Date: Sat, 9 Apr 1994 06:41:48 -0400
From: aa765@FreeNet.Carleton.CA (Brian Graham)
Subject: Re: blueprint
DISCUSSION DRAFT
BLUEPRINT FOR RENEWING
GOVERNMENT SERVICES
USING INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Disponible en franais
Message from the President of the Treasury Board
Rapid technological change is creating opportunities to
deliver services in ways that are more accessible,
responsive and affordable.
In many areas, the federal government is on the leading edge
in using information technology to improve service to its
clients. In other areas, however, where we still have a way
to go.
The serious fiscal challenges facing the country mean that
we need to look at how we can do things better.
The Blueprint provides an integrated approach to renewing
government services using information technology in a manner
that capitalizes on our strengths and makes the best use of
our investments.
I see the key to its success being tapping the expertise,
commitment and imagination of all Public Service employees.
We are making the plan widely available because it is
important we all agree on the best way to deliver government
services in the future.
I invite you to send in your suggestions on renewing
government services. Your comments can make a difference.
Art Eggleton
Foreword
Mounting fiscal pressures force all governments to provide
services to clients with continuously shrinking budgets.
The "Blueprint for Renewing Government Services Using
Information Technology" proposes a vision of affordable,
accessible and responsive federal government services and an
integrated approach to help achieve this vision.
The Blueprint takes a fresh, enterprise-wide look at
government services using a client focus. It recommends
creating, managing, and prudently sharing information
electronically among departments and their different
services in a way which protects the security and privacy of
the information. It envisages the use of a government-wide
electronic information infrastructure to simplify service
delivery, reduce duplication, and improve the level and
speed of service to clients at a lower cost to the
taxpayers.
The Blueprint emphasizes the critical importance of
employees. Their involvement and commitment are essential
to successful business renewal. In this vein, information
technology will be applied in a manner to improve the "human
face of government" as well as the efficiency and
affordability of service delivery.
The Blueprint builds on the experience gained from renewal
activities already under way in program delivery and
administrative areas of the federal government. Many
departmental staff specialists and line managers have
contributed to the document.
This Blueprint is being circulated in draft form in order to
get a wide range of views on its principles from both inside
and outside of government. In its final form, it will
establish a framework for using information technology to
support government-wide service renewal. The vision and
principles enunciated in the Blueprint will assist all
departments and agencies in implementing their own renewal
initiatives.
We value your input and encourage you to provide us with
your comments by May 31, 1994. To facilitate this, you can
contact the Blueprint team in one of four ways: (1) by
sending an E-mail through X.400 to C=ca;
A=govmt.canada;P=gc+tbs.cts;S=chu;G=tony; (2) by calling
Bernie Gorman at (613) 957-9645 or Tony Chu at 952-3366; (3)
by returning the facsimile response sheet attached at the
back of the Blueprint; or (4) by mailing your response to:
Tony Chu, Office of Information Management, Systems and
Technology, Treasury Board Secretariat, 8th Floor, West
Tower, 300 Laurier Avenue West, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0R5,
Canada.
J.A. Macdonald
Chief Informatics Officer
I. D. Clark
Secretary of the Treasury Board Acknowledgements
The Blueprint is a collective work by many staff specialists
and line managers from departments as well as from central
and common service agencies. They all contributed to its
development by participating in workshops or by reviewing
and advising on the Blueprint's development. These
individuals include Tony Chu (team leader), Treasury Board
Secretariat; Ted Pender, Correctional Service Canada;
Rita Moritz, Heritage Canada; Philip Carr, Gary Depew and
Claude Fairfield, Human Resources Development Canada;
Kate Dobson, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada; Tom Racine,
Industry Canada; Bob Provick, National Archives of Canada;
Barry Walker, National Defence; Richard Brigden,
Bruce Catley, Alain Fortin, Jacques Glinas, Robert Hopwood,
Anne La Salle and Joe Sauv, Public Works and Government
Services Canada; John Read, Transport Canada; Bob Landry,
Western Economic Diversification Canada; Ed Acheson,
Paul Baack, Emmanuel Buu, Catherine Caule, Joe Ct,
Jim Eddy, Jim Ewanovich, Andr Fauchon, Ron Fauvel,
Cliff Filion, Amy Gibbs, John Keay, Bruce Lindsay,
Marilla Lo, Don Lusby, John Mayne, Michael Nelson,
Jane Panet, Les Pratt, Ngan Ling Tam, Conrad Thomas and
Chip Wiest, Treasury Board Secretariat.
The Blueprint Program Advisory Committee provided direction
for this publication. Consultation with the members of this
committee at critical points of the Blueprint's development
ensured that its direction was consistent with the needs of
departments. The Committee includes Michael Binder
(chairperson), Industry Canada; Claude Bernier, Transport
Canada; Hy Braiter, Human Resources Development Canada;
Paul Cochrane, Health Canada; Brian Ferguson, Treasury Board
Secretariat; Willie Gibbs, Correctional Service Canada;
Phil McLellan and Ren Guindon, Public Works and Government
Services Canada; Richard Manicom, Revenue Canada;
Claire Monette, Industry Canada; Monique Plante, Human
Resources Development Canada; David Wightman, Transport
Canada; and Alan Williams, Indian and Northern Affairs
Canada.
Many private-sector specialists provided advice and comments
on the methodology, content and format of the Blueprint.
They include Art Caston, Jim Grant, Shirley Bishop,
Jeff Carruthers, Tony Crawford, John Davis, Ray Healey,
David Rothwell, Linda Russell, Pierre Sicard, Bob Simpson,
Don Tapscott and Michael Vaughan.
In addition to the significant effort by the project team
and advisors, the Blueprint would not have been possible
without the excellent service for its production. We would
like to thank Simonne Lauriault and her team of
Lorraine Fournier, Luc Gendron, Lori Lapointe,
Franois Perreault and Lillian Saikali of the Client Support
Centre; Carole Croteau and Claire Dionne of the Government
Systems Division; Nancy Hoyt and her team in Communications
and Coordination; Gilles Bisaillon and his team of
Suzanne Bgin, Suzanne Henrion, Craig Kennedy, Suzanne Le
Blanc, Ginette Lefebvre, Vanessa Novini and Anne Taillefer
of Print Communication Services; David Berman;
Arnaud Archimbaud, Arlette Harvey and the team in
Translation Services.
Bernie A. Gorman
Executive Director
Office of Information Management, Systems and Technology A Perspective
Why is Accessible Service at Lower Cost So Important?
In the private sector, the pressure for restructuring and
renewal has come from increased competitiveness and the
unforgiving nature of high costs. Many argue that consumers
have become more demanding as they look for better service
and quality at a lower price.
For governments, the pressure is for better service in the
face of reduced revenues and mounting debt. Many consumers
of government services appear to have lost their tolerance
for bureaucracies. They feel they receive better service
from banks, car rental companies, even supermarkets, which
have transformed business with innovative information
technology. The government increasingly appears to be out
of date. Many want to know why they have to spend their
precious time finding answers to their questions, after
being bounced from department to department, when sometimes
(not always) it is easier to get satisfaction from
customer-hungry private companies.
"Why do I have to call so many places? Why do I have
to wait so long? Why can't they solve my problem right
here, right now?"
These are questions that governments must take seriously.
Government must re-invent itself, as other institutions have
had to do to survive. Government must fundamentally improve
the way it administers its business and delivers its
services.
What Does Information Technology-Enabled Business Renewal
Mean?
In today's information age, knowledge workers, freed from
organizational constraints and enabled by modern
telecommunications and computing technology, can have
greater capabilities to access information, to seek
solutions and to provide services. The potential is
considerable for knowledge workers, acting in concert with
one another, to do more work and to do it better. Therein
lies the basic thrust of an information-based approach to
transforming business.
Key components of a business-driven renewal in the
information age include:
o a clear focus on client service, so that employees can
concentrate on providing value-added services;
o an organizational culture of continuous learning,
personal development and employee involvement in
managing change;
o empowering individuals to think and plan, access and
analyse information, apply knowledge, make decisions
and take action;
o an organizational structure that is cost-effective,
flexible and non-bureaucratic, and that fosters open
communication and consultation;
o teamwork and partnership, so that workers can take
advantage of their knowledge-based environment instead
of trying to work alone;
o the presence of an information technology
infrastructure to provide computing resources,
establish connectivity, distribute information and
intelligence, and support business renewal;
o work processes that are automated, streamlined and
interconnected, to create paperless, transparent,
integrated business operations designed to serve
clients; and
o common solutions in functions and processes that can be
discovered and then shared broadly across
organizations, to reduce duplication and improve
service.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This document describes an integrated approach to improving
the delivery of government services while significantly
reducing associated costs.
The integrated approach reflects the recognition that the
business of government must be dramatically reassessed,
to live within shrinking budgets.
Thus, establishing the business rationale for the
government service, then determining how the service will
be delivered to the clients (the work perspective), are
the first two critical steps into a process of renewal
outlined in this blueprint.
Next, the approach underscores the importance of
incorporating an information perspective into any service
renewal activity, i.e. knitting related work processes
together through proper management and sharing of
information.
Designing computer applications to automate work
processes and to manage and share information is the
fourth step in the five-step approach.
The final step involves leveraging information technology
-- the hardware, software and communications, and their
interfaces which comprise the common technology
architecture -- to deliver an efficient and effective
service to clients.
The Blueprint focuses on renewing government services on an
enterprise-wide basis and, in so doing, uses information
technology to make this possible. The "human face of
government" in service delivery must be enhanced, to the
benefit of both clients and staff.
The Blueprint is designed to capture the broad improvements
and full savings that will result from an integrated
approach to renewal, not just the incremental benefits
reaped when change is piecemeal. As well, an integrated
approach reduces the risk of ending up with incompatible and
conflicting results.
Employees must be involved, committed and focused on
improvement. This is the key to change. Successful
implementation of the Blueprint hinges on the abilities of
employees and the smooth transition of staff to the new work
environment. Special consideration must be given to
planning, consultation and communication in order to carry
out cultural and organizational changes and to resolve the
human resources management issues.
The Blueprint identifies the need for a government-wide
electronic information infrastructure (namely a network of
electronic highways and byways and associated information
and computing services), with connections to other public or
private networks, to support renewal of service delivery.
The federal government will explore cost-effective,
innovative means to meet its infrastructure needs, such as
making use of available systems and forming partnerships
with the private sector and other levels of government,
rather than relying on unique in-house solutions.
The overall benefits of applying this blueprint will be more
efficient and effective program delivery, reduced overall
costs across government(s), and maintained or even improved
customer service in the face of fiscal restraint.
The approach proposed in this blueprint builds on the
experience gained from program renewal projects under way in
such agencies as Revenue Canada, Health Canada, Human
Resources Development Canada and Public Works and Government
Services Canada, as well as from the Council for
Administrative Renewal.
o For businesses, Revenue Canada is introducing a Single
Business Registration Number which will provide
comprehensive, one-stop services, covering initially,
the corporate income tax, the goods and services tax,
source deductions and importer accounts. This will
also reduce duplication and improve government
operations.
o For income security recipients, the Income Security
Program Redesign project at Human Resources Development
Canada promises improved turnaround for applications
for Canada Pension or Old Age Security. Again,
information will be better integrated, making it easier
for government staff to create, maintain and query
records and provide improved service. Studies are
under way to see if the model can be extended to
veterans and unemployment insurance applicants. These
steps could also lead to a single-window service for
persons wishing to deal with the federal government.
o For most federal departments, which together handle
millions of payments and invoices each year, a new
Electronic Procurement and Settlement system from
Public Works and Government Services Canada will offer
a common, distributed, computer-based solution,
eliminating the need for duplicate departmental systems
while replacing paper-driven processes.
o For federal Public Service employees, a government-wide
telecommunications network infrastructure is being
developed, which will enable them to contact colleagues
anywhere in Canada by electronic mail. It will set the
stage for electronic commerce, single access to
government information, and electronic delivery of
government services to Canadians. It will also trigger
significant efficiency gains and reduced duplication of
networking facilities.
In publishing the Blueprint, a key objective is to actively
involve service delivery managers in this integrated
approach to renewal. The approach described in the
Blueprint should apply to situations within many different
departments or agencies. The Blueprint also envisions that
experiences will be shared across government(s).
The Blueprint provides a vision to guide government service
renewal. It describes five different but interrelated
architectural views: government businesses, associated work
processes, information, system applications and technology.
The activities in these five areas must be integrated in
support of the renewal of government services. The
Blueprint also illustrates future scenarios for delivering
government services. Finally, the Blueprint proposes an
approach to implementation.
The vision, the architectural principles, and the service
delivery scenarios are founded on the importance of having a
client focus, sharing resources, developing standards,
facilitating access to critical information and, above all,
recognizing people as key to business renewal.
The Vision
Government Services That Are Affordable, Accessible, and
Responsive
o Direct Service to Clients. Delivering and providing easy
access to services through electronic means. It
envisions bringing services to the clients and providing
them with "single-window" access for multiple services
(as opposed to developing services with the convenience
of the service provider in mind).
o Transparent and Seamless Service. Streamlining and
integrating processes across functional and
organizational lines to provide transparent, seamless
services to clients (as opposed to continuing with
stovepipe processes that cannot interact with one
another).
o Value-added Service. Rationalizing operations and
empowering knowledge workers to provide value-added
services directly to the clients (as opposed to pursuing
control-oriented solutions, well-removed from the client
interface).
o Continuous Learning. Enhancing the knowledge, skills and
active participation of employees to ensure they can meet
the changing needs of clients and provide quality
services in a fair and cost-effective way.
o Standardized, Interconnected Tools. Developing a
standard suite of interconnected system tools, readily
available to management and staff, to support decision-
making and service delivery (rather than having a
proliferation of different, incompatible and, often,
proprietary computer applications).
o Shared Solutions. Routinely sharing solutions and
resources for common functions and processes and using
departmental clusters to share common systems and
services, reducing development, maintenance, and/or
operating costs (as opposed to each agency or department
developing its own unique solutions, at greater overall
expense).
o Shared Information. Developing and implementing a
standards-based electronic information infrastructure
consisting of common information, applications,
technology platforms and networks to make it possible to
share information and computing resources, as well as to
rationalize operations enterprise-wide (as opposed to
developing isolated islands of information).
o Paperless Environment. Redesigning as well as automating
routine processes in order to reduce paper and the need
for human intervention (as opposed to manual processing
or merely automating existing processes).
