Recent focus on the Post Office scandal has shone light on equally long-standing problems inherent in the role of suppliers in supporting public services, according to Romy Hughes of Brightman
The Post Office Horizon IT scandal is a symptom of a much wider problem, namely that, despite its love-affair with outsourcing critical public services, the public sector often does not know how to procure services.
From a high-level perspective, Horizon was a collaboration between the Post Office and Fujitsu which was forced upon subpostmasters. In other words, it was an ambitious IT project riddled with issues which were never addressed, which was nonetheless still imposed on its user base without their consultation or agreement.
This will sound familiar to anyone who has worked in the public sector.
Prior to outsourcing anything, every public sector department needs to understand its role, and the value that it delivers to the public. In the case of Horizon, did anyone stop and ask what was the role of the Post Office? What values does it provide to the community and the country as a whole, and how could these be advanced further?
It reflects numerous issues which are common to the public sector, in particular its over-reliance on external consultants to design and deliver change and innovation projects; this is not only very costly for the taxpayer, but it breeds a culture of change-resistance which ultimately reduces in-house innovation. It is worth remembering that this over-reliance on external suppliers and outsourcers is an intentional policy by the public sector so they have a scapegoat if things go wrong – Fujitsu in this case.
The bidding process also fosters a race-to-the-bottom, where the winning bidder may often find they are unable to deliver the services sustainably, putting the service at risk of failure from the outset.
This approach also leads to the public sector having no ownership of its data, since outsourcing the service also outsources data ownership. Without control of its data – which is public data – the public sector has lost all control of the services it is ultimately responsible for. When you’re outsourced, your suppliers own your data, so they are able to set the pace of your ambitions and dictate future plans.
The public sector struggles to focus on outcomes as the primary measurement of success, with projects primarily being delivered by time or milestone, instead of being judged against tangible outcomes. A lack of focus on these also fuels a propensity to create vague or ever-changing objectives. This results in projects going out-of-scope, over-budget and out-of-time, which ultimately rushes delivery at the end, and leaves no time for testing prior to delivery to customers.
There is also very little end-user engagement at any stage in a project. User engagement is essential to help define the objectives or outcomes for the project, so that it will have the most beneficial impact to those who will use it. Without user engagement throughout the design, testing and eventual delivery, is it any wonder many projects are rejected?
First principles
Ultimately all these issues fall under one overarching issue – the public sector often has little control over its IT. When it comes to Horizon specifically, you have to question the operational structure behind it – there was seemingly no user engagement at any point during its development, or if there was, it was not taken into account.
In the era of digital transformation, where IT innovation can deliver both cost efficiencies and improved services, it is time for the public sector to retake control of its IT and its data.
Prior to outsourcing anything, every public sector department needs to understand its role. It is important to go back to first principles and understand the value that it delivers to the public – i.e. its customers.
Ultimately, what is its role? No service, whether in-house or outsourced, should be created without that goal in mind. And it should be judged according to how it advances that goal.
In the case of Horizon, did anyone stop and ask what was the role of the Post Office? What values does it provide to the community and the country as a whole, and how could these be advanced further? If those questions had ever been asked, it would have been clear very quickly that Horizon was never going to be the answer. And a whole lot of heartache and misery could have been avoided.
Romy Hughes, pictured above, is director of digital transformation consultancy Brightman
