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Public Service Challenges For A Year 2000 Project
by Gordon MacMaster
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Some of the oldest, largest and most complex mainframes still in use today belong to the various government bureaucracies. Governments face the same problems and concerns as private industry in dealing with the Year 2000 threat to their information technology. Yet, the role that the public service plays in society and its very structure creates different challenges while managing a Year 2000 project.
All bureaucracies, be it government or large private organizations serve one function, to make the majority of decisions routine. By creating policies and procedures that cover the vast majority of business, a large organization can behave very efficiently and effectively. Unlike private sector bureaucracies, the public service has two other roles. First, it is the representative of the government and is the front line that brings the government's services to the people. Second, it is a legal entity, responsible for discharging the law established by elected governments. These additional roles are the source of unique challenges for a Year 2000 Project Manager in the public service. With planning, thought and action early on in the project, these challenges can be met and overcome.
THE STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION OF THE PUBLIC SERVICE
Democratic governments are based on the rule of law and so are their administrative support structures. In practice, this means continuity in decision making by any branch of the public service must be maintained. Much as in law, past decisions or precedents will affect future policy decisions. Therefore, the conversion of old databases will be a significant concern for the public service in order to maintain that continuity. It limits the options of a Year 2000 Project Manager since he or she cannot simply replace an old system and continue business. The data of the past is an integral part of the bureaucracy's function. The Project Manager will have to plan for data conversion.
The routinization of decision making along legal lines has a second, important impact. It tends to create a strong sense of conservatism within a bureaucracy. The inertia to do things as they were done in the past is why there is so much resistance to change in larger organizations. The conservatism of a public service bureaucracy is even further entrenched because its decision making relies on precedents or past decisions. The Project Manager will have to work within a relatively rigid management structure for systems development. The more 'radical' a proposal to save a system, the more likely it will be rejected by management. A radical proposal can be defined as an action not done by the organization in the past. This includes practices that may be completely acceptable in other organizations with known risks and results. There will be pressure on a Project Manager to manage the Year 2000 Project like any other project within the department. This of course may be too limiting for a given situation and can increase the risk of failure significantly. As part of the "selling" process for a Year 2000 project, the Project Manager must condition management early on that the project will be unique because the situation is unique. There will still be resistance but persistence, repetition and measurable success will help.
Management and planning in the public service are not clearly defined. As stated earlier, the public service is the front line of the government. The public service's objectives are defined outside of its management by the elected political bodies that govern them. This is not an entirely bad situation. Elected officials often require the advice of their public servants due to the complexity of many issues. A strong and convincing case can be made to support a Year 2000 Project. With the support of the elected Minister or Secretary, a Project Manager will enjoy sufficient staff and resources to do the job. However, the whims of politics are fickle and a Project Manager should be attuned to any changes that may impact support for the project. Resources can be easily and suddenly diverted to resolve a political crisis or sensitive issue.
Even if the elected heads of a public administration support a Year 2000 project other neighboring departments may not. Empire building is a common trait in all bureaucracies. The solution for changes imposed by the government is the growth of the related public administration. It is usually the only opportunity for a department to grow. During the project, other systems enhancements cannot be done or may be delayed significantly. This will be a direct threat to growth of other departments and their managers' 'empires' that require these enhancements. The Project Manager must be aware of the severe political infighting that will ensue. It is naive to expect that a project the size of Year 2000 will run with a minimum of office politics even with the support of senior management. Any Project Manager must plan in time to prepare for these disputes and most importantly, be prepared to fight.
THE PUBLIC SERVICE AS A LEGAL ENTITY
There are four other very important legal issues a Project Manager must address in a public institution. The first is based on the assumption that all Year 2000 projects do face significant risks of not being completed on time and service to the public may be affected detrimentally. The management of the bureaucracy may be legally responsible for this failure and may face litigation from citizens when a service is disrupted. The Year 2000 is a known problem that should have been addressed effectively by management. The legal ramifications of failure should be explored thoroughly. Pointing out legal responsibilities is an effective way, albeit blunt, to gain support for the project.
The second legal question is about relations with external actors, particularly other government bodies. Many government departments exchange data. Often, there are memorandums of understandings, policy directives or actual legislation that governs the exchange of information. Amongst these agreements may be provisions about how to modify the data exchanges. A Project Manager may be surprised that he or she must give another department two years warning before adding the century digits to a date. In other cases there may be no agreement at all and a department may arbitrarily change an essential data exchange without warning. Negotiations between departments and governments are often complex and usually will be infused with other issues aside from the Year 2000. There are often lengthy approval processes. A Project Manager must research the data exchanges with External Actors for accurate planning and scheduling.
Although the Year 2000 is important, the Project Manager must balance their conduct by recognizing that there is a need to carry on business since the civil service has legal obligations to carry out its services. It may not be possible to temporarily shut down system support for a department while the Year 2000 team makes the necessary corrections. The state has an obligation to its citizens. Planning will have to work around this limitation.
Finally, as a public body, expenditures made by the public service are heavily regulated. The first impact will be on staffing. Bonuses, pay raises and other perks that exist in the private sector do not in the public service. There will be a lot of temptation for government employees to leave for more lucrative careers in the private sector. There may be a high turnover of valuable people. Second, contracting for outside help is a long, complicated process. A Project Manager must address the need for outside resources quickly so the tendering process can be finished in the early stages of the project.
CONCLUSION
Despite these many challenges, a Year 2000 Project in the public service is not an impossible venture. The public service has a history of quickly completing many large, scale projects in the past. The public service enjoys an experienced work force, access to sufficient funds and a general belief of the need to serve the public. Any Year 2000 Project Manager must make the connection for management that the Year 2000 is perhaps the greatest threat to service to the public in the span of their careers. That is why the Year 2000 should be the most important systems activity in the civil service for the next few years.
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Contacting the author:
Gordon MacMaster
Phone: (613) 258-3650