Achievement of this vision of renewal requires five sets of
key architectural principles.
The Five Architectural Views
(Graphics available in printed copy only)
- Key Architectural Principles
Fundamental to all the principles below is the recognition
of the importance of people management, shared values, and a
responsive and flexible work environment. The value of
investing time and resources in enhancing employees'
knowledge, skills and abilities and of involving people in
changes must also be recognized as essential to cultural
change, renewal and improvement.
1. Business. Government services will need to be
transformed to focus on serving clients, on sharing
solutions for common functions, on seeking innovative
business partnerships, on exploiting information
technology and on facilitating accountability.
2. Work. Service delivery will need to be automated,
seamless and available through a single window,
convenient with options, free from such constraints as
functional or organizational barriers, red tape, time
and location, and measured against standards for
continuous improvement.
3. Information. As a valuable national resource,
government information will need to be accessible,
secure, captured once and validated close to source,
properly maintained to ensure privacy and integrity,
and electronically distributed to authorized users.
4. Applications. Computer applications will need to
interact freely with one another, have a consistent
look and feel, and be modular, re-usable and broadly
shared across government.
5. Technology. Information technology will need to be
open, flexible, practical, and secure to provide the
capability for supporting distributed and accessible
computing environments.
Table 1 displays the five sets of key architectural
principles in greater detail.
Table 1
Future Service Delivery Scenarios
In the Work View section, six models are offered of ways
services can be provided to clients in the near future
through applying technology. Note that these models, listed
below, are illustrative only. They are designed to provide
readers with a more practical view of possible ways of
service delivery.
o Auto-Service. A client's own computer system generates a
service request and the supplier's system provides a
response, with minimal human intervention.
o Self-Service (electronic). Individual Canadians,
businesses or Public Service employees use desktop
computer workstations to access information and to
generate transactions, orders and payments, resulting in
reduced paperwork and fewer approval processes.
o Self-Service (walk-in). Internal and external clients
seek information, goods and services by visiting common
walk-in centres, where Public Service employees use
computerized services to respond efficiently and
effectively.
o Service with On-site Support. An intermediary group or
agency provides multiple services, sometimes for numerous
clients, maximizing the benefits of information
technology and minimizing duplication and paperwork.
o Specialist/Expert Service Centre. By using computer
connectivity technology, internal and external clients
access "experts" in government directly and quickly,
reducing the need to duplicate similar services and
improving responsiveness to requests.
o Supplier Interface (extended enterprise). Suppliers and
internal consumers are connected directly to the
government's order and payment systems, becoming an
extension of these systems.
Implementation of the vision and the principles will change
the way services are renewed and ultimately delivered to
internal and external clients. Benefits and changes for
program managers will flow from this implementation.
This document sets out an approach to implementation and
concludes with the proposed next steps.
Implementation Approach
The Blueprint is a dynamic, integrated framework for
implementing government service renewal over the next five
years. It builds on initiatives already under way. The
following six elements are critical to its implementation.
o Community Leadership. Ministers and deputy ministers,
with the strong and effective support of the Chief
Informatics Officer, must champion the service renewal in
government, recognizing that significant benefits will
accrue to departments and their clients. Treasury Board
policy centres will provide supporting functional
expertise. The Office of Information Management, Systems
and Technology will coordinate implementation and provide
support in business re-engineering and information
technology architectural design.
o Commitment to the Vision. Leaders, having espoused the
Blueprint's vision, will communicate and explain it to
government employees and will seek their effective
commitment. This commitment, which will also be sought
from potential partners, must be sustained over time,
since it constitutes an essential ingredient of change
management.
o People Management. Strategies and plans must be directed
towards involving and committing people; fostering open
communication; involving employees in conceptual design
and implementation and facilitating their shift to the
new culture and structures; assessing composition and
competencies of the work force; and resolving the human
resources issues associated with the transition and
change.
o Partnerships. The implementation of the Blueprint will
require an effective and sustained partnership among
staff within departments. In recognition of the
increased interdependencies reflected in the Blueprint,
partnerships will also extend to other departments, other
levels of government and the private sector.
Partnerships must be pursued and promoted aggressively to
leverage common requirements, to take advantage of
specific skills, to spread risks, and to share
experience, innovation and investment.
o Forging Ahead for Results. The Blueprint represents an
architectural framework that will be implemented and,
where necessary, adjusted over time. To accomplish this,
a set of service renewal projects will identify change
management and technology requirements, develop migration
plans, provide incentive through success and begin a
government-wide rollout. A government-wide electronic
information infrastructure project will support these
service renewal projects as they spread across
government.
o Departmental Implementation. Departments will use the
Blueprint in planning and implementing their own internal
renewal activities. They will reflect their planned
approach to implementation in such planning instruments
as annual operational plans and information management
plans, starting in fiscal year 1994-95.
Overall, the Blueprint does not start at square one, but
builds on existing renewal activities and policies (for
example, Enhancing Services Through the Innovative Use of
Information and Technology: Strategic Direction for the
90s, issued by Treasury Board). The transformation
envisaged in the Blueprint will be achieved through
continuous improvements. There will be ongoing measuring
and monitoring of government service delivery.
Next Steps
(Graphic available in printed copy only)
o Communicate. The draft Blueprint will be communicated to
interested parties inside and outside the federal
government in order to refine the document, and to obtain
feedback, buy-in and departmental participation in
pilots. Distributing this document has started the
process, which will continue for the next several months.
o Endorse the Principles. The Treasury Board Ministers
will be asked to adopt the principles set out in the
Blueprint as a policy for renewing government services
for internal and external clients. The Blueprint will
serve as a basis for reviewing, adopting and promoting an
integrated, enterprise-wide approach to the delivery of
government services, following the consultations.
o Review the Requirements. There will be consultation with
groups such as the Blueprint Program Advisory Committee,
the Advisory Committee on Information Management, the
Government Systems Committee, the Council for
Administrative Renewal, the Treasury Board Senior
Advisory Committee Information Management Subcommittee,
and the Treasury Board Senior Advisory Committee, on the
requirement for resources, skill sets, methodologies and
governance processes. This will take place at the same
time as the communication activities.
o Launch Service Renewal Projects. The Office of
Information Management, Systems and Technology will work
with departments and policy centres to select the first
wave of renewal projects. The federal government will
actively seek out partners in the private sector and
other levels of government. Project champions from the
community will then organize and plan project
implementation; the Office of Information Management,
Systems and Technology will support them, as required.
This will take place beginning the second half of 1994.
o Launch a Government-wide Electronic Information
Infrastructure Project. There will be an examination of
the issues relating to developing a government-wide
electronic information infrastructure, designed in part
to meet the connectivity needs of the first wave of
service renewal projects and future efforts. This review
will be undertaken in close collaboration with Public
Works and Government Services Canada, Industry Canada and
other interested parties, parallel to the service renewal
projects.
The Benefit
The Blueprint approach is based on the assumption that an
information-technology-enabled renewal of government
processes and services will generate benefits for all
involved, in addition to the often-discussed savings in
resources.
o For the public, service renewal will reduce time spent in
obtaining access to government information and services.
In many cases, it will improve these services. Properly
used, computing and telecommunications technologies
should transform the way many Canadians deal with the
government, just as it has dramatically changed the way
the public now deals with financial institutions.
o For suppliers to government, the service renewal
activities offer a number of benefits: the opportunity to
provide services in partnership with government; the
prospect of reduced costs through speedier ordering and
payments; and the possibility of taking products
developed and skills learned while dealing with the
government and applying them in the global marketplace.
o For employees directly involved in delivering services,
there will be less need to re-enter critical data from
associated systems, reducing wasted effort and improving
the reliability of the output. Service renewal will
automate mundane activities and reduce central controls
or build them into systems supporting service renewal,
resulting in job enrichment and increased job
satisfaction.
o For those who manage programs and support functions,
successful renewal through an integrated use of
information technology will result in resolving service
delivery issues faster and thereby allow more time to
deal with clients' needs.
INTRODUCTION
Objective and Scope
This blueprint describes an integrated, enterprise-wide
approach to renewing government services through applying
information technology (information, computing and
telecommunications). The objective is to transform
government processes to better support program delivery to
the public at a much reduced cost.
The Blueprint also proposes to take important steps in
planning and deploying an enabling government-wide IT
infrastructure (government-wide electronic highways) to
support the re-engineering of program delivery,
administrative renewal and overall government restructuring.
The Blueprint will assist managers and staff to provide
high-quality, efficient services to their clients, while at
the same time coping with severe fiscal restraint.
The Blueprint will serve to reinforce the importance of
managing human resources and resolving people issues. The
Blueprint's focus on clients and enterprise-wide perspective
will give front-line staff the information, tools and
support to satisfy clients; in so doing, the Blueprint
offers the prospect of a more human face for government
services, to the benefit of both staff and the public.
Individual departments have already begun to re-engineer a
number of their program delivery processes. This blueprint
will support their efforts and provide guideposts for future
activities.
Initiatives under the Council for Administrative Renewal
(CAR) have demonstrated the potential for savings and
improvements in administrative services. The Blueprint will
give direction to these initiatives, identify further
opportunities and help them realize their full potential.
The Blueprint will be used to inform stakeholders, both in
the private and public sectors, of this major business
renewal and IT infrastructure initiative and to increase
their awareness of the opportunities for participation and
partnership.
Finally, it is important to note that the Blueprint was
created using group workshops involving many participants
from across the affected areas of government. Subgroups
addressed the specifics of each "architectural view"
described in the Blueprint. They also produced a set of
corresponding architectural principles to guide their
thinking and to give direction to the more detailed planning
that will be required to implement this blueprint. For this
and other reasons, the Blueprint should be viewed as a
dynamic document, reflecting collective views and portending
further changes as the process of service renewal within the
government evolves.
The Vision
The Blueprint provides a vision for the renewal of
government services.
Simply put, the vision is:
Government services that are affordable, accessible, and
responsive.
The renewal is founded on the importance of having a client
focus, sharing resources, developing standards, and
facilitating access to critical information and services.
The vision must be achieved if government is to
- deal successfully with fiscal constraint;
- adapt to and exploit the accelerating revolution in
information technology and the convergence of
information, computing and telecommunications;
- rekindle the sense of true public service in employees
of the federal government, both on the front lines and
in the required supporting roles for delivering
services to the public; and
- reverse the public's deep-seated frustration with
government services.
The central underpinnings of the vision are listed below.
o Direct Service to Clients. Delivering and providing easy
access to services through electronic means. It
envisions bringing services to the clients and providing
them with "single-window" access for multiple services
(as opposed to developing services with the convenience
of the service provider in mind).
o Transparent and Seamless Service. Streamlining and
integrating processes across functional and
organizational lines to provide transparent, seamless
services to clients (as opposed to continuing with
stovepipe processes that cannot interact with one
another).
o Value-added Service. Rationalizing operations and
empowering knowledge workers to provide value-added
services directly to the clients (as opposed to pursuing
control-oriented solutions, well-removed from the client
interface).
o Continuous Learning. Enhancing the knowledge, skills and
active participation of employees to ensure they can meet
the changing needs of clients and provide quality
services in a fair and cost-effective way.
o Standardized, Interconnected Tools. Developing a
standard suite of interconnected system tools, readily
available to management and staff, to support decision-
making and service delivery (rather than having a
proliferation of different, incompatible and, often,
proprietary computer applications).
o Shared Solutions. Routinely sharing solutions and
resources for common functions and processes and using
departmental clusters to share common systems and
services, reducing development, maintenance, and/or
operating costs (as opposed to each agency or department
developing its own unique solutions, at greater overall
expense).
o Shared Information. Developing and implementing a
standards-based electronic information infrastructure
(consisting of common information, applications,
technology platforms and networks) to make it possible to
share information and computing resources, as well as to
rationalize operations enterprise-wide (as opposed to
developing isolated islands of information).
o Paperless Environment. Redesigning as well as automating
routine processes in order to reduce paper and the need
for human intervention (as opposed to manual processing
or merely automating existing processes).
Approach and Methodology
The Blueprint uses as its analogy the concept of an
integrated architectural planning approach, consisting of
five interrelated architectural views. Each represents a
different aspect of the way government services must be re-
engineered. This model is driven first by business needs
and uses the enabling capabilities of information
technology. Underlying the overall model, with its five
views, is the need to put a human, service-oriented face on
the services delivered by government; this requires special
attention to human resource issues in all five views. These
five views, which are described in the chapters that follow,
are shown in Figure 1 on the following page.
Figure 1
The Five Architectural Views
(Graphic available in printed copy only)
Business View. The Business View establishes the strategic
business context for the necessary changes and improvements
to government services. This document takes an enterprise-
wide view of government business and redefines it as
seamlessly serving clients. This differs from the
traditional multi-functional orientation of government
administration and program delivery. The design of service
delivery must recognize the situations where services are
interdependent and common. As well, the Blueprint expects
that solutions and delivery mechanisms will be shared and a
more integrated suite of services to the public will be
created. This approach will require a government-wide
electronic information infrastructure.
