Safety’s Ship Registry Information System (SRIS) and the Ship Inspection Reporting System (SIRS) for a more effective system. Connectivity to the departmental BIRM and LEX systems are also considerations.
Development and implementation of an enhanced system to register, record and produce a new Canadian Seafarer Identity Document (SID).
The current system version, recently transferred to TC from DFO, has a number of technical problems that necessitate development and implementation of a new version of the Navigable Waterways Database System (NWDS). Going forward with this initiative now will improve the system’s ability to provide the best possible information for planning, reporting and decision making while promoting consistency in program delivery.
Marine Occupational Health and Safety is seeking an automated solution for their information needs and MOU requirements by virtue of the department requirements under the Canadian Labor Code. HRDC's LA2000 system proved to be an unsuitable/unstable solution so Marine Safety is seeking a custom developed solution which integrates a number of Marine Safety systems. The MOHS System will be a secure system supported by Oracle 10g database and architecture consistent with other Marine Safety applications, e.g. Marine Safety Enforcement Management System (MEMS) and Navigable Waterways Database System (NWDS)
Pleasure craft Manufactured in or imported to Canada are required under the Small Vessel Regulations to have a capacity, conformity or single vessel label attached to it. The new BIASS system will conform to the new Construction Standards for Small Vessels and run through an Oracle database.
The development of the Automated Certification and Examination System - Medical component (ACESM) to meet changes in Marine Policy and providing required links to partnering applications. Enhancement of the intranet based ACES to include the Medical component will provide Marine Safety with current and accurate seafarer medical information on a timely basis.
The Pleasure Craft Operator Competency Database System will provide Transport Canada with the ability to administer the Competency of Operator of Pleasure Craft Regulations in accordance with legislated and mandated requirements. A national database for housing cardholder information is being proposed, in large part due to concerns that without centralized cardholder information, there can be little or no enforcement of the Regulations, and to protect the information and to prevent the data from being lost when a CP withdraws from the program.
The Canada Shipping Act 2001(CSA 2001), Part 11 provides for new instruments for promoting compliance with the law. Beginning with section 228, the Minister is authorized to levy an Administrative Monetary Penalty (AMP). It is Transport Canada’s intention to adopt a phased approach to the implementation of MSEMS. Once the MSEMS regulations come into force in November 2006, Marine Safety will provide a six-month grace period before monetary fines are applied. During this period, Marine Safety Inspectors, upon identification of infractions, will issue warnings to individuals and vessel owners, advising them in the form of a warning of the monetary penalties that they will be subject to for said infractions come April 1, 2007. Marine Safety intends to track all warnings issued to individuals and vessel owners for future data conversion to a fully developed MSEMS. It is Marine Safety’s intention to develop the MSEMS as an Intranet web-based application, supported by an Oracle 9i database, with data transfer (upload and download) to these other applications.
The Ballast Water Database will store information regarding the ballast water carried by vessels arriving at Canadian ports and also by those vessels bound for US destinations on the Great Lakes.
It is Marine Safety’s intent to redeveloped the RQS application to upgrade the middleware software module to Endeca v. 5.x to leverage the most recent releases of the Endeca developer studio which will provide increased sustainability to the RQS application and convert the application to ensure CLF 2.0 compliance based on Transport Canada’s .Net architecture requirements using the TC templates and code base structure. The expected completion date for this project is March 31, 2009.
Marine Security Inspectors do not have ready access to the multitude of information that is necessary or useful in carrying out their inspections, investigations and enforcement activities. Therefore, operational efficiency suffers and management does not have access or the ability to share business intelligence based on up-to-the minute data.
This situation leads to the need of having a system that will provide the inspectors, headquarters staff and the staff in the regions with the most up-to-date information on a number of different issues, to facilitate a comprehensive oversight and enforcement tracking as well as reporting, analyzing trends and providing qualitative and quantitative data to support effective decision-making, threat and risk assessment/management and security management practices.
The RSIG model is a series of fully integrated functional modules for the future Rail Safety national data system. These individual modules represent various program areas and supporting systems to meet the operational and reporting requirements for Rail Safety. From this integrated national data system, results will be produced for trend analysis, resource accountability, risk management and decision-making. The RSIG model will be a single point of entry where users will have access to all data regardless of any functional specialty they may have, across the Regions and Headquarters. Information will be shared from the program delivery modules, program support modules, common tables and external sources modules. This will help to alleviate the concept of operating in stovepipes as the RSIG model was designed as a series of integrated modules to encourage the sharing and exchanging of information between programs.
