DIGF governance

Governance of digital investments is incorporated throughout the DIGF. The Governance Group for the Digital Investment Governance Framework (DIGF) is the Digital Economy Leadership Sub Group (DELSG). The DELSG is chaired by the Director-General of the Department of Customer Services, Open Data, and Small and Family Business (CDSB). The DELSG members consist of Deputy Directors-General from a defined group of agencies. CDSB will provide secretariat support and summarise and present digital investment information to the DELSG. Further information regarding DELSG meetings is available from the DELSG secretariat by emailing delsgsecretariat@chde.qld.gov.au.

The DELSG will be supported by the CDSB, Queensland Government Digital Leadership Group, subgroups as required and agency project and program executive. The DELSG members will provide advice and recommendations to the DELSG Chair who will then provide guidance and advice back to agencies through the secretariat. This process will supplement existing Agency governance arrangements at key decision points within the investment lifecycle.

The DELSG will also oversee the implementation of the DIGF and will:

• monitor and update the DIGF
• provide cross-government leadership, strategy and policy direction for future strategic investments for digital portfolio and platforms, particularly those that are impacting whole-of-government
• monitor the progress and performance of current investments through delivery and post implementation to ensure they deliver on the strategic benefits and outcomes and that risks are managed
• provide advice on strategic and directional issues on initiatives across the portfolio, which need the input and agreement of senior stakeholders to ensure progress.

The steps to follow when making a digital investment may require the Department of Customer Services, Open Data, and Small and Family Business (CDSB) review findings to be presented to the Digital Economy Leadership Sub Group (DELSG). Agencies should allow for sufficient time (minimum 6-8 weeks) to navigate this process and discuss timeframes with CDSB, particularly where urgency exists. The timeframes should allow for the assessment and the DELSG process, noting that the outcome of the review process is tied to the frequency of the DELSG meetings.

The project or program Senior Responsible Officer (SRO) is required to attend the DELSG meetings to provide supplementary information and answer questions that may arise.

The agency must wait for formal notification of DELSG support prior to making any significant commitments. In some cases, support may be provided, subject to specific qualifications being met. The agency should not stop work on the project or program while waiting for the DELSG and it can be progressed in a way where no major irreversible commitments are made on behalf of the government.

The agency should consider the guidance provided back by the DELSG and work with CDSB in relation to next steps. If the guidance provided by the DELSG Chair is not accepted, then the agency Director-General can escalate the matter to the CEO Leadership Board to obtain further guidance.

For digital projects and programs that are not required to be monitored or tracked in accordance with the DIGF Steps, they will be governed by internal agency governance arrangements only. These initiatives are still required to be listed on the agency’s digital investment roadmap and apply the digital investment principles and QGEA policies and frameworks.

The DELSG will provide digital direction guidance in relation to:

• direction setting - digital investment principles, digital strategic priorities and policies that should be aligned to/taken into account when making a digital investment
• optimising (Portfolio View)
• digital investment roadmap – guidance in relation to future pipeline of digital investments across Queensland Government
• digital investments register – guidance in relation to the progress of current digital projects and programs across Queensland Government
• frameworks and tools – continuously improving and maturing the DIGF
• initiative Review - digital investment reviews undertaken for those projects and programs that are monitored in accordance with the DIGF steps. Guidance from the reviews will be provided from the DELSG Chair to the SRO or Project Executive within the agency.

The DELSG will be supported by the CDSB, Queensland Government Digital Leadership Group, subgroups as required and agency project and program executive. These groups/individuals will advise on matters within its Terms of Reference and adherence to other relevant standards, policies, and frameworks. The DELSG will provide periodic reports and advice, through the DELSG Chair, to the CEO Leadership Board.

The performance measurement of the DIGF will be managed by the DELSG, through the secretariat, to ensure the effectiveness and success of the DIGF. The DELSG will initiate a yearly self-assessment that will review the effectiveness of the DIGF against a success criteria and develop an action plan to address the findings of the assessment and provide the assessment and action plan to the CEO Leadership Board for noting.

The DIGF will be measured against the DIGF objectives, digital investment principles and digital strategic priorities and policies, and evaluated against the following ten success criteria:

• increased visibility of digital investments across Government from Ideate stage
• increased opportunities to promote collaboration and discussion on digital and IT-enabled initiatives across government and leverage this information
• digital investments within the scope of the DIGF adhere to the policies and frameworks within Queensland Government Enterprise Architecture (QGEA)
• digital investments within the scope of the DIGF have been aligned to the Digital Economy Strategy where possible
• digital investments within the scope of the DIGF follow the digital investment principles
• learnings from project health checks and gate reviews are applied in monitoring and managing programs and projects
• better identification of root causes for project failures and successes, collating these, publishing information for learning, and encouraging departments to look for early warning signs so they can mitigate these risks
• projects able to pivot implementation elements if outcomes are not on track
• business cases prepared for digital investments include robust options analysis considering costs, benefits and risks
• benefits are being achieved for digital investments.

Programs and projects and that fall within the Digital Investment Governance Framework (DIGF) are required to follow the DIGF Steps and will be tracked on the digital investments register (the register). The information on the register for programs and projects will be updated as more information becomes available through the investment life cycle.

The register presents a consolidated view, for reporting and monitoring purposes, of investments that fall within the DIGF and across whole‑of‑government. It provides ongoing oversight of the digital investment portfolio.

While complementary, the ICT work plan, and the published Digital Projects Dashboard are independent of the register.

The agency will provide the information for collation into the register at DIGF Step 1 and provide updates at each step in the investment process. During delivery, the information for each program/project on the Register is to be refreshed at least monthly.

The Department of Customer Services, Open Data, and Small and Family Business (CDSB) reviews and monitors the digital investments register. A consolidated digital investments register will be presented to the DELSG at monthly meetings.

During investment delivery phases, if warranted by risks and issues, the CDSB will initiate discussions with the agency and identify actions to increase the likelihood of successful delivery.

If required, advice and/or endorsement by the DELSG will be sought and guidance provided back to the agency.