Work View. The Work View describes how the re-engineered
government services will be delivered to clients. The
Blueprint identifies the importance of moving away from the
stovepipe approach that is particularly common across
government. As work processes are adapted, so too must
staff skills be modified -- to improve service by
integrating delivery and providing choices, thereby ensuring
client satisfaction. The Blueprint also describes a number
of scenarios in which different approaches to service
delivery can lead to reduced costs and improved services.
These range from complete automation, where all work
activity has been replaced by computer applications (e.g.,
using electronic data interchange), to client self-service
(e.g., clients obtain service directly through a desktop
workstation), to various ways of assisting service providers
to better support their client interactions (e.g.,
permitting clients to use telephones or modems to directly
access "experts" who are fully connected and supported by
IT).
Information View. The Information View reflects the
critical role that information must play in renewing the
business of government. The Blueprint identifies shared
information as a critical common resource, with information
delivered to clients in a fully automated and electronic
manner. Examples of common information resources are
summarized in the Information View. The Blueprint
emphasizes the importance of automated collection and
dissemination of information from administrative and
business processes, in order to make it possible to automate
and integrate such services on a broader scale. The
Information View identifies the types of information
involved in process automation and the ways in which
information must be collected, managed and distributed.
Under this approach, information will need to be accessible,
secure, captured once and validated close to source,
properly maintained to ensure privacy and integrity, and
electronically distributed to authorized users.
Application View. The Application View links the work
processes and information requirements together. The goal
is to have as much of the information as possible maintained
in computer-accessible form. Applications create, update,
access, and delete these automated information bases. These
applications support the work processes by providing
automated procedures and managing information storage and
retrieval in support of service delivery. The Blueprint
makes key distinctions between applications that assist the
user in performing the work processes (workflow managers)
and applications that manage the resulting updates to
information files (transaction managers). Under the
Blueprint, applications will need to cooperate freely with
one another, have a consistent look and feel, and be
modular, re-usable and broadly shared across the government.
Technology View. The Technology View addresses the required
platforms and network services to meet the needs of various
types of users at identified work locations, thereby closing
the circle on the five views. Having many types of IT
applications means that different technologies have to
cooperate in both operational and developmental situations.
The architecture for the technology must also deal with
various information bases used by applications, and ensure
that the information can flow where it is needed. The
challenge of integrating different technologies and
information resources requires an infrastructure based on a
mixture of standard components and modern interconnectivity
tools. In this way, information technology will be open,
capable of supporting distributed (as well as centralized
and mainframe) computing systems, and create a more
accessible computing environment.
BUSINESS VIEW
The Business View establishes the strategic business context
for the necessary changes and improvements to government
services. It represents the first critical step in the
Blueprint's approach to renewing government services, i.e.
asking the questions "what business are we in ?" and "how do
we conduct business?".
The Blueprint expects these questions to be asked from an
enterprise-wide perspective, rather than from the
traditional departmental, program or functional viewpoint.
Taking this broader view is especially important in
maximizing opportunities for restructuring government
services. It is also important in making it easier to share
processes, information and technologies used in delivering
these services across the federal government and, indeed,
different levels of government.
The Blueprint reflects the need to re-engineer radically in
the face of fiscal pressures and rising public demand for
improved services. The re-engineering will involve focusing
on clients' needs, working in partnership with other groups
inside and outside the federal government, improving the
efficiency of service delivery by using information
technology judiciously, and reducing duplication.
In asking the question "what business are we in?", it is
critical to seek the answer from the client's perspective
rather than from the organization's perspective. This will
require a re-examination of the skills required by staff to
reinforce a client focus in the delivery of services.
Business of Government Services
Program Services. The government exists to serve the
public. Government services include programs in various
areas such as agriculture, citizenship and culture,
education and training, employment and labour, the
environment, foreign affairs, health and safety,
immigration, international trade, industrial development,
national defence, natural resources, parks and recreation,
public infrastructure, public information, regulated
utilities, security and protection, social assistance, and
taxation.
Some program activities share common clients with one
another in the federal government as well as across
different levels of government. In addition, there is an
increasing awareness of the interdependency of programs
within and between governments. For example, recent
discussions about redesigning the delivery of unemployment
insurance recognize the need to integrate labour training
and retraining. Similarly, provincial governments recognize
the growing interdependence between unemployment insurance
and provincial welfare programs.
Administrative Services. Administrative services support
the delivery of government programs. Basically,
administrative services provide four types of essential
resources for program delivery: human, financial, physical
(materiel or assets), and information. These resource
services commonly exist in all federal departments and, in
fact, in all governments and organizations. Administrative
services are closely related in that they need to be
considered together (including making trade-off decisions)
in order to provide an optimal resource base for program
delivery.
A key to renewing government service is discerning and
taking advantage of the commonalities and interdependencies
of program and administrative services. Management and
delivery structure can then be rationalized within and
across governments. In the final analysis, this
rationalization must focus on serving the ultimate clients
(i.e. the public) who are seeking relief from bureaucratic
processes and who are demanding services from their
government rather than from a multitude of departments.
Common Electronic Information Infrastructure. In today's
information era, electronic information infrastructure
services are of critical importance to the delivery of
government services. In effect, these infrastructure
services have stretched information as a resource beyond its
traditional role. The common need for these services
necessitates a backbone infrastructure across the
government. Elements of the electronic information
infrastructure are listed in Table 2.
Table 2
Elements of the Electronic Information Infrastructure
Networks to interconnect internal and external clients,
suppliers and users with the applications, services and
information they require and share.
Servers to provide processing, storage and information
services across the network. A range of operating
environments will be supported. Computing resources will be
widely distributed for different applications and operating
areas.
Communication facilities to make it possible to transfer
information reliably and interactively. A range of standard
multi-media connectivity solutions supporting the
government's enterprise network will be available.
Workstations to access network-based services and
information where and when needed. A range of user devices,
interface standards, personal and workgroup computing tools
will be supported.
Services components:
Network services to support distributing and sharing
information as well as the processing capabilities for
connected platforms.
Infrastructure management services to plan and design the
integrated IT infrastructure of the government.
Standards management services to plan, develop, promote and
monitor standards required to implement the IT
infrastructure of the government.
Guiding Business Principles
The Blueprint proposes a series of guiding business
principles that should be used to shape the renewal of
government services. The principles are presented in greater
detail in the Appendix.
o Client Service Focus - Client needs will drive the design
and delivery of government services. This will require a
clear recognition that government programs must be
responsive to the public's needs and that administrative
services must support program delivery. Service
standards, consultations transparency and flexibility
will be necessary.
o People Management - Employees, their involvement,
development and commitment, will be critical to
successful business renewal. A new management philosophy
of commitment to employees and their development within a
continuous learning culture will be necessary. There
will be ongoing dialogue to discuss job structures and
content, training, development and other essential issues
in managing change. The resolution of human resources
management issues is paramount to a smooth transition and
the ultimate success of government services.
o Common Shareable Solutions - Common requirements will be
addressed by common, shareable solutions. This will
require a government-wide focus and funding, to identify
shareable solutions and roll them out to interested
departments. Participating departments will benefit
through lower costs of acquisition and maintenance.
o Partnership - Strategic alliances will be pursued with
other governments and the private sector. This will
allow risks to be shared with the private sector and with
other levels of government and lead to lower costs
because of increased purchasing power. It will also
promote innovation. Governments will benefit through
lower costs and new solutions to common problems. The
private sector will benefit from having access to a
potentially larger market within the federal government.
This access could be a springboard to other markets, such
as other levels of government and export markets.
o Accountability - Accountability performance standards and
evaluation capabilities will be incorporated into the
design and delivery of government services. This will
require a new approach to defining accountability between
the service provider and the client. Benefits will
include a clearer definition of service levels and
program performance and costs lower than those associated
with existing delivery processes.
o Enabling Technology - Information technology will be used
to its full advantage for redesigning the delivery of
government services. This should lead to reduced labour
costs and improved (faster) service. It will require
increased training for staff and new investments in
computer technology. Other benefits will include new IT
opportunities for the private sector.
WORK VIEW
The Work View represents an important second step in the
Blueprint's approach to renewal, following a fresh,
enterprise-wide look at the business. It proposes moving
away from a stovepipe approach and instead refocusing on
both the delivery of services and the organization of
associated work activities on an enterprise-wide basis.
Clients must be able to receive total service rather than
piecemeal services from various component organizational
units. As well, modern information technology will be used
to facilitate better communications, organization of work
and service delivery.
The Work View provides a brief outline of the nature of
government program and administrative activities, including
their interrelationships and the similarities of the work
processes involved. It proposes that the delivery of
government services be consolidated; streamlined; consistent
in outlook and procedures; designed to provide clients with
options; independent of time and location; and measured and
monitored for continuous improvement. The Work View also
provides illustrations of more efficient and effective ways
to deliver government services using modern information
technology.
The Work View will produce significant changes in the work
environment for staff. For example, services that are
independent of time and location may require employees to
work split shifts, so that staff are available to deal with
client needs from the start of business on the East coast to
the end of business on the West coast. Adopting more
integrated and consistent processes should increase the
prospects for job mobility for staff. It will be essential
to maintain the human touch when redesigning work processes
to deal with clients.
Work Processes of Government Services
Linkages across Services. Many government program and
administrative activities are closely linked. They have an
impact on one another. For example, address changes
reported by clients in one government program affect all
other programs to which the clients also subscribe.
Inspection findings of one government program may be
important for the development and implementation of other
programs. Program activities often require administrative
support services. Within the administrative domain, for
example, staffing action usually requires committing salary
budgets and procuring office equipment and tools.
Coordinating work activities horizontally across programs,
administrative functions, and departments will make
government operations more efficient and service delivery to
the public more effective.
In his John L. Manion lecture on "Partners in the Management
of Government: Changing Roles of Government and the Public
Services ", Mr. Marcel Mass observed:
. . . there are now virtually no departments where
problems are self-contained or where solutions do not
involve more than one traditional sector of government
activity. As a result, there is a greater need to find
new and more horizontal ways of studying problems and
finding solutions. Departments are essentially
vertical structures, conceived in the simpler times
when fields of activity, such as agriculture or
forestry or transport, could be considered as
reasonably separate domains. . . . Horizontal
coordination is now essential and requires new
mechanisms.
In the administrative area, a good illustration of the need
for coordination is resource planning. With mounting fiscal
pressures and the introduction of operating budgets, federal
government managers at all levels need to look at the
resource picture in its totality and make trade-off
decisions for program delivery. Unfortunately, many program
and administrative services continue to operate in a linear,
sequential fashion, without taking into account the need for
horizontal coordination as well as vertical delayering.
High costs and lengthy delays of services are the results.
Routine and Repetitive Processes. Many common, routine
processes are done manually and repeated within and across
program and administrative areas. As a result, many
government employees are unnecessarily buried under paper
processing, having little contact with clients or
appreciation of their needs. Automating these processes and
re-using the information generated across programs and
administrative functions will not only improve efficiency
but will also free up staff for value-added work. This will
reduce overall costs and improve services to the public.
Figure 2 displays a process model for service delivery. As
one can see, most of the processes listed are routine,
common, and repetitive in nature.
Guiding Work Principles
In order to sketch out the Blueprint under the Work View, a
series of work principles are proposed for shaping the
renewal of government service delivery. Adopting these
principles will help eliminate the stovepipes and improve
service to customers.
o Single Window/Seamless Service - Government services will
be delivered to common clients through a single window
and be free of functional and organizational barriers.
This requires redesigning the way services are now
provided, including a refocus on customer service and
client satisfaction. To succeed, it will require a
greater flow of information to and from associated
service groups. Benefits will include improved service
to customers and improved staff morale.
o Streamlining - The process between the client and
delivery of the government service will be minimized.
This will require re-aligning staff functions, from task-
oriented to service-oriented, and significant
re-investments in staff training and new customer-
oriented service delivery activities. Benefits will
include good client service levels and lower costs, due
to eliminating non-essential intermediary activities.
o Choices - Where practical and cost justifiable, clients
will have options as to how government services are
delivered. This will likely require new investments and
regular reviews of clients' needs. Benefits will include
new opportunities for innovation on the part of staff,
lower costs for service delivery, and improved choice for
clients.
(Graphic available in printed copy only)
o Consistency - Where the same types of work activities are
involved for different government services, they will be
done the same way. This would require redefining
existing activities, policies and procedures and it could
take time to implement. Benefits will include lower
operating costs, lower training and retraining expenses,
and the potential for less disruption and increased staff
mobility.
o Location and Time Independence - Clients will have access
to government services at any time from many locations,
wherever such access is cost justified and warranted.
This will make it possible to expand new automated
services (24 hours a day, 7 days per week, if
appropriate). New investments in technology will be
necessary, however. It might also alter work patterns.
Benefits will include improved customer service, lower
costs for services that can be located outside of
expensive urban areas, and the opportunity for increased
employment opportunities in areas that can be
economically connected through telecommunication links.
o Continuous Improvement of Service - Services will be
improved on an ongoing basis, with measurements embedded
in the service processes. This will require new ways of
measuring progress, customer needs and client
satisfaction. Benefits include the opportunity for
ongoing improvements and elimination of unnecessary
processes.
Future Service Delivery Scenarios
To help readers understand the implications of changes
resulting from the Work View perspective, the Blueprint
includes six scenarios of how information technology could
be applied in different ways in a client-focused business
renewal process. It should be noted that, in almost all
cases, there are already examples within government of
activities or experiments within each of the six categories.
For this reason, they are presented as near-future examples,
recognizing that other variations will likely emerge over
time. How far each service can go in following these
scenarios will have to be determined through actual
implementations, with proper consideration of such factors
as nature of the service, desire of the clients, staff
implications and the operating environment.
The objective is to automate, streamline and network most
work processes, using the appropriate IT infrastructure.
This will result in paperless transactions that are seamless
to clients. These scenarios, therefore, provide the
direction for renewing the delivery of government services.