The existing Public Complaints System (which is a MS Access-based application) gives the Motor Vehicle Defect Investigators the ability to register complaints received by the general public. This project consists of enhancing the current application, for example: (1) rendering it into a browser-based application, accessible by the investigators, regional contractors, and the general public; (2) design the application and its security model to reflect separate access right to data and functionality by each user group; (3) add an archival capability and rendering it accessible; etc.
Phase II of the project will:
To meet these goals, this project will enhance the web-based motor vehicle public complaint form to allow the members of the public to view and to search through complaints submitted by Canadian vehicle owners. This will satisfy complainants that their problems are registered with Transport Canada and that, when merited, investigations are opened. As a result, this should substantially increase the number of complaints received by Transport Canada, allowing TC to identify safety-related defect trends much more quickly.
This project will migrate and enhance four existing databases into one single and robust enterprise-level application based on a Windows.Net front-end interface and an Oracle-back-end database serving Road Safety’s operational needs for test fleet asset management, reservation system, vehicle and equipment test and investigation log, and Child Restraint Testing System. The New FTMS database and reporting system will allow for more effective and efficient fleet management control of high value mobile assets as technical specimens for scientific testing and analysis, and controlled multi-level input of and access to archival test and investigative data by multiple users for enforcement purposes, including potential criminal prosecution.
This project involves the development and implementation of a database system to enable importers to make their Appendix VII requests online, directly on Transport Canada’s website, and to the Transport Canada official responsible for processing requests submitted electronically. TVIS will enable Transport Canada to process, research, and classify Appendix VII requests and the required certificates of exportation or destruction more quickly and more efficiently by electronic and automated methods.
TCAFIS II is a comprehensive, fully integrated architecture to capture electronically fingerprints / facial images, demographic data and scanned personal history documents. The key benefit: TCIB can now forward a fingerprint transaction seamlessly to the RCMP in real time. TCIB has dramatically reduced the turnaround time of processing fingerprints for the transportation security clearances for applicants requiring access to restricted areas, and for TC employee security clearances from an average of 45 days to 60 days down to a few hours. This digitized fingerprinting system enables TCIB to collect fingerprints electronically, without the use of any paper documents. This new inkless, paperless environment eliminates costly storage and supplies of fingerprint forms, inkpads and the physical movement and tracking of paper. TCAFIS supports a full-ten finger search of fingerprints, as opposed to previously name-only based searches. This migration to a full ten-fingered search offers an enhanced level of security not realized in the past.
This project will complete the Aviation Security module of SEPIRS. This is required to meet the needs of the user community and incorporate the many changes that occurred in the Aviation Security realm. The anticipated outcome will see an effective data collection tool for the Security Directorates, which address the new requirements based on changes in legislation and inspection procedures, a more efficient use of resources and in addition, will fix a number of outstanding deficiencies that were not addressed in the original application; all on a systems that is no longer a proprietary architecture.
Moving to a web-based front-end will offer faster response time for all users, allow the programmers to code to exacting requirements as identified by the working group, and cost less to make all the recommended changes by the working group. This work will help to ease the transition of SEPIRS as it evolves into the proposed secret environment.
Schedules 1, 2 & 3 of the TDG Regulations do not currently exist in a database that is accessible to all TDG staff, regional inspectors, clients and stakeholders. It is proposed to convert the data into a searchable Oracle database to eliminate the need to maintain several versions of the list for different purposes, and to have it accessible by HQ and regional staff, and by external clients over the TC Internet.
The goal of the TDG Act is to “promote public safety in the transportation of dangerous goods”. The existing Inspection Information System (IIS) application no longer supports the business needs of the user community and is inconsistent with departmental database development standards or application architecture. The development software (FoxPro 2.6) is outdated and there is significant technical difficulty to keep the application running properly on current hardware and software. It is no longer cost effective to support, nor does it support Transport Canada’s commitments in the Strategic Plan. Redeveloping the IIS will support TDG’s commitment to the development of maintainable applications. The upgraded system would provide inspectors the feature to collect and interpret data about industry, manufacturers and shippers of dangerous goods prior to, during and post inspection; one-stop access to all the forms they need during the course of a work day; and management capability to complete risk evaluations, reallocate resources, develop regulations, etc.
