fools rush in
fools rush in
Portals are often seen as the silver bullet for achieving a government organisation's information management goals, but it is vital not to rush in to buying the wrong application, says portals expert Howard Sachs, who outlines the five steps for success in government portal projects
Government departments that are implementing a portal project must approach it realistically; portals can transform knowledge management, but it must be remembered a portal project requires a significant effort and budget commitment.
Make no mistake-a portal can be a White Knight or a dragon.Portal is often a misused word in our industry. Websites acting as gateways are commonly referred to as portals, yet a key difference is that websites only provide content and do not involve application integration.
A portal aggregates information from several sources onto the one screen. It is essentially a framework that pulls content from different sources so users can access these sources through one entry point. Information articles, news services, real time information, financial or human resources applications can all be accessed through a portal.
A major strength of the framework is allowing users to access applications without having to be trained in that application. For example, staff can view financial information without expertise in Oracle finance, which would take months to learn.
Government departments have been outstanding in 'handcrafting' portals from the ground up. But handcrafted systems eventually hit a wall where development and maintenance costs skyrocket, because they have been designed to solve specific problems and won't integrate with other systems.
This brings us to a key issue facing government portal projects: they must be useable across different platforms, with interoperable standards and good middleware; otherwise they create the silos they intended to break down. The framework is the key, not the platform. The framework is the core around which the unique portal infrastructure can be built and it must be platform neutral.
To achieve this, many government organisations are now finding they need an external, commercial framework that is standards based for long-term viability. But this can involve a considerable investment. So what steps can government take to ensure success?
Step one: Define your requirements
Every decision hinges on this stage. Research business requirements, identify benefits and define goals - what is going to help you do your job better? Do you need the portal? Sometimes a good content management system will suffice.
Without knowing your requirements it's nearly impossible to measure the portal's value later on. Management has to work together and understand how the organisation communicates, internally and externally. Portals are not just an 'IT project'; they are a 'whole organisation project' and need the support of all senior staff.
Step two: Do your research
Ignoring research will cause vast amounts of money to disappear.Firstly, an organisation should research their users. Learn from employees what tasks are inefficient and identify ways to make their job easier. See where information clusters around roles; each role requires groups of information so put all related information on a portal page. The following list, by no means proscriptive, is an example of these possible segments:
-Human Resources
-Accounting
-Financial Planning
-Legal
-IT
-Project Management
-R&D
Research should include an inventory of current and proposed applications used by an organisation. Future-proof your technology by selecting a portal framework that supports standards, such as JSP 168 or Web Parts, which allows different proprietary systems to talk to each other.
Analyse content: find out what information the organisation needs, where it is stored and what is its format. Identify unstructured data, such as Word or .PDF files that are not in a database and that hinder successful projects; aim for a 'single source of the truth' and eliminate duplication of information.
Step three: Separate needs from desires
As with any purchasing decision in life, portals are a struggle between needs and desires. You might want a Ferrari for that drive to the train station every morning, but you can use a Honda Civic for the same journey.
There is no point employing a tier one application that is too expensive for your needs, when a tier two option will suit. Remember, a portal system does not have to be the best in all areas to be successful for your needs.
Organisations should be aware that a software vendor's job is to sell applications, not solutions. Vendors provide valuable insight on the technology of portal and related software but do not provide the 'soft' engineering on how to effectively model your information to improve your business.
Organisations should not rely on the vendors to do their homework for them. Many will find that independent consultants ease the pressure on decision-making, have a broad understanding across many products and can develop the right solution for each function.
Step four: Are you building a car or a house?
If you are building a car, ordering a pile of bricks makes no sense, yet organisations commonly order the wrong building materials for their portals.
The key for government is to have a system that is platform neutral, enabling it to operate across departments which may each use a different platform. A top search engine is also a must.
Organisations will essentially choose between an open source and an enterprise application.
-Of the enterprise applications, the most expensive are the tier one vendors, which may cost from around $350,000 and up into the millions to implement, and include the big industry names.
-The tier two vendors are generally priced from around $100,000 to $500,000, with a large range of suppliers.
-Open source applications are free and can deliver 80 percent of your portal needs, but they require skill to get going.
Each option has their pros and cons. Tier one portals often have a lot of sample applications that aren't needed. On some of the bad portal implementations I have seen, organisations changed their systems and approaches to adapt to the sample applications. This is a cardinal sin of portal implementation; the portal should always be adapting to the organisation, not the other way around.
Open source applications provide a basic framework that needs customising. For some organisations this is okay because they have the skill to carry if off, but others can get into trouble, that in turn can cause additional costs and a blow out of budgets.
The risk with open source is the lack of support. Enterprise software offers ongoing support, protecting your organisation.
Step five: The rest of your life
Portals are not a 'set and forget' deal; an organisation will have to consistently mould their portal, respond to feedback and make changes.
It is important to develop a series of guidelines in a governance document to ensure the portal continues to meet certain standards. Create a governance team representing all facets of the organisation to preside over the document and to set, manage and grow the standards for the portal.
Finally, a word on value
Does your portal deliver value to your organisation? This can only be answered by organisations who define their requirements first.
Organisations can get a handle on value if they research, monitor and benchmark what they are doing. Take a call centre: if a government department implements a portal for the public and contacts to the centre are reduced, every saved call helps pay for the portal, but if it is still inundated with calls - which cost between $10 and $20 a call - then value is questionable.
By knowing your goals in the first place, a portal has a greater chance of success.
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