Audit of IM/IT Governance and Application Systems Integration - Follow-up Report Status Update as of December 31, 2014

1. The Chief Information Officer should strengthen governance and strategic direction related to information management by establishing or enhancing the following key elements:

• Develop and approve an IM Plan consistent with the priorities identified in the Department's IM/IT Strategy, including prioritized initiatives for the five-year planning horizon. This may be part of an integrated IM/IT Plan or a separate IM Plan, but it is critical that IM direction be clarified. The draft Enterprise IM Strategy should be withdrawn to avoid confusion with having both an IM/IT Strategy and a separate IM Strategy.
• Ensure required IM policies and directives are finalized and approved, and are communicated within the Department to all impacted employees. Of priority are those meeting TBS requirements, especially the Directive on Recordkeeping, where compliance is required by March 2015.

Status: Underway

Update/Rationale:
As of December 31, 2014

The CIO has submitted an IM Strategy to the CFO and DMs for their review and approval

AES: Implementation ongoing. Recommendation will be closed with approval of the strategy.

Status: Request to Close (Completed)

Update/Rationale:
As of 31/03/2014:

Draft Enterprise IM Strategy has been removed for the intranet site.

AES: Closed.

Status: Request to Close (Completed)

Update/Rationale:
As of 31/03/2014:

Record Keeping Directive Approved, E-mail management directive to be implemented by SSC through ETI.

AES: Closed.

Status: Request to Close (Completed)

Update/Rationale:
As of 31/03/2014:

Implementation process amended to include submission of communication about approved policy instruments for publication in AANDC Express.

AES: Closed.

• Ensure IM is a regular standing item at governance committees to monitor implementation of IM policies and directives as well as progress of key IM initiatives within the approved plan.

Status: Request to Close (Completed)

Update/Rationale:
As of 31/03/2014:

IM/IT policy framework with associated prioritized list policy instruments for review and update completed.  

AES: Closed.

Status: Request to Close (Completed)

Update/Rationale:
As of 31/03/2014:

Intranet reviewed and all draft policy instruments removed.

AES: Closed.

Status: Request to Close (Completed)

Update/Rationale:
As of 31/03/2014:

IM Updates (i.e. RK Directive, ETI) provided to BMT, ITSG, DGIOC and Ops.

AES: Closed.

Status: Request to Close (Completed)

Update/Rationale:
As of 31/03/2014:

IM/IT Planning remains integrated with investment planning call letter.  Management of IM/IT initiatives is integrated internally with the MOU, Application Portfolio Management and Portfolio Management processes and the reporting processes to TBS on IM/IT Expenditures, IM/IT Plans, APM and investment planning.

AES: Implemented. The recommendation will be closed. Closed.

The office of the CIO will:

• Manage the development and updates to IM/IT policy instruments

Status: Request to Close (Completed)

Update/Rationale:
As of 31/03/2014:

Ongoing.

AES: Closed.

• Track the development/update of new and existing policy instruments

Status: Request to Close (Completed)

Update/Rationale:
As of 31/03/2014:
Ongoing.

AES: Closed.

• Manage the posting of existing/new policy instruments

Status: Request to Close (Completed)

Update/Rationale:
As of 31/03/2014:

Ongoing

AES: Closed.

• Develop an update life-cycle for all IM/IT policy directives

Status: Request to Close (Completed)

Update/Rationale:
As of 31/03/2014:

Developed and ongoing.

AES: Closed.

• Prepare communiqués for AANDC Express to highlight the requirements of all new policy instruments.

Status:Request to Close (Completed)

Update/Rationale:
As of 31/03/2014:

Communiqués prepared and ready for periodic submission to communications for publication in AANDC Express.

AES: Closed.

AES: Implemented. The recommendation will be closed. Closed.

4. The Chief Information Officer should enhance the Project Portfolio Management Framework (PPMF) documentation/adherence by:

• clarifying the requirements for information management considerations in the PPMF, including how these will be documented and monitored in the gating approval process;

Status: Request to Close (Completed)

Update/Rationale:
As of 31/03/2014:

IM Overlay created and in place.

AES: Closed.

Status: Request to Close (Completed)

Update/Rationale:
As of June 30, 2014

All current Project Portfolio Management Framework (PPMF) template documents have been updated and are included in the revised Master list of Gate Deliverables.  The intranet page is updated since April 16, 2014.

AES: Closed.

• developing, approving, and posting to the Information Management Branch intranet site a document that clearly outlines the current requirements for approval by governance bodies at each gate in the PPMF gating process;

• clarifying PPMF requirements for projects requiring Treasury Board approval as these projects should follow the Department's defined and approved project governance process; and,

Status : Underway

Update/Rationale:
As of December 31, 2014

Work continues in this area. All projects need to at least have their final Project Complexity and Risk Assessment acknowledged by TBS before starting detailed planning. An integrated process is now in place to author, review and submit PCRAs to TBS for acknowledgment. Projects that require funding from TBS, or exceed the department's project authority, need to submit a funding request to Treasury Board, to which are attached a number of gating documents (business case and project charter at a minimum). This is the sole remaining area of discussion. We are still working with TBS to define what project documents need to be submitted for projects. This should be resolved by the end of Q4.

AES: Recommend to close. Closed.

• ensuring that formal project close-out as defined in the PPMF, including lessons learned and benefits realization, is enforced.

Status: Request to Close (Completed)

Update/Rationale:
As of June 30, 2014:

The Project Closeout template was updated and approved by Chief Information Officer's Branch Management Team (CIO-BMT), presented to ITSG and has been posted to the INTRA site. Projects are now being ‘officially' closed out in accordance with Project Portfolio Management Framework guidelines (i.e. FNCFS).

AES: Closed.

The Director of ESS, in collaboration with all Directors in IMB, will:

• Develop an EA Strategy
• Develop an EA overlay/underlay for the PPMF
• Re-institute the BMT ASC with Terms of Reference
• Develop EA Principles/guidelines

Status : Underway

Update/Rationale:
As of December 31, 2014

Enterprise Architecture Strategy approved by ITSG on April 3, 2014.

The Architectural Standards Committee (ASC) will be re-instituted in Q4. TOR are being developed in concert with those for the Architecture Review Board (ARB).

The Enterprise Architecture (EA)/Project Portfolio Management Framework (PPMF) overlay/underlay is deferred due to lack of resources. The EA principles/guidelines are in the EA Strategy.

AES: Actions have been completed or rational given as to why they cannot be. Recommend to close. Closed.

Status: Request to Close (Completed)

Update/Rationale:
As of June 30, 2014:

AANDC has approved policy instruments that require compliance (e.g. policies and directives are mandatory by definition). As an example, AANDC approved the Directive on Information Management and Information Technology Procurement Authorization which states roles and responsibilities for procurement as well as what specific financial coding to use in the financial systems. In addition, an annual process has been implemented whereby IMB does extracts from the departmental financial system and sends them to the Region/Sector for their review and attestation. This review and attestation ensures that the Regions are coding to the correct project code.

AANDC will need to develop compliance processes for the new SAP coding structure which was introduced April 1, 2014.

AES: Implementation complete.  Recommended to close. Closed.