Six scenarios are presented, as follows:
(1) Auto-Service
(2) Self-Service (electronic)
(3) Self-Service (walk-in)
(4) Service with On-site Support
(5) Specialist/Expert Service Centre
(6) Supplier Interfaces (extended enterprise)
(1) Auto-Service. A client's own computer system generates
a service request and the supplier's system provides a
response, with minimal human intervention.
(Graphic available in printed copy only)
Example: At 4:00 a.m. every morning, a desktop computer in
a large federal office building in Montreal automatically
places a call to a computer across the city. The purpose:
to collect news that will be in the morning's newspapers
across the country and that will touch on areas of
importance to the department's minister and senior
executives. By 6:30 a.m., the information is available on
the department's Executive Information System, by opening an
electronic window. Meanwhile, down the hall, another
computer is preparing to place an electronic data
interchange (EDI) order to restock the department's central
office supplies. The order includes all the information
needed to complete the transaction, including payment on
confirmation of receipt the next day.
In both cases, arrangements have been made ahead of time so
that minimal human intervention is required for routine
transactions; these can be filled quickly.
Other examples of services that could be delivered in this
scenario:
_ payroll and deductions (such as direct deposit of pay),
and
_ accounts payable (such as recurring payments for rent
and telephone).
Benefits include lower costs and increased speed of delivery
and payment to both the service provider and recipient,
along with reduced record-keeping and manual data entry.
This could translate into less repetitive work for staff and
a greater need for value-added, knowledge workers.
(2) Self-Service (electronic). Canadian citizens,
businesses and Public Service employees use
workstations to access information and to generate
transactions, orders and payments, resulting in reduced
(or eliminated) paperwork and fewer approvals.
(Graphic available in printed copy only)
Example A: Instead of having to go to an employment centre
in another part of town, a client visits an electronic kiosk
at a nearby shopping centre. Using a "smart card" issued by
the government, he peruses jobs that seem to match his
computerized skill profile. A touch on an icon on the kiosk
screen produces a print-out of local jobs that seem
promising. Another touch on the screen provides a just-
released schedule of new training courses at a local high
school. He decides to apply for one course on the spot and,
again using his individualized smart card, obtains almost
instant approval from the government and from the high
school. It's just like using a bank machine, he thinks, as
he signs off.
Example B: An officer requires some specialized supplies
for upcoming field work. She logs onto a purchasing system
from her desktop computer and browses an on-screen,
electronic catalogue. As soon as she selects the supplier
and places her order electronically, the departmental
accounting system also completes the internal paperwork
(after checking the officer's budget to make sure she has
both the funds and the authority to place the order). The
order is transmitted directly to the supplier via EDI. It's
as easy as ordering books by telephone or fax, she thinks,
and the goods will be delivered just as quickly and
painlessly.
Other examples of services that could be delivered in this
scenario:
_ placement agency services for hiring temporary workers,
_ travel and accommodation services, and
_ government database searches.
Benefits include convenience to the user, lower costs and
increased speed of delivery and payment to both the service
provider and recipient, and the ability to collect data on
purchases electronically. For employees, it will be easier
to access information across government, allowing them to
deliver enhanced service to clients. As a result, there
will be less frustration and wasted effort.
(3) Self-Service (walk-in). Internal and external clients
seek information, goods and services by visiting common
walk-in centres, where government workers use
computerized services to respond efficiently and
effectively.
(Graphic available in printed copy only)
Example: A businesswoman takes the elevator down to the
main floor in her office building in Saskatoon. Instead of
going for a quick lunch, she decides to stop in the local
government business service centre next door. Her partner
has been wondering whether it would be worthwhile to try to
develop some foreign sales for their recently patented
polymer building panels. But neither one knows where to
start. "Perhaps they'll know in here," she thinks.
Inside, she's directed towards a researcher who, after
consulting a database of contacts, calls the building
material specialist at the National Research Council in
Ottawa. The business centre researcher suggests that it
might take a little time to get all the information and
perhaps he could fax it to her when it's ready.
Two hours later, a three-page fax arrives. The first page
lists four upcoming trade shows featuring new external
building materials; one is highlighted, with a note in the
margin from the building specialist in Ottawa suggesting
that this has proven to be the most successful show for
manufacturers of similar products in the past. The second
page is a print-out from a Canadian commercial database and
lists a two-day-old United Nations (UN) Request for Proposal
for innovative, light-weight, all-weather building material
for experimental housing for central Africa; contact names,
telephone and E-mail numbers are provided. The third page
lists three Canadian prefabricated building companies which
have all established records selling abroad. A marginal
note from a trade official in Tokyo confirms that the
embassy will keep the new supplier in mind in upcoming
discussions on joint Canada-Japan cooperation on new uses of
polymer building materials for the Japanese housing market.
Other examples of services that could be delivered in this
scenario:
_ Old Age Security, Guaranteed Income Supplement,
Unemployment Insurance, Veterans Allowances benefits
administration,
_ training and skills development, and
_ library services.
Benefits include enhanced convenience to the user, lower
operating costs for service delivery and improved levels of
service delivery (faster, more accessible service). For
staff, there will be greater job satisfaction, since
information and tools will be available to respond quickly
and efficiently to client needs. It will also be easier to
work with colleagues electronically, via "virtual networks",
reducing the need for endless face-to-face meetings.
(4) Service with On-site Support. An intermediary group or
agency provides multiple services, sometimes for
several clients, maximizing the benefits of information
technology and minimizing duplication and paperwork.
(Graphic available in printed copy only)
Example: A prominent Canadian is on the telephone with a
government minister, agreeing to chair a special task force.
The work has to be completed in four months. He is promised
a small staff, a modest budget and "all the support you
need".
Twenty minutes later, after a couple of quick calls to
contacts in the federal government, he dials the telephone
number of the head of "Accommodations Canada" , a special
operating agency responsible for providing office
accommodations and support services for small agencies,
judicial inquiries and, yes, special task forces.
Three days later, while the Chairman interviews candidates
for executive director and research director, the phones are
being installed in his new suite of temporary offices five
blocks from the minister's department. A technician is
making the final connections to a small network of
computers, the automatic voice messaging system is already
storing messages, and the office manager is signing the
delivery receipt for the Chairman's five boxes of critical
reference books.
For the next four months, the Chairman will only have to
authorize one monthly bill for the complete suite of
offices, technology and support staff. The same billing
system and technical support facilities are also shared with
several dozen other small agencies, meaning lower costs than
the traditional "one-off" approach.
Other examples of services that can be delivered in this
scenario:
_ staff and organizational planning,
_ retirement and job assignment counseling,
_ financial planning,
_ government lands and facilities maintenance,
_ site security services,
_ office maintenance and services, and
_ publishing and communication services.
Benefits include greater convenience to the user, shared
costs and improved pricing, and less administration and
paperwork. For staff, it will mean less hassle in getting a
new operation up and running.
(5) Specialist/Expert Service Centre. Through the use of
computer technology, internal and external clients can
access "experts" in government directly and quickly,
reducing the need to duplicate similar services and
improving the rate and success of client response.
(Graphic available in printed copy only)
Example: It's 5:00 p.m., Tokyo time, and the trade officer
clicks the mouse on her computer to transmit the meeting
report on a just-completed international conference on new
building materials. Seconds later, in the very early hours
of the morning, the report arrives at six computers back in
Ottawa, awaiting action from a "virtual group" of experts
who meet as required by computer. By noon that day, the
building materials expert at the National Research Council
has electronically routed a summary of the report to a list
of six Canadian companies which the expert group decided
could benefit from three marketing opportunities unearthed
at the conference by the trade officer. A businesswoman and
her partner in Saskatoon receive the report by fax and have
a request for more information on their fax back to Tokyo
by end of day in Saskatoon. Six months later, the Saskatoon
company is closing a deal with companies in Vancouver,
Calgary and Tokyo to participate in a bid to provide a UN
aid agency with portable all-weather shelters in refugee
camps in a war-torn part of the world. Back in Ottawa, the
expert group of building material specialists is commenting
on a consultant's report prepared for the World Bank. A
summary is scheduled to be faxed to nine Canadian companies
which might benefit, including one in Saskatoon. The trade
officer in Tokyo will also get a copy overnight by E-mail.
Another example of a service that could be delivered in this
scenario:
_ a cross-country consultative process where professional
association executives participate with departments
using computer conferencing.
Benefits include convenience to the user, and lower travel
costs for experts and other employees. There will also be
increased opportunity for carrying out activities that add
value and for generating revenue.
(6) Supplier Interface (extended enterprise). Suppliers
and internal consumers are connected directly to the
government's order and payment systems, becoming an
extension of these systems.
(Graphic available in printed copy only)
Example: In the offices of six different suppliers, sales
managers are watching the clock and their computer screens.
In 10 minutes, and for the following hour, the federal
government will be holding an electronic auction-style
competition for the right to provide a year's supply of
optical disks, magnetic tape and computer disks. It's an
experiment, a bit like electronic trading on the stock
market, but it beats shipping a five-pound document by
courier every month to the government's bidding centre in
Hull. One of the advantages is that, because the products
are to be delivered to federal and provincial agencies in 16
separate geographic locations, there's a good chance that
all of the suppliers will get some business, depending on
how they bid on transportation costs for each of the
regional "buys". And, of course, because the bids are made
in electronic form, payment is made directly to the
supplier's bank account as each shipment is received.
Another example of a service that could be delivered in this
scenario:
_ an electronic news service, in which the information
provider delivers news to client departments on a daily
basis through direct links. In exchange, the supplier
regularly downloads relevant, authorized government
information from databanks.
Benefits include convenience to the user, lower handling
costs and increased speed of delivery and payment to both
the service provider and recipient. For staff, it will
translate into more demand for knowledge workers, to handle
and interpret the electronic information coming into and
leaving government.
INFORMATION VIEW
The Information View represents the third step in the
approach to government service renewal and underscores the
importance of redesigning processes and systems to gather,
access and share common information.
The two main objectives of this view are to
- eliminate the need to collect the same or similar
information more than once within a department or within
government; and
- provide government programs with access to information
collected by other programs, especially where this would
improve the efficiency and effectiveness of government
service delivery.
In order to achieve the above objectives, it will be
necessary to give due regard to privacy and security issues,
including assuring that information collected by law for
only one purpose will not inadvertently be used for other
purposes.
As with other views in the Blueprint, the Information View
benefits considerably from taking an enterprise-wide
perspective. Information gathered for a program or service
that is being re-engineered may, upon examination with a
broader view in mind, be extremely valuable to programs or
services in another part of government or at another level
of government.
The common collection, analysis and sharing of information
within and between government programs and services will be
essential in delivering government services to clients in a
more unified way. For example, the Revenue Canada project
to create a single system for corporate taxes, including
customs, income tax and GST, is founded on the ability to
share taxpayer information between programs and systems.
Creating a single registration number and consolidated
account for a corporate taxpayer requires having access to
and sharing information.
The Blueprint vision of increased connectivity within
government, with other governments, with private industry
and with members of the public reflects the view that
collecting, analysing, using, managing, transferring and
disseminating information will soon become an even more
essential role of government departments and agencies.
To play its proper role in the improved delivery of
government services, information must either be collected
originally in or translated into a digital format. The
information must be shared and re-used rather than
re-collected in different forms by various programs and
services. Special steps must be taken to ensure the
integrity and quality of the information and the consistency
of its use. Government will also have to ensure that special
precautions are taken to respect individual privacy,
security and information access laws that have been enacted
by governments to protect its citizenry against unwarranted
information intrusion.
Some of the information collected by government will have
additional value when shared with other levels of government
and with the public. For example, aggregated and segmented
economic information will be of special interest and value
to the business sector. There may be new opportunities for
partnerships. Private-sector information enterprises, for
instance, could disseminate government information and
provide government with the external information it needs to
manage and renew the Public Service, while public-sector
institutions, such as public libraries, could expand their
roles as repositories of government information.
Demographic and statistical information will become more
readily used in business, education, research and other
everyday activities.
The integrated approach to information set out in this
blueprint provides a variety of benefits: improved
decision-making by program managers and policy-making by
government as a whole, at both strategic and operational
levels; enhanced client service, especially where government
processes collect usable information about clients and their
wants and needs; and easier and speedier service delivery to
all regions of the country, especially rural and more remote
areas. In addition, information is a vital instrument of
government accountability.
The existence of timely and reliable information in
electronic form permits the creation and operation of
"virtual" groups of experts or decision-makers. These
groups can make faster and more accurate decisions on, for
example, the entitlement of individual Canadians to social
benefits. It is also an essential ingredient for new forms
of remote training and education. Staff will gain greater
interaction with colleagues and easier access to
mission-critical information. They will also be required to
upgrade knowledge-worker skills through continuous training.
Under the Information View, there are two types of
information: that required for internal processes and,
therefore, for automating processes; and that which has
value as a common resource, for third parties. Some would
argue that both categories of information residing within
government represent a public good. Government information,
in this way, should be treated as a national resource, vital
to the country's social, cultural and economic development.
Another area of growing importance is external information
brought into government for decision-making. It may be
electronic news used to keep abreast of government
announcements and relevant political and business
developments, or statistical or financial information
required for the analysis of business trends and conditions.
Or it may be reports, via electronic mail, of international
trade opportunities from government posts abroad.
Information Management for Automating Processes
Information is collected for use across government to carry
out its business. This information can be managed so that
business processes related to delivering common support
services over a networked environment can be automated.
Examples follow.
