The ICT Project Model and the ICT System Portfolio Model

The ICT Project Model and the ICT System Portfolio Model are the two primary models used by the Agency for Digital Government for the management of government ICT in Denmark. The aim of the two models is to strengthen the management of government ICT projects and of ICT system portfolios respectively.

The Agency for Digital Government is in charge of developing and maintaining models for ICT projects and ICT system portfolios in the central government in Denmark.

The two most prominent models used in government ICT management in Denmark are the ICT Project Model and the ICT System Portfolio Model. The project model contributes to better and more homogenous planning, management, and implementation of ICT projects across government bodies. The system portfolio model helps foster more responsible and secure management of government ICT system portfolios.

Aside from the development and maintenance of the two models, the agency provides guidance for government agencies on the proper use of these tools.

The ICT Project Model

The ICT Project Model follows the ‘Budgetvejledning’ (the annual budget guidelines of the Danish Ministry of Finance), which states that the model must be applied to all government ICT projects whose total budgets exceed DKK 15 million (approximately EUR 200,000). The model consists of four elements:

  • Stages of the model (see figure 1),
  • Stage transitions: documentation and approval by the National ICT Council when a project goes from one stage to the next,
  • Products of the model: the documents necessary for the project manager in day-to-day management of a project,
  • Distribution of roles and responsibility: leadership and management responsibilities shift in different stages of the model.

 The five stages of the ICT Project Model

Figure 1 - The five stages of the ICT Project Model

The Agency for Digital Government also develops and maintains the Government Business Case Model, an integral part of the ICT Project Model.

The ICT System Portfolio Model

Like the project model, the ICT System Portfolio Model also stems from ‘Budgetvejledningen’ and is mandatory for all larger and/or critical government ICT system portfolios. The model is divided into six dimensions (see figure 2):

  1. Business support: the capacity of the ICT systems to support the needs of the specific business area,
  2. Technical condition: the technical state of the ICT systems, including whether they can be further developed, adjusted, and scaled according to future needs,
  3. Documentation and knowledge: the extent to which the government agency in question is in possession of up-to-date and adequate documentation of its ICT systems,
  4. Finance: transparency of costs of individual systems as well as of the overall ICT system portfolio,
  5. Contracts and sourcing: applicable when parts of or all of management of ICT systems has been outsourced, in which case the government agency must account for the related contracts,
  6. Security: assessment of the ICT systems in relation to the ISO 27001 standard, the General Data Protection Regulation, etc.

Ultimately, the analysis of these six dimensions results in an ICT action plan which is a document outlining the government agency’s strategic prioritisation of operation and maintenance activities for its portfolio of ICT systems.

The six dimensions of the ICT System Portfolio Model

Figure 2 - The six dimensions of the ICT System Portfolio Model