Former UK minister Sir Iain Duncan Smith highlighted the success of the digitization of Universal Credit, a project he oversaw, which simplistically replaced six benefits systems. Despite costs escalating by nearly £1 billion and considerable delays, the innovative approach and the 2013 project reset that brought together DWP and digital engineers in a collaborative environment are commendable. The project successfully integrated security and recognized the necessity of expertise, stating that to attract talent, hiring practices had to adapt to offer competitive salaries. Overall, Duncan Smith emphasized that key lessons exist for other government departments to glean from this experience.
He would sit opposite each other. When somebody within the DWP [Department for Work & Pensions] side or the digital engineers side hits a problem, you don't wait and email somebody; you write the problem on a Post-It note, you stick it on the board.
You'd go along and you go, 'Oh, wait a minute, I know how I can do that.' You've got this energy moving back and forwards as you design the system.
That success was attributed to a major reset of the project - which originally began in 2010 - just three years in.
It's an either or: you have to pay the people that have got the expertise or you just don't have the expertise.
Collection
[
|
...
]