_ Client Information - profiles of the requesting
individual or group, and their entitlements under the
service offerings
_ Service Information - descriptions of the service
offerings available, the associated rules and
guidelines, and the appropriate means of supply
_ Client Service Order Information - descriptions of the
requested services from the clients and the related
status
_ Resource Information - descriptions of the available
resources to deliver the requested service and their
scheduled commitments
_ Supplier Information - descriptions of the available
suppliers of the requested service or materiel and the
associated contracts and agreements
_ Administrative Information - charts of accounts,
financial transactions, financial assets and
liabilities, and employee agreements
Managing Common Information
There is also a need to provide various types of government
information of common use across the government. These can
readily be put into a computer-accessible form and made
available via the government enterprise network. These
include:
_ directories of people, places, services and
information;
_ references and databanks on federal legislation,
policies, procedures and guidelines;
_ schedules of government events and periodicals (e.g.,
budget and planning cycle dates, collective bargaining,
bid closures);
_ catalogues of supplies, services and suppliers;
_ on-line libraries of government reference information
and financial reports;
_ training and course curricula, schedules and provider
lists;
_ Canadian geographical, demographic and statistical
information; and
_ news media reports.
Common information, once captured, can be shared among
multiple users. After information that satisfies many
requirements is identified, services can be developed and
shared for planning, acquiring, maintaining and disposing of
it. Common information is an integral part of the renewal
efforts for re-engineering work processes and developing and
sharing application systems.
The public and special interest groups also have a direct
interest in many of these information resources. Providing
improved access to this information by using the government
enterprise network will benefit many client groups.
As with technology, there is a need to increase the use of
standards for collecting and exchanging data in order to
minimize costs, maximize efficiency, and encourage the free
flow of information.
The valid concerns regarding copyright, privacy and security
are fully recognized in the Information View of this
blueprint.
Guiding Information Principles
o Managing Government Information - Government information,
in all forms (e.g., print, voice, electronic, or image),
is a strategic resource and will be effectively managed
throughout its lifecycle. Metadata (information about
work processes, information, applications and technology)
is an information resource and must be managed according
to the same principles as information itself. Management
of electronic and hard-copy information will need to be
integrated. Coordinating and integrating the management
of electronic and hard-copy information and voice and
data networks will be important. It will be necessary to
implement mechanisms to easily and accurately find
government information. Benefits include improved
availability and quality of information for processing
and decision-making, resulting in improved service.
o Data Administration - All government information will be
subject to data administration to ensure common
definitions, integrity and consistency of use. This will
require having standards at all levels and maintaining a
data dictionary and repository. Benefits include reduced
costs to obtain and manage information.
o Sharing and Re-using Information - Information will be
captured once, as close to the source as possible, then
shared and re-used by authorized users. This will
require investments in new telecommunications links,
common standards, and special precautions to protect
privacy and security. Benefits include significant cost
savings associated with eliminating duplicate data entry
and the need to verify data.
o Exchanging Information - Once captured, government
information should be stored and exchanged electronically
to avoid transcribing and re-entering it manually. This
will require further study on who is responsible for
maintaining the data. Exchange standards will have to be
developed and implemented. Benefits include higher data
integrity and reduced costs of collection and
dissemination.
o Protecting Information - The security, integrity and
privacy of government information will be ensured by
integrating information technology security measures with
physical, personnel screening and other security
measures. This will require security and privacy
measures to be designed into all new information
technology systems through an integrated set of
safeguards which ensure the confidentiality, integrity
and availability of information and its related
processes. Benefits include improved privacy, the
protection of information from loss, and increased public
confidence in how the government handles information.
o Retaining Information - Government information will be
retained only while there exists a business need, a
legislative or policy requirement, or when it has
historical or archival importance. Benefits include
reduced costs in maintaining information records and a
full archival base for future generations of Canadians.
o Stewardship - Specific organizational units will be
accountable for managing designated classes of government
information to ensure its integrity, quality and
relevance and to restrict its accessibility to authorized
users. Benefits include improved ease of access to
government information, improved productivity and a lower
overall cost.
APPLICATION VIEW
The Application View (the fourth step in the approach to
government service renewal) links the work process and
information models together. The goal is to have as much of
the information as possible maintained in
computer-accessible form. Applications create, update,
access and delete these automated information bases. These
applications support the work processes by providing
automated procedures and managing information storage and
retrieval in support of service delivery. The Blueprint
makes key distinctions between applications that assist the
user in performing the work processes (workflow managers)
and applications that manage the resulting updates to
information files (transaction managers).
Future Application Environment
o The Blueprint is proposing to continue to move away from
traditional approaches to an application architecture:
from centralized and integrated to modular and shareable.
o In the past, most applications were designed as highly
integrated, on-line transaction processing systems for a
given functional area of the business. They included,
usually in a centralized location, all of the associated
business transactions for that function, all of the
related information files or databases, the required data
capture screens, and inquiry and reporting capabilities.
They became large, complex, expensive and difficult to
maintain. The Blueprint proposes separating these
functions into different application components.
o In the Blueprint application environment, there will be
suites of systems (consisting of modular, "Lego-like"
interconnectable pieces), each dealing with specific
functionalities.
This future application environment will provide staff with
the "intelligence" at their desktop computers to handle the
information and the transactions associated with their
day-to-day activities. While the skills required will be
higher in many cases, challenge and job satisfaction should
also be much enhanced.
The different types of applications are described below.
Application Components
o Workflow Managers. These are used to guide users through
the computer-based processes of requesting, planning,
executing and delivering services. At each step, the
workflow managers capture the required information,
present and explain the options available, apply the
associated rules, track the progress of the request and
link to the appropriate service transaction manager when
the preparation is complete. Workflow managers should
have the same look and feel, independent of the type of
service being used.
o Service Transaction Managers. These are transaction
processing engines that create and update the information
that supports process automation. Each service
transaction manager will be dedicated to handling a
specific type of transaction. Each can generate further
events to trigger other transaction managers. Functions
of service transaction managers include:
_ managing client information - maintaining information
on clients such as identification, location and
entitlements (this application information is shareable
across multiple services);
_ managing services - maintaining information on the
nature of the services available, the associated rules
and guidelines, and planning management information on
forecasted and actual usage;
_ managing orders - maintaining information on the
nature, status and performance of a specific client's
service requests; and
_ managing delivery - maintaining the plans for and
status of the methods of executing the client's service
order.
Service transaction managers will evolve gradually to become
generic and discrete, dedicated to a very specific common
type of transaction. By using middleware, older, mainframe-
based applications can continue to be used. They can be
treated as quasi-service transaction managers by suppressing
reporting and other functionalities. Their transaction
processing capability can be adapted to accept data capture
from readily available workflow automation mechanisms such
as intelligent electronic forms.
o Supporting Productivity Tools. In the target
architecture, a number of personal and workgroup
productivity tools will be available to the users on a
network through a standard interface on intelligent
workstations. These include:
_ document creation tools - a standardized set of
functions for composing documents, supporting the full
range of mixed media requirements (such as text,
tables, diagrams, images and voice annotation, as
needed);
_ electronic mail and bulletin boards - technologies for
distributing messages and documents to clients across
the common resource services network;
_ decision support tools - a range of selected analysis
and modeling tools to support individual and work group
decision-making. These will include standard
spreadsheets with graphic display capabilities, as well
as more advanced simulation and modeling tools for
special applications; and
_ interactive conferencing tools - functions for bringing
various parties together interactively and, especially,
for linking with support service experts over the
common services network. In their simplest form, these
are enhanced telephony audio conferences, but
technology breakthroughs now make video and
shared-screen conferencing at the desktop a distinct
possibility for high-demand areas.
o Client and Supplier Applications. To some extent, these
are also part of the application environment. Certain
program area applications (mostly resource related) can
be directly linked to the support services, through such
techniques as electronic data interchange (EDI) or
sharing databases.
Supplier applications can also be directly linked with
support services through such techniques as EDI, bulletin
boards or sharing databases. Typically, the common support
services would interface with supplier information
applications and order processing, order status management
and settlement processes.
Considerations for Development and Migration
o As discussed, many work processes and sub-processes for
government services have a high degree of commonality --
a circumstance well suited for modular design, sharing
and re-using. Large departments may customize
applications around core common workflow and transaction
managers for added functionalities. A repository of
re-usable modules should be developed for broad
distribution.
o Modular systems design will be used to develop the next
generation of applications, leading ultimately to the
Blueprint environment made up of workflow managers,
service transaction managers, productivity tools, and
interfacing with client and supplier applications using
EDI.
Guiding Application Principles
o Sharing Systems - Computer systems for common processes
or functions will be shared broadly across the
government. This will require developing funding
mechanisms for co-operating efforts and addressing change
management issues. It will also be necessary to plan the
development and migration of shared systems. Benefits
include reduced systems development and maintenance costs
since departments will no longer manage systems
independently.
o Modularity - Applications will be designed using modular
components for basic and optional functions. This will
require an organization responsible for driving and
managing the common modules. Benefits include increased
ease of reconfiguration, which will reduce costs and
improve service. The approach should also shorten
development time for new and reconfigured systems.
o Rapid Application Development - To minimize risks in
application development, use joint development teams on
short term (i.e. 4-6 months) projects which focus on
yielding a working prototype, which may then be refined
and improved via successive iterations through to
implementation. This will require a revised system
development lifecycle methodology using Rapid Application
Development tools. Users will have to assume more
accountability for application development and will work
as partners with information technology professionals.
o Re-usability - Applications will be designed to use
common, shareable components. This will require a
methodology and organization to identify, acquire and
manage common modules. Benefits include reduced
development time for new applications and lower costs for
maintenance, implementation and staff training.
o Distribution - Applications and tools will be structured
so they can be replicated and distributed on the
government enterprise network. Using the network to
maintain and distribute software should lower costs and
reduce duplication of effort. Licensing agreements and
partnership issues will have to be addressed.
o Standard Inter-application Interfaces - Standard
interfaces between application modules will be used to
accommodate information sharing and transfer of
transactions. This will require managing application
interfaces. Benefits include improved interconnectivity
and applications being shared more easily, resulting in
lower costs.
o Consistency - Applications will be designed to use
industry-standard user interfaces, providing a consistent
look and feel to the users of multiple applications and
tools. This will require decisions and standards on user
interfaces, e.g., Graphical User Interface (GUI).
Benefits include lower costs for training and support
and, over time, reduced costs for developing
applications.
TECHNOLOGY VIEW
The Technology View, the final step of the approach,
addresses the architectural (networks, servers,
communications and workstations) and service (networking,
infrastructure and standards management) components of the
Blueprint. This technology architecture must deliver the
common IT infrastructure services required to support the
Business, Work, Information and Application views. The goal
of this architecture is to allow for flexibility in placing
user- accessible services at different places on a
government enterprise client/server network. Finally, the
technology architecture must enhance the "human face of
government", not depersonalize the delivery of government
services to the public. It must enable staff to serve
clients better by giving them access to the information and
tools they require.
Components of the Technology Infrastructure
This section describes the four components of the technology
architecture of this blueprint:
- _networks that connect internal and external clients,
suppliers and users with the applications, services and
information they require and share;
- _servers that provide processing services, storage and
information services;
- _communication facilities for sharing information
interactively and transferring it reliably; and
- _workstations to access services and information where
and when needed.
o Networks
The Blueprint recognizes the heterogeneous nature of
computing platforms and networks in government. A
multi-layered network, from local-area through to global
networks, is part of the architecture.
Networks are themselves shareable and can serve multiple
layers of government or other partners. In order to
maximize benefits to the Canadian public, the government
will actively pursue alliances with industry and other
governments to share the cost and the benefits of all
networks, whether they are within a shared office complex
or metro area or are global.
A brief description of each type of network follows.
Subsequent parts in this section provide more details on
architectural elements, including networks.
Local-Area Network (LAN). These networks will link
workstations and servers of program service delivery
locations that are in close proximity to one another,
such as in a common office complex or building.
Authorized users of workstations connected to a LAN will
be able to use all services and to share resources on the
LAN.
Metropolitan-Area Network (MAN). In metropolitan areas
where several government service delivery locations need
to interact extensively with one another, such as the
National Capital Region, a high-speed MAN will
interconnect the area's government LANs.
Wide-Area Network (WAN). This type of network will
support high-end services such as desktop, video-
conferencing and the exchanging of large volumes of data.
It will interconnect various MANs and LANs in wider
geographical areas such as regions. Though these may be
distinct physical networks, they will be transparent to
users as part of the government enterprise network.
Government Enterprise Network (GEN). This global network
will link the government's various LANs, MANs and WANs,
so that users see them as a single network. Some special
workstations like public infocentre kiosks may be
connected directly to this network.
Public Networks. Public networks, such as telephone
company networks, may be used to provide access to
employees working at home, the general public, suppliers,
and staff whose offices cannot economically be connected
to the government enterprise network. Since users will
not be aware of the fact that a public network is
involved in the connection once it is connected to the
GEN, public networks will be, in effect, an integral
(albeit external) component of the architecture.
o Servers
Network File Servers. Network file servers can vary
significantly from one application to another. In a
small to medium-sized environment, powerful personal
computers with added storage and processing capacity will
typically be adequate for servicing most day-to-day user
needs. In larger installations, several high-end
micro-computers may be required to act as file servers
for the several workgroups involved.
These servers will usually provide common processing (and
information storage) to users and may be accessible from
remote locations. Applications typically running on
these stations include electronic mail, project
management, scheduling, and sharing local resources.
These servers will support the workflow managers as
identified in the Blueprint. Applications can be shared
by LAN users and workload management can be implemented
to balance work and optimize the use of resources.
Metropolitan- and Wide-Area Network Servers. These
processors provide distributed computing at the
metropolitan and regional levels. They typically support
a number of work sites. Applications are replicated in
multiple servers, using information that pertains to a
geographical area of operation. Some of the service
transaction managers may use these distributed servers
where applications can effectively use distributed
transaction management processors.