Part 8 of the Transportation of Dangerous Goods (TDG) Regulations requires that a written report be submitted to the TDG Directorate in the event of any accidental release involving dangerous goods within 30 days of the release. The 30-Day Follow-up Report captures vital information relating to the accident. The resulting output is used for risk and operational analysis, to identify failures of means of containment under normal conditions of transport, to identify appropriate emergency response to dangerous goods accidents, to evaluate the impact of legislative and regulatory requirements, to facilitate research and development initiatives, to facilitate responses to Transportation Safety Board (TSB) documents, and to identify weaknesses in the regulatory program or its application. In addition, identifying the correlation between accidents and compliance rate is essential in order to properly assign resources to inspection activities.
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The Oracle Financials Cluster Group is in the process of assembling a plan for the implementation of a shared finance/administrative system, based on Oracle Financials Release 12 (R12), that would be used by all Oracle Financials Cluster Group members (TC, DFO, DIAND, DFO, CSC).
The objective of this project would be to assemble a specialized team to allow TC to fully participate in the planning process. The output of the planning process will provide TC with the necessary information to allow a decision on how to conduct its next financial/administrative systems upgrade (shared or independent).
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This proposal is to implement a solution that renders the external facing Transact application components CLF 2.0 compliant
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This project will deliver a redesigned system that will:
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The acquisition of the software will substantially improve Rail Safety’s safety oversight capability to monitor railway operations and provide the ability to recreate train operations by using the simulation software to assist in determining compliance to the RSA.
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The software will provide the ability to vet the accuracy of addresses upon input, use, and their residency in the database prior to their application. The software should be able to perform address verifications on email addresses (e-bulletin) as well as postal. Additional reporting capabilities will alert staff to potential issues with client information held within CADLIS. The use of this software will improve the accuracy of CADLIS and its mailings, streamline operational efficiency for those involved in its use, and decrease costs to TC in the form of Canada Post return mail charges.
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Installing a local Mac server that supports the specialized Mac computers used by MPS staff (16 plus Mac computers are utilized currently with anticipation of growth) will increase productivity of MPS staff to meet TC client requirements. This will also keep bandwidth demands from the TC network to a minimum.
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MPS produces thousands of CDs and DVDs every year to continually supply the public, through iStore, with current information on regulations and safety-mandated material. Both automated DVD/CD duplication units need to be replaced in order for MPS to properly supply the constant requests
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The current cameras are no longer compatible with the MPS digital workflow environment that was introduced 2-years ago. The new cameras will provide a tape-less workflow, eliminating several steps that occur in a videotape-based workflow thus becoming more cost and time effective. The new cameras will be used to produce Transport Canada’s Safety, training and awareness videos.
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The project objective is the development of an infrastructure, the Aviation Business Intelligence Infrastructure (ABII), to provide the tools required for the Aviation Safety Analysis Division to produce and deliver comprehensive analysis and reports in a more cost effective, efficient and accessible manner to all of Civil Aviation.
The anticipated outcome of the project is a tool that can assist in decision-making with respect to development of policies, regulations and standards. It will effectively rationalize the process by which analysis is done and results delivered, increasing productivity and producing cost savings for all of Civil Aviation. It will allow for different user interfaces for different user types; improve ad-hoc query abilities; and improve the ability to share and disseminate analysis and reports. The development of the infrastructure will reduce duplication of information and will increase the ability to perform analysis with information from separated systems.
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The MASIS database stores information gathered during aerial surveillance missions conducted by TC aircraft.
The database already exists and there is a need to give an interface to users to manage data. The interface will include an application to visualize required mission data and generate standard reports. An ad hoc query tool will be the next element to be implemented and will be able to generate reports on entire missions.
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The proposed technological framework will enable Marine Safety:
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This system will provide the business with the ability to improve the safety culture of the Canadian domestic fleet through delegation and the use of the Delegation Monitoring System, which is to provide the means to track and record delegation and auditing criteria under a defined risk-based framework, delegated inspection data and provide management with integrated safety management tools through a risk management and reporting tools.
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The Integrated TDG Information Systems will respond to a long-standing and growing need within the Directorate to significantly improve our activities by:
The project will be delivered in stages – this is the first stage, a Needs Assessment.
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The ultimate objective of the CANUTEC Information System (CIS) is to provide CANUTEC with a single access point to all pertinent information. CANUTEC currently relies on several databases that have been developed in-house over the last 22 years. These databases have mainly been developed using FilemakerPro and are all standalone applications.
The following functions will be addressed over the life of the project:
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The project involves the redevelopment of the existing Security and Emergency Preparedness Information Reporting System (SEPIRS) into a new multi-modal Transportation Security Information system (TSIS), leveraging the work done on the Information Management System (IMS) project in Marine Security, ensuring that the new system meets the business requirements of each of the modes (marine, aviation, surface) of the security program, including Air Cargo requirements.