Mail Servers. Mail servers act as a post office for
storing and distributing messages, documents, and files
en route to recipients or applications. The scale (low,
mid-range, high-end) of the server that will be used to
service these requests varies with message volumes,
traffic and types. In general, high-end micro-computing
resources, storage capacity and connectivity to the LANs,
groupware, inter-application messaging processes (e.g.,
mail-aware applications) and various E-mail gateways are
the major considerations in drawing up the
specifications.
Special Purpose Servers. Print, telecommunications and
other special-purpose servers dedicated to managing the
requests for specific components of the IT architecture
will be used wherever they provide improved service
delivery. These servers will generally be of the typical
micro-computer class since their functions, as a rule, do
not require high-end technologies. They may, however,
manage requests for very sophisticated resources.
Information Servers. This class of server provides
various information services to users or to applications
through the common services network. The services
provided include:
_ data warehouses - storing and retrieving shared
information resources (structured, relational
data);
_ databases - storing and retrieving application
information (databases and data warehouses are
often referred to as database servers);
_ document libraries - storing and retrieving
documents (text and image-based, from computer
sources or scanned documents);
_ software libraries - storing and distributing
re-usable software objects (repository services)
for constructing and disseminating applications
across the network;
_ courseware libraries - storing and distributing
computer-based training.
Application Servers. The Blueprint has identified four
types of application servers based on the types of
applications (identified in the application
architecture), their associated usage and transaction
rates. These are:
_ the personal computer - These are desktop or
mobile workstations that, in addition to providing
the front-end user interface for applications
elsewhere on the network, can run many
applications. These include typical composition
or modeling tools such as word-processing,
presentation graphics and spreadsheets. It can
also support individualized workflow managers.
These may be used when only one workstation is
required in a program client area, when workflow
is highly customized to individual users, or to
support mobile users.
_ the high-end workstation - The second level of
processing uses higher-end micro-computers to
provide shared work group services on local-area
networks (LANs), metropolitan-area networks (MANs)
and, in some cases, on wide-area networks (WANs).
_ the mid-range processor - Traditionally called
"the minis", this level of processing is rapidly
merging with the high-end workstation. A
distinction is made here to highlight some of the
typical application services that are targeted at
the higher-end micros and minis. These include
the MAN, and regional and departmental WANs,
described previously.
_ the traditional mainframe processor - There will
continue to be requirements to use mainframe
processors for large, data-processing-intensive
applications that may not be easily downsized or
for which the costs and benefits do not justify
migration to other platforms. They may also act
as large data repositories and network service
providers. These ongoing roles must be recognized
on a case-by-case basis and consequently lead to
the heterogeneous aspects of the Blueprint over
the foreseeable future.
Departmental Servers. Departmental servers provide
centralized processing resources for transaction
management applications that are best organized around a
single consolidated database. Note that there will be
many of these "centralized" processors supporting the
Blueprint transaction managers, as well as program area
applications. They can be placed in different locations
on the network, allowing the distribution of government
programs and "head office" functions.
External Servers. External suppliers of shared computing
or information resources should be considered for
delivering certain types of applications or IT services.
These servers could service applications such as
electronic mail, bulletin boards and EDI to provide an
external reach for suppliers and the general public.
These servers also help maintain security by isolating
external client accesses from the full range of
departmental user accesses.
Conversion Considerations. The incremental fade-out of
applications from central (mainframe) processors to high-end
workstation processors (distributed MAN, WAN and
departmental servers) will need to be addressed in terms of
a case-by-case costs and benefits analysis. The following
elements should be considered:
o Communication facilities
Various communication facilities are required to support
the Blueprint's technical directions. High bandwidth
linkages are required in several scenarios involving
multi-media and high-traffic information flowing from
site to site on the enterprise network. In other cases,
public communication networks, such as those of telephone
utilities, will be adequate. The following elements need
to be incorporated into the communication facilities
component of the technology infrastructure:
o Workstations
This section describes five classes of users and the
related functionalities required by their workstations.
Program Area Client. In general, government employees
are increasingly using applications directly. Because of
the extensive installed base of workstations, it is not
practical to restrict the workstation and user interface
to only one type. Practical considerations will prevail,
but efforts should be made to reduce the number of
environments to a manageable level and migrate to newer
technologies that converge on connectivity and openness.
Workflow managers may have to be customized to
accommodate some workstation environments that may also
impose limitations on certain tools or applications.
Many program personnel will spend more time "in the
field", and have closer contact with clients. Staff
will increasingly telecommute, creating a need for
portable, mobile, and home office workstations.
Public Client. External client access must be included
in the common IT infrastructure to support the delivery
of program services. These workstations may vary widely
and include home or office computers, mid-range and
central processors, interactive television-based
workstations that interface over interactive broadcast
facilities, and touch-tone phones that interface through
interactive voice response (IVR).
Support Service Personnel. Empowered groups of support
service personnel will be able to address routine needs
in all support areas. They will be highly integrated
with program area clients and work closely with them,
either physically or through the network. Their
workstations should support multi-media capabilities,
including interactive video and desktop video
conferencing. Support service personnel will handle
routine transactions using workflow managers. All non-
routine requests will be turned over to support service
experts or resolved with their help. Training and
support will use multi-media-based courseware and
inquiry.
Support Service Experts. These specialists handle non-
routine or special service requests. In general, their
workstation requirements should be the same as for
support service personnel. They will have special
authorities to use applications and information to
address unique requirements or fix problems. The support
service experts will be accessible from any other
networked workstation.
Suppliers. Government suppliers are a final class of
workstation users in the Blueprint. It is only practical
to specify interface standards (e.g., EDI) for supplier
workstations, taking into account the diversity of
environments in the business community. However, there
will be several types of transactions, such as E-mail,
bulletin board access and down loading, inquiries, and
supplier data updates that will use interactive
workstations. The use of touch-tone phones and IVR is
expected here as well.
Information Technology Services
This section focuses on the three major services that will
be incorporated into the technical infrastructure:
networking; managing the infrastructure itself; and managing
standards. Each is described briefly below.
o Network Services
In an information technology context, network services
are designed to support distributing and sharing
information, as well as processing capabilities for
connected platforms. These services link government
sites, clients, suppliers and other external sites in
order to communicate, distribute or share data, or to
access services. All elements under "communication
facilities" must be supported by the network
infrastructure.
o Infrastructure Management Services
The technology infrastructure has to be managed and
coordinated as a common service. This includes:
_ acquiring, managing and maintaining common systems such
as workflow managers on a shared basis;
_ planning and implementing new or extended services or
features;
_ coordinating security, integrity, privacy, audit and
accounting requirements related to accessing, using and
updating services, applications and information;
_ issuing user access rights and related codes or
devices;
_ establishing and managing network service levels,
including performance and reliability; and
_ coordinating network operations including repair,
maintenance and implementation activities for related
equipment, software and communications services.
o Technology Architecture Standards
Flexibility, interoperability and portability of
applications can be achieved using a well-balanced set of
modern connectivity tools (e.g., middleware, work
automation tools) and standards. In this blueprint, it
is expected that both will be used. When the word
standards is used in the following sections, it must be
considered in terms of the range of solutions available
from this dual approach.
User and Application-Oriented Standards. This category
includes standards that support the interface between the
user and the application. These standards require the
collaboration of five key types of experts:
Delivery Platform Standards. The delivery platform
covers a wide range of services. It includes standards
for hardware, software and telecommunications network
facilities. Standards in this category will be
transparent to the users and remain independent from the
underlying technologies. Where it is cost-effective and
practical, the required platform migrations should
consider the Open Systems Environment (OSE) approach.
The Office of Information Management, Systems and
Technology (IMST) will continue to manage the government
standardization program.
Enterprise Environment Standards. This category includes
generic standards insofar as their characteristics apply
to the federal government in general. It includes
aspects such as security, ergonomics, documentation, IT
management and quality.
Guiding Technology Principles
o Modularity - The architecture will use technology
components that can accommodate expansion, upgrading and
substitution easily with minimal disruption to services.
Benefits include reduced development costs due to the
"building block" approach. An organization will be
required to manage the components.
o Inter-operability/Connectivity/Portability - Information
technology components will interactively work together
through modern connectivity tools and standard components
and interfaces. This will favour vendor-neutral
standards and avoid unique federal government standards.
Benefits include improved competition in the marketplace
and lower costs to the government.
o Distribution - Processing, storage and communications
technologies may be distributed to multiple levels in the
architecture, where appropriate, to support dispersed
business operations. Local- and wide-area networks are,
therefore, key elements of the strategy. Benefits include
increased flexibility in locating applications, services
and information.
o Workstation Orientation - Intelligent multi-function
workstations supporting industry-standard user interfaces
are the preferred means of delivering end-user
functionality. Benefits include reduced training costs
and a lower-cost platform. There may be initial
acquisition costs to equip users and there will be
ongoing support needs.
o Network Orientation - All workstations will be attached
(wired or wireless) to the government enterprise network,
with appropriately secure communications linkages to all
authorized servers and users. This will require an
investment in common infrastructure, especially as demand
for connectivity increases from other governments and
from the private sector. Benefits include reduced
duplication, especially where networks become more
standardized.
o Infrastructure Management - The architecture will provide
for the management and security of the technology
infrastructure. Security will be provided through an
integrated set of safeguards designed to ensure the
confidentiality, integrity and availability of
information and its related processes. This will
require, for example, taking steps to protect the network
from disasters, sabotage and failures. It will ensure
effective planning and management of system operations.
APPROACH AND ISSUES FOR IMPLEMENTATION
Implementation Approach
The Blueprint is a dynamic, integrated framework for
implementing government service renewal over the next five
years. It builds on initiatives already under way. The
following six elements are critical to its implementation.
o Community Leadership. Ministers and deputy ministers,
with the strong and effective support of the Chief
Informatics Officer (CIO), must champion the service
renewal in government, recognizing that significant
benefits will accrue to departments and their clients.
Treasury Board policy centres will provide supporting
functional expertise. The Office of Information
Management, Systems and Technology (IMST) will coordinate
implementation and provide support in business re-
engineering and IT architectural design.
o Commitment to the Vision. Leaders, having espoused the
Blueprint's vision, will communicate and explain it to
all government employees and will seek their effective
commitment. This commitment, which will also be sought
from potential partners, must be sustained over time,
since it constitutes an essential ingredient of change
management.
o People Management. Strategies and plans must be directed
towards involving and committing people; fostering open
communication; involving employees in conceptual design
and implementation and facilitating their shift to the
new culture and structures; assessing composition and
competencies of the work force; and resolving the human
resources issues associated with the transition and
change.
o Partnerships. The implementation of the Blueprint will
require an effective and sustained partnership among
staff within departments. In recognition of the
increased interdependencies reflected in the Blueprint,
partnerships will also extend to other departments, other
levels of government and the private sector.
Partnerships must be pursued and promoted aggressively to
leverage common requirements, to take advantage of
specific skills, to spread risks, and to share
experience, innovation and investment.
o Forging Ahead for Results. The Blueprint represents an
architectural framework that will be implemented and,
where necessary, adjusted over time. To accomplish this,
a set of service renewal projects will identify change
management and technology requirements, develop migration
plans, provide incentive through success, and begin a
government-wide rollout. A government-wide electronic
infrastructure project will support these service renewal
projects as they spread across government.
o Departmental Implementation. Departments will use the
Blueprint in planning and implementing their own internal
renewal activities. They will reflect their planned
approach to implementation in such planning instruments
as annual operational plans and information management
plans, starting in fiscal year 1994-95.
Overall, the Blueprint does not start at square one, but
builds on existing renewal activities and policies (for
example, Enhancing Services Through the Innovative Use of
Information and Technology: Strategic Direction for the
90s, issued by Treasury Board). The transformation
envisaged in the Blueprint will be achieved through
continuous improvements. There will be ongoing measuring
and monitoring of government service delivery.
Key Issues
o Communications. Business transformation can only be
successful if all participants (e.g., ministers, Public
Service employees, clients, the IT industry) involved in
bringing about the IT-enabled future are consulted
throughout the process of design, development, and
implementation.
On going internal communication is the first step towards
ensuring a smooth transition of employees to an open and
responsive environment. A well-managed communication
strategy will heighten awareness, address anxieties, and
promote the participation and commitment of management
and employees to the change process. Effective internal
communication is of value to client satisfaction and to
the improvement of services.
Consulting with Canadian industry is important to help it
use the experience gained from government business for
competitive advantage in global markets.
o People Management. Successful implementation of the
Blueprint vision of service renewal will hinge on the
human dimension. It is critical that the people issues
associated with implementing a new management philosophy
and an organizational culture of continuous learning and
service improvement be addressed from the onset.
Moving the existing workforce to the new culture and
structures, assessing the composition and competencies of
the workforce, renewed training and development, open
communication and consultation, empowerment of employees
and greater accountability are but some of the challenges
of transition that must be addressed.
New competencies and enhanced skills (e.g., network
management, project management, architecture and design,
client service focus, team-building, etc.) are required
for an information-based operation focusing on client
service. Empowered employees will need to operate in a
more open non-traditional organizational environment to
provide value-added services.
There must also be conscious recognition that change as a
positive force must be introduced with sensitivity to the
needs of people within the organization as well as those
of clients.
o Information, Technology and Operations. The key players
must discuss and resolve issues about the privacy and
security of information, standards for information and
technology management, pricing and funding mechanisms for
using the infrastructure, and developing and implementing
common, shareable solutions.
o Partnership with Other Governments and Industry. Common
requirements and interest dictate that governments work
together to seek shareable, cost-effective solutions in
the delivery of programs to the general public.
The industry has the expertise and resources to provide
modern equipment and services to support the renewal of
government operations. It also needs government business
to leverage investment and enhance competitiveness.
NEXT STEPS
(Graphic available in printed copy only)
o Communicate. The draft Blueprint will be communicated to
interested parties inside and outside the federal
government in order to refine the document, and to obtain
feedback, buy-in and departmental participation in
pilots. Distributing this document has started the
process, which will continue for the next several months.
o Endorse the Principles. The Treasury Board Ministers
will be asked to adopt the principles set out in the
Blueprint as a policy for renewing government services
for internal and external clients. The Blueprint will
serve as a basis for reviewing, adopting and promoting an
integrated, enterprise-wide approach to the delivery of
government services, following the consultations.
o Review the Requirements. There will be consultation with
groups such as the Blueprint Program Advisory Committee,
the Advisory Committee on Information Management, the
Government Systems Committee, the Council for
Administrative Renewal, the Treasury Board Senior
Advisory Committee Information Management Subcommittee,
and the Treasury Board Senior Advisory Committee, on the
requirement for resources, skill sets, methodologies, and
governance processes. This will take place at the same
time as the communication activities.
o Launch Service Renewal Projects. IMST will work with
departments and policy centres to select the first wave
of renewal projects. The federal government will
actively seek out partners in the private sector and
other levels of government. Project champions from the
community will then organize and plan project
implementation; IMST will support them, as required.
This will take place beginning the second half of 1994.
o Launch a Government-wide Electronic Information
Infrastructure Project. There will be an examination of
the issues relating to developing a government-wide
electronic information infrastructure, designed in part
to meet the connectivity needs of the first wave of
service renewal projects and future efforts. This review
will be undertaken in close collaboration with Public
Works and Government Services Canada, Industry Canada and
other interested parties, parallel to the service renewal
projects.
Already, some departments are using this blueprint in
planning and implementing their own internal renewal
activities. The Blueprint proposes that departments
collaborate through sharing experiences (both failures and
successes), development costs and efforts, and solutions.
APPENDIX
Guiding Principles, Rationale and Implications
Published by: Treasury Board Secretariat,
Government of Canada
Architectural Principles
Architectural principles are simple, direct statements of
preferred architectural direction or practice. They help
establish a context for architectural design decisions and a
common language for business and technology managers in
making technology-related decisions. They address how the
organization proposes to conduct its activities, and how it
intends to use information technology to support its
business. Like zoning laws, principles change relatively
infrequently.
Each principle states a fundamental belief of the
organization that is understandable to both technical and
non-technical staff. Each principle is shown with
supporting rationale that relate the principle to the
business drivers (i.e. improved service and reduced costs).
Additionally, the specific implications of each principle,
or impacts resulting from its adoption, are identified. The
implications can be used as the foundation for developing
specific action plans.
Some implications are common to most principles and have not
been identified explicitly. These are the:
- need to review, modify or design rules and procedures
governing the management, operation, and use of services;
- need to consider the applicability across levels of
government;
- roles and responsibilities of the clients and service
providers;
- initial and ongoing investment in technology;
- resources and skill sets required (e.g., specialist
requirements); and
- importance of managing people, sharing values, creating a
responsive and flexible work environment, and investing
time and resources in enhancing employees' knowledge,
skills and abilities.
Details on who should address the implications and when will
be defined through the consultation process, as outlined in
the Approach and Issues for Implementation chapter.
There are five categories of architectural principles that
correspond to the five architectural views.
- Business principles govern the overall architecture.
- Work principles guide how information technology should
support the work organization.
- Information principles guide how information resources
will be used and managed.
- Application principles guide how applications will be
constructed, implemented and managed.
- Technology principles guide how the technology components
will be selected, acquired, assembled and managed.
Business Principles
Client Service Focus
- Client needs will drive the design and delivery of
government services.
Rationale
- Quality of service (as judged by clients) is a key
measure of government and is the most visible.
- It reflects the intention to improve client service.
Implications
- Requires publicly available service standards, linked to
costs of providing services.
- Need to closely align client expectations with the
capacity to provide these services.
- Need to communicate service standards and manage services
accordingly.
- Need to consult clients on a continuous basis.
- Clients increasingly expect technology to be used to
deliver services.
- Services must be accessible in the official languages of
Canada.
People Management
- Employees, their involvement, development and commitment,
will be critical to successful business renewal.
Rationale
- Securing employee participation and commitment and
resolving people management issues are key to
successfully transforming business. Employees, with
their knowledge, are well-positioned to know what the
client requires and are vital for implementing
re-engineered processes and improving service delivery.
- Employee participation during business renewal provides
the opportunity for employees to link their competencies,
development and career aspirations with the direction of
the organization.
Implications
- Need active employee consultation, involvement and
participation on the team throughout the renewal process,
i.e. from design to implementation.
- Need open, honest and timely communication with all
employees and consultation with their bargaining agents.
- Need a rigorous and thorough analysis of the human
resources implications, strategies and costs as a
prerequisite to project approval. Human resources
specialists must be fully involved in all projects from
the initial phase to help identify the full range of
human resources issues arising from the re-engineering
and to contribute actively to their resolution.
- Departmental management must provide an atmosphere of
continuous learning and development in a flexible and
responsive work environment.
- Resolving the full range of human resources management
issues will take time and money.
Common Shareable Solutions
- Common requirements will be addressed by common,
shareable solutions.
Rationale
- Avoids re-inventing the wheel, thus reducing costs.
- Provides an opportunity for cost reductions in retraining
and duplication of work.
- Supports mobility of staff and, thus, using them more
effectively.
Implications
- Requires standards to facilitate sharing in many areas.
- Requires modular government services.
- Need a government-wide mechanism to identify common
requirements and to promote innovation and common,
shareable solutions.
- Implementation will take time.
Partnership
- Strategic alliances will be pursued with other
governments and the private sector.
Rationale
- Yields more cost-effective solutions by using other
parties who have specific skills that the government does
not or who have common requirements.
- Leverages broader opportunities for common, shareable
solutions by:
- using a third-party investment capacity and
- forming innovative relationships.
Implications
- Need a policy framework that is supportive while
protecting basic governmental contracting principles
(openness, transparency, accessibility, equity).
- Need a mechanism for finding partnership opportunities
and for identifying and selecting partners.
- Need to establish roles, responsibilities, and
accountabilities of partners, including standards of
service.
- Need to manage ongoing relationships with our strategic
partners.
- Need to provide appropriate safeguards for privacy,
security and access.
- Official language requirements must be taken into account
when evaluating and implementing partnership
opportunities.
Accountability
- Accountability performance standards and evaluation
capabilities will be incorporated into the design and
delivery of government services.
Rationale
- Reduces the direct labour costs and the overhead
associated with a separate control system.
- Provides the foundation for improving service.
Implications
- Need to clearly define a notion of accountability that is
suitable for the service provider and the user.
- Need to report actual performance against established
service standards.
- Requires a mechanism to ensure that the appropriate
metrics are gathered.
Enabling Technology
- Information technology will be used to its full advantage
for redesigning the delivery of government services.
Rationale
- Reduces direct labour costs for manually intensive tasks
and the associated overhead costs for management, support
and facilities.
- Improves service (quicker response, reduced errors,
collection of better management information and
accessibility of information).
- Improves service by enabling employees to move to more
value-added, knowledge-based functions.
Implications
- Need an ongoing capability to identify, evaluate, promote
and exploit the opportunities of enabling technology
across government.
- Need to encourage innovation and early, direct
involvement of affected Public Service employees in
designing and implementing re-engineered business
processes.
- Need standards.
- Need a (re)skilling program to ensure employees can make
the best use of enabling technologies.
Work Principles
Single Window/Seamless Service
- Government services will be delivered to common clients
through a single window and be free of functional and
organizational barriers.
Rationale
- Improves service since clients would no longer have to
deal with several different administrative functions,
programs, and departments in order to complete a
transaction.
Implications
- Requires a concentrated focus on customer service.
- Requires commitment of the entire organization to the
concept because of the potential impact on existing
organizational structures.
- Requires active management of relationships with other
single-window services, providers and external parties.
- Requires rules and procedures for service delivery and
standards for level of service to guide the operations of
the single-window concept.
- Necessitates establishing new cooperative networks and
communication flows.
- Requires longer term adjustment to organizational
structures to obtain maximum benefits from single-window
client service delivery.
- Does not prevent specialized service where warranted.
Streamlining
- The process between the client and delivery of the
government service will be minimized.
Rationale
- Reduces costs for both the client and service provider by
eliminating intermediate processes that do not add value
once the technology is in place.
- Improves service to the client by focusing on tasks that
contribute to meeting the client's needs.
Implications
- Need to align personnel with client requirements rather
than to process tasks.
- Need to consider accountability issues when streamlining
the service.
- Need to re-invest time or financial dollar savings from
streamlined processes into desirable new activities.
- Has an impact on existing jobs and responsibilities,
which must be redefined in the light of the new
processes.
- Services must have a consistent look and feel for direct
access and self-service.
Choices
- Where practical and cost justifiable, clients will have
options as to how government services are delivered.
Rationale
- Improves service by allowing the client to choose a
system best suited to his or her need from a range of
affordable service delivery options.
Implications
- Need a feedback mechanism to understand changes in client
preferences and requirements.
- Need to assess the costs and benefits of new and existing
service delivery options.
- Need performance measures to compare the quality of
service delivery options.
- Requires an investment in network technology which
supports multiple end-user delivery alternatives.
Consistency
- Where the same types of work activities are involved for
different government services, they will be done the same
way.
Rationale
- Reduces costs by
- eliminating administrative or program processes that
contribute no added value;
- reducing process design, implementation, maintenance
and training for different work activities; and
- promoting common applications, which will allow Public
Service employees to move more easily across the
government.
Implications
- Requires common terminology, definitions and
transactions.
- Need policies and procedures for the transformed
processes, particularly for staff redeployment in common
functional areas.
- Will be easier to transform services with a consistent
look and feel into "seamless" processes.
- Processes and activities that do not add value will be
eliminated.
- Implementation will take time due to difficulty in
obtaining consensus across multiple departments involved
in common delivery functions.
Location and Time Independence
- Clients will have access to government services at any
time from many locations, wherever such access is cost
justified and warranted.
Rationale
- Provides a basis for reducing such costs as real
property, accommodation and transportation by focusing on
low-cost geographical locations and IT-enabled network
applications.
- Improves service since the client accesses services when
it is convenient.
Implications
- Need to provide authorized individuals with tools and
access privileges to communicate through the network.
- Need well-defined service standards to make service
independent of location and time.
- Need to address the requirements of clients with special
needs.
- Requires investment in the telecommunication/computer
network and its linkages.
- Automated services must be provided in both official
languages.
Continuous Improvement of Service
- Services will be improved on an ongoing basis, with
measurements embedded in the service processes.
Rationale
- Defined service levels are essential to enabling line
managers to respond to continuous reductions in operating
budgets by making appropriate investments in technology
and in pre-determined service levels.
- Improved service is not just a one-time occurrence, but
occurs continuously.
Implications
- Need to review the relationship of the organization with
external groups whenever the organization is
re-engineered.
- Requires a performance measurement framework that takes
into account service levels and available resources.
- Need to redesign the management framework to focus on
client service.
- Managers and employees must increasingly participate as
team members.
- Certain processes and activities may be eliminated.
Information Principles
Managing Government Information
- Government information, in all forms (e.g., print, voice,
electronic, or image), is a strategic resource and will
be effectively managed throughout its lifecycle.
Rationale
- Improves service by
- enhancing the availability and quality of information
for processing transactions and decision-making; and
- providing clients and service providers with the
information they need, in a variety of media and forms.
Implications
- Need to effectively manage both government information
and its "metadata" (information about information,
including the work processes associated with information,
information itself, and the supporting applications and
technology).
- Need to establish the accountabilities and service
standards for managing information and metadata.
- Need to be able to classify and define data and metadata.
- Need directory services to provide clients with a secure,
simple, and accurate way of finding government
information and need repository services to store
metadata.
- Need policy guidance on production, pricing and
publication of government information, including Crown
copyrights.
- Need to integrate the management of electronic and hard-
copy information and of voice and data networks.
- Need legislation and policies to facilitate appropriate
public access to government information through a
diversity of sources (i.e. libraries, private sector
information industry and networks).
- Need applications and technology infrastructures capable
of storing, transporting and processing information in
multiple forms and media.
Data Administration
- All government information will be subject to data
administration to ensure common definitions, integrity
and consistency of use.
Rationale
- Enhances service through improved quality and consistency
of information and improves overall effectiveness of
management information systems.
- Reduces costs by making it easier and more efficient to
manage information.
- Supports capturing data only once, and sharing solutions
and timely, accurate data for common process
requirements.
Implications
- Need a data dictionary and a repository.
- Need to maintain a comprehensive catalogue of standard
data definitions.
- Need a mechanism to access the standard information
definitions and communicate them to system developers.
- Requires common data standards across all levels in the
information architecture of government service delivery.
Sharing and Re-using Information
- Information will be captured once, as close to the source
as possible, then shared and re-used by authorized users.
Rationale
- Reduces costs by
- eliminating duplicate data capture and reducing errors
resulting from transcription and re-entry;
- improving the consistency of information so it can be
shared and re-used, eliminating duplicate data capture
and storage; and
- improving the quality of information through increased
standardization. This improvement decreases the need
to reconcile inconsistent information and reduces the
risks of poor decisions based on erroneous information.
- Improves service by reducing the burden on clients of
having to provide information that has already been
captured.
Implications
- Need an applications and technology infrastructure to
support electronic transmission of information from point
of capture to point of use.
- Need a technology infrastructure and tools to enable
users to locate and access all of the information they
require for their work.
- Need government-wide standards for describing and
defining common and specific information.
- Need to define the requirements of users to access
information.
- Need to protect the privacy and security of information
in accordance with the relevant legislation and best
management practices.
- Common and specific information must conform to
government-wide models and standards.
- Must ensure that information is accessible and that
quality of information is maintained.
Exchanging Information
- Once captured, government information should be stored
and exchanged electronically to avoid transcribing and
re-entering it manually.