The anticipated outcome of the project will be the ability to more effectively plan, conduct and report on the security business line as it relates to compliance and enforcement function. The information gathered from this system will provide valuable data for other security functions.
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Converting TC Web pages and applications to CLF 2.0 is a large project that will span a two year period and impact other projects across the Department.
Key milestones already reached include:
| Milestone | Date |
|---|---|
|
Establish a CLF 2.0 Project Office |
February 2007 |
|
Draft CLF 2.0 implementation plan |
March 2007 |
|
Draft Initial Communications Plan |
May 2007 |
|
Benchmarked current compliance |
June 2007 |
|
Identified opportunities and risks presented by CLF 2.0 |
June 2007 |
|
Identified project training requirements |
June 2007 |
|
Launched Interim XHTML template and development tools to build new/redesigned Web pages |
June 2007 |
|
Benchmarked preliminary resource needs |
July 2007 |
|
Provided TBS with a CLF 2.0 Progress report |
July 2007 |
|
Email format conversion plan |
July 2007 |
|
Evaluated Web governance |
July 2007 |
|
Launched CLF 2.0 Intranet site |
September 2007 |
|
Developed TC process - exemption requests |
September 2007 |
|
Launched Interim CLFPage tempate and development tools for Web applications |
September 2007 |
|
CLF 2.0 Orientation session for Web Editors – included training on Interim XHTML templates and development tools |
November 2007 |
|
CLF 2.0 Orientation session for Web developers – included training on Interim CLFPage template and development tools |
December 2007 |
|
Assess CLF/CMS interdependencies |
February 2008 |
|
Briefing note to TMX on CLF 2.0 |
February 2008 |
|
Complete Situational Analysis and Content Audit/Inventory |
February 2008 |
|
Draft new design concepts and navigational approaches |
February 2008 |
|
Programs content review completed |
March 2008 |
|
Draft TC Web Communications Strategy |
March 2008 |
|
Completed CLF 2.0 email address conversion pilot project |
March 2008 |
|
Commence code-clean up activities |
April 2008 |
|
Finalize TC Web Communications Strategy |
April 2008 |
|
Draft TC Web information architecture |
May 2008 |
|
Strengthen TC Web governance – identified CLF Champions |
May 2008 |
|
Develop additional TC tools and standards |
June 2008 |
|
Launch Acceptance 2 server environment for testing converted pages |
June 2008 |
|
Deliver TC specific training for XHTML CLF templates and new TC standards |
June/July 2008 |
|
Finalize information architecture, design and navigation |
July 2008 |
|
Launch version 1.04 of CLF 2.0 XHTML templates |
July 2008 |
|
Commence final implementation activities for CLF 2.0 (training, roll out new information architecture, content creation and conversion, etc). |
July 2008 |
|
Completed CLF 2.0 email address conversion pilot project |
July/August 2008 |
|
Initiated phased-in conversion to CLF 2.0 email addresses for all TC employees |
September 2008 |
|
Launched version 1.04 of CLFPage and Classic ASP application templates |
September 2008 |
|
Initiated weekly CLF 2.0 Lunch and Learn sessions |
September 2008 (ongoing) |
|
E-Communications drafted Level 1 and 2 content and integrated feedback received from WMB and CLF Champions |
October 2008 |
|
Application developer training session for final CLFPage and Classic ASP templates |
October 2008 |
|
Launched CLF 2.0 conversion tracking tool |
October 2008 |
|
Briefed TMX on conversion status |
October 2008 |
Key milestones reached by December 31, 2008 include:
| Milestone | Date |
|---|---|
|
Deliver CLF 2.0 implementation progress report #2 to TBS |
October 30, 2008 |
|
Complete conversion to new CLF 2.0 email format for all TC employees |
December 8, 2008 |
|
Phase I Site Launch – will launch TC Home, Level 1 and 2 pages and any program pages converted and identified as ready for posting |
December 11, 2008 |
|
Phase II Site launch – programs to migrate remaining Web pages using the final CLF 2.0 templates |
December 31, 2008 |
|
Conversion of TC Web applications and moving TC Applications onto new server environment |
December 31, 2008 |
|
Additional activities targeted for completion by April 2009 include: Compliance evaluation of TC Web Presence |
April 2009 |
|
Complete conversion of TC Web applications that have self-identified as being unable to meet the December 31, 2008 compliance deadline |
Various dates- all should be completed by March 2010 |
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