Rationale
- Produces savings from reduced paper usage and paper
storage, improved productivity, reduced error rates in
entering data and less need for reconciliation.
- Improves service because the necessary information will
be readily available with more assured integrity.
Implications
- Need to provide the appropriate security and
confidentiality of information so that only authorized
users who have a need to know can access data.
- Need data interchange standards and a common network to
access data.
- Need a policy addressing who is responsible for
maintaining the data.
- Electronic information exchange may affect the
organization of work.
Protecting Information
- The security, integrity and privacy of government
information will be ensured by integrating information
technology security measures with physical, personnel
screening and other security measures.
Rationale
- Reduces costs by protecting information from loss,
damage, unauthorized access or alteration and lowers the
expense of recovering information.
Implications
- Need to incorporate an integrated approach to ensuring
the confidentiality, integrity and availability of
information and related processes when designing
information systems and technology.
- Need security and backup mechanisms.
- Need low cost security solutions for LAN-based systems.
Retaining Information
- Government information will be retained only while there
exists a business need, a legislative or policy
requirement, or when it has historical or archival
importance.
Rationale
- Reduces costs by eliminating the storage and management
of information that is no longer required.
- Improves service by ensuring that required information is
available when needed, that obsolete information is
disposed of and that information of enduring value is
preserved.
Implications
- Must consider retention and disposition as part of the
lifecycle of information management.
- Must incorporate the requirements for retention and
disposal when designing information systems and
technology.
- Must provide services for archival storage and disposal
of information.
Stewardship
- Specific organizational units will be accountable for
managing designated classes of government information to
ensure its integrity, quality and relevance and restrict
its accessibility to authorized users.
Rationale
- Improves service by
- equipping managers and staff with reliable, accessible
information; and
- giving clients appropriate access to information and
enabling service providers to deliver responsive
services.
- Reduces cost. By improving productivity, it gives the
empowered employee the information necessary to perform
duties.
Implications
- Must define the role of custodian and to develop
appropriate accountability frameworks.
- Need performance standards to measure the effectiveness
of the custodian's role.
- Need to define the standards for information exchange
(e.g., magnetic, EDI).
- Need to define the information that will be made
accessible to various service providers.
- Requires a policy addressing who owns the data.
- Need directory services to facilitate access to the
necessary data.
- Access must be provided regardless of the physical
location or the form of the information.
- Need to manage access to information in conformance with
Treasury Board policies.
Application Principles
Sharing Systems
- Computer systems for common processes or functions will
be shared broadly across the government.
Rationale
- Reduces systems development and maintenance costs since
departments would no longer manage systems independently.
- Improves service through better "product" management and
improved capability for sharing information.
Implications
- Need to establish a user-focused management framework
with clearly defined accountabilities for shared systems.
- Need to address change management considerations.
- Need funding mechanisms for cooperative efforts.
- Need to plan and co-ordinate the development and
migration of shared applications.
- Need to consider factors such as the departments'
operating needs and investments in existing systems.
- Implementation will take time.
Modularity
- Applications will be designed using modular components
for basic and optional functions.
Rationale
- Reduces costs by
- promoting sharing and common solutions;
- making each application cheaper and quicker to develop
and maintain; and
- facilitating new ways of doing business through easy
reconfiguration of system components.
Implications
- Need to determine the criteria to identify application
modules.
- Need to promote awareness of the basic modules.
- Need to promote system design approaches that ensure
modularity and separation of application functions.
- Requires an organization and mechanism to drive and
manage the use of modular application components.
- Must be able to recognize both common and unique
requirements of clients.
- Pre-packaged applications will be preferred over custom
development wherever they are available and
cost-effective.
- The functional separation should be invisible to the
user.
Rapid Application Development
- To minimize risks in application development, use joint
development teams on short term (i.e. 4-6 months)
projects which focus on yielding a working prototype,
which may then be refined and improved via successive
iterations through to implementation.
Rationale
- Reduces costs by forcing out unnecessary and costly
functionality and design changes, thereby avoiding time
delays and cost overruns.
- Reduces cost of failure by providing decision points at
each successive prototype stage.
- Improves service by having clients and information
technology professionals work closely together as a team
in developing applications and by providing clients with
systems which can meet their essential needs over a short
period of time.
Implications
- Users will assume more accountability for application
development.
- Need Rapid Application Development tools to provide fast
prototyping across multiple platforms.
- Need a revised system development lifecycle methodology
which will support this iterative approach.
- Need change in approach in departments which would
encourage client and information technology partnerships
within tight and demanding timeframes.
- IT professionals will need to develop expertise required
to manage rapid application development projects.
Re-usability
- Applications will be designed to use common, shareable
components.
Rationale
- Reduces costs by
- facilitating re-usability, which promotes the efficient
use of resources and minimizes redundancy; and
- shortening the time required to develop and maintain
applications.
Implications
- Need a methodology and an accountable organization to
identify, acquire and manage common modules.
- Need to identify who is responsible for maintaining
modules.
- Need a repository for common modules and documentation.
- Need to identify common requirements that can be met via
common, shared components, recognizing that there are
some unique client requirements that cannot be met this
way.
- Using common modules will significantly affect the
existing IT development process.
Distribution
- Applications and tools will be structured so they can be
replicated and distributed on the government enterprise
network.
Rationale
- Reduces costs by providing applications that are easily
distributed and maintained using the network.
- Improves service by providing clients with the
appropriate applications when they need them.
Implications
- Need to define the architectural levels and the
application environments they support.
- Need to consider all associated costs and management
issues of distribution.
- Need to consider the various criteria to determine the
placement of applications.
- Need to classify, organize, distribute and manage
applications based on their scope of use.
- Need to provide access to applications regardless of
where they are located physically.
- Need to address issues about licensing, partnerships and
sharing agreements for applications.
- It may be desirable to distribute applications physically
to improve accessibility.
- Applications may reside on different platforms and
process in an individual or cooperative fashion.
- More controls, such as procedures for backup and
recovery, may be required due to the more highly
dispersed environment.
Standard Inter-application Interfaces
- Standard interfaces between application modules will be
used to accommodate information sharing and transfer of
transactions.
Rationale
- Reduces costs and improves service by
- promoting sharing and re-usability;
- promoting connectivity and integration; and
- maintaining modularity.
Implications
- Need application programming interface (API) standards.
- Requires a process for establishing, adopting and
managing application interface standards.
- Requires infrastructure-level data management for
inter-application messages.
- Where appropriate, applications will interconnect across
administrative functions and government.
Consistency
- Applications will be designed to use industry-standard
user interfaces, providing a consistent look and feel to
the users of multiple applications and tools.
Rationale
- Reduces costs by
- supporting ease of use, thus improving efficiency;
- reducing (re)training required to use new or expanded
applications; and
- eliminating a significant amount of coding and testing
for development and maintenance.
Implications
- Requires decisions regarding the appropriate user
interfaces.
- Need to evaluate industry user interface products.
- Need to define types of users and workstations.
- Supports mobility of staff and, thus, using employees
more effectively.
- Implementation will take time because of the inherent
difficulty of obtaining agreements on common application
and appearance.
- Need to separate management of the user interface from
the application.
- User interfaces should have options to accommodate unique
or special user requirements.
Technology Principles
Modularity
- The architecture will use technology components that can
accommodate expansion, upgrading and substitution easily
with minimal disruption to services.
Rationale
- Reduces development costs by specifying and using
components that permit a "building block" approach to the
technical architecture.
- Supports improved service and operational flexibility by
accommodating continuous changes in business,
organization and technology.
- Supports efficient use of technology by tuning platforms
to meet local requirements and by allowing components to
be re-used.
Implications
- Need to specify and develop standard components for
application and technical environments and hardware
platform types.
- Need a mechanism to manage and maintain the components.
- Requires a careful migration strategy with new
investments.
- Vendors must develop families of specialized
functionality that can be used on the various processing
components of the government (i.e. that are scalable).
- Architecture must be able to take advantage of external
developments.
- Technologies that support scalability will be preferred
over more limited choices.
Inter-operability/Connectivity/Portability
- Information technology components will interactively work
together through modern connectivity tools and standard
components and interfaces.
Rationale
- Improves service by enabling any authorized workstation
and user to access all applications, services and data on
the government enterprise network.
- Provides cost-effective solutions for the government
through increased competition in the marketplace.
Implications
- Requires standards for the processing, network and
development environments.
- Need to develop specifications based on adopted standards
and common connectivity and interface tools. Solutions
unique to the Government of Canada should be avoided in
favour of open, vendor-neutral ones.
- An increased emphasis on security, network bandwidth and
telecommunications cost controls is implied.
- Must be a means to interface legacy systems to new
environments until the former are replaced or upgraded to
meet open requirements.
Distribution
- Processing, storage and communications technologies may
be distributed to multiple levels in the architecture,
where appropriate, to support dispersed business
operations.
Rationale
- Improves service by recognizing varying needs for
accessing and sharing applications, services and
information in different departments, levels of
operation, and management and operating locations.
- Provides flexibility for placing applications, services
and information at different levels and different
operating locations to optimize performance,
availability, cost, management and other factors.
Implications
- Must address how to provide support services for managing
distributed environments.
- Requires a means for determining and evaluating
distribution options.
- Enterprise networking is vital to the operation of the
distributed architecture.
- Multiple-level distribution introduces operational and
management complexity.
Workstation Orientation
- Intelligent multi-function workstations supporting
industry-standard user interfaces are the preferred means
of delivering end-user functionality.
Rationale
- Improves service by providing maximum flexibility at the
interface with the user.
- Provides a low-cost processing platform that can be
dedicated to local user functions (e.g., word-processing,
spreadsheets) or portions of shared applications, off-
loading networks and host (server).
- Reduces training costs by providing an easy and
consistent look and feel for users of the workstation.
Implications
- Need procedures and readily available ongoing low-cost
support for users.
- May result in initial costs to appropriately equip users
with hardware.
- Business needs should drive the selection of the
workstation subject to requirements for interoperability,
connectivity and portability.
Network Orientation
- All workstations will be attached (wired or wireless) to
the government enterprise network, with appropriately
secure communications linkages to all authorized servers
and users.
Rationale
- Improves service by providing users with access to
information and tools required to deliver services.
- Reduces costs by reducing the duplication of effort for
planning, implementing and operating service facilities
such as electronic mail, file transfer, development
services, and directory and network management.
Implications
- Need to manage network security risks.
- Requires adopting appropriate communications and
inter-networking standards.
- Some application and technology environments may require
direct mainframe connection, but these should be avoided
or minimized.
- New relationships with other governments and the private
sector will require more two-way access.
- The government enterprise network must be managed as a
corporate resource.
- Increased requirements for expanded bandwidths and
telecommunications cost controls.
Infrastructure Management
- The architecture will provide for the management and
security of the technology infrastructure.
Rationale
- Reduces costs and improves service by making it easier to
effectively plan and manage business and system
operations. The architecture will provide timely and
accurate information pertaining to work loads, usage
patterns and performance.
- Reduces costs by reducing the cost of manual (and
potentially inconsistent) collection of usage and
performance information.
- Supports continuous improvement and change.
Implications
- Need to define who will manage the infrastructure.
- Need to identify the basic requirement to ensure the
integrity and security of applications, services and
data.
- Need an integrated set of safeguards to ensure the
confidentiality, integrity and availability of
information.
- Need to identify the multiple levels of security that the
architecture will support.
- Need to define and monitor management responsibilities
for security.
- Need to identify the resource and management tools
required to monitor and manage the infrastructure.
- Need infrastructure service standards and a performance
measurement framework that also address non-technical
criteria.
- Need to develop a mechanism to account for usage and
costs.
- Need for recovery management across the network.
- Requires a framework for auditability and accountability.
**Graphics available in printed copy only
¡°Certainly. That seemed to be the purpose, in the London hotel. A person as clever as that must have planned this entire affair and has undoubtedly accomplished his wish and vanished long ago¡ªor else he can never be caught because we have no way to discover him.¡± But she only answered that that was unlikely and slipped her arm around his neck, as she added that if anything were to happen to him, she would not have one real friend in the world. There was something pathetic in the quiet realization of her loneliness. "You're a liar," said Shorty hotly. "You didn't git out o' the regiment because it stole niggers. That's only a pretend. The rear is full o' fellers like you who pretend to be sore on the nigger question, as an excuse for not going to the front. You sneaked out o' every fight the regiment went into. You got out of the regiment because it was too fond of doin' its duty." His volubility excited that of the "Captain," who related how he had been doing a prosperous business running a bar on a Lower Mississippi River boat, until Abolition fanaticism brought on the war; that he had then started a "grocery" in Jeffersonville, which the Provost-Marshal had wickedly suppressed, and now he was joining with others of his oppressed and patriotic fellow-citizens to stop the cruel and unnatural struggle against their brethren of the South. As he reached the top of the bank a yell and a volley came from the other side of the creek. Shorty joined him at once, bringing the two boys on the engine with him. "I'll look out for that." "That is," Dr. Haenlingen said, "fools like you." Rogier opened his mouth, but the old woman gave him no chance. "People who think psychology is a game, or at any rate a study that applies only to other people, never to them. People who want to subject others to the disciplines of psychology, but not themselves." "There are spots the steel's never covered," he said. "You can tunnel through if you're lucky." A pause. "I¡ª" "No¡ªit's just something one enjoys, same as cakes and bull's-eyes. I've kissed dozens of people in my time and meant nothing by it, nor they either. It's because you've no experience of these things that you think such a lot of 'em. They're quite unimportant really, and it's silly to make a fuss." "I ?un't that. I'm just a poor labouring man, wot loves you, and wot you love." HoMEÃâ·Ñ¹ú²úÒ»¼¶Ã«¿¨Æ¬ÊÓƵapp
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