Self-Assessment Template
Agencies are asked to submit their most recent draft of the investment proposal. The ICT
Leadership Group supports agencies by considering investment proposals against the principles.
Investment proposals include early project concepts through to final business cases.
Please complete the following self-assessment template and submit it with the investment proposal
to the Department of Finance, Services and Innovation (DFSI) for consideration by the ICT
Leadership Group. It is recommended that investment proposals and the self-assessment are
reviewed by the relevant Chief Information Officer prior to submission.
Alignment with the ICT investment principles will be assessed based on the self-assessment
template, along with the investment proposal.
Following assessment, the ICT Leadership Group may recommend changes to improve alignment
with the ICT investment principles.
Information to include in the investment proposal
We request that agencies include the following information in investment proposals/business
cases:

Business drivers – What is/are the key business challenge/s that the investment seeks to
address?

Cost – What is the Estimated Total Cost? What is the ICT component of the total
investment? What is the breakdown of the cost?

Benefits – What are the intended benefits of the planned investment?
Response to questions
Submissions will be at varying levels of maturity, across various stages of the investment cycle.
Therefore, some self-assessment questions may not apply to the current iteration of your
investment proposal, but will become more relevant as the submission matures.
Where a question is not currently relevant, provide detail on how it will be considered in later
stages or mark as ‘NA’ if not relevant. However, it is recommended that all the self-assessment
questions be considered to ensure alignment with the principles before making a final business
case submission to Treasury.
In addition to Y, N or NA responses provide brief and concise responses to each of the questions.
August 2015
1
QUESTION 1 – PROJECT DETAILS AND ICT SOLUTION
Project Details
Project Name
Project Sponsor
Cluster / Agency
Project Description,
Benefits and Rationale
(50 words max)
Estimated Total Cost
(ETC) of the Project
(ETC = Capex + Opex)
Indicative cost of ICT
Component of Project
QUESTION 2 – HOW DOES YOUR ICT SOLUTION ALIGN WITH THE NSW
ICT INVESTMENT PRINCIPLES?
For projects where major technology decisions remain, please provide detail regarding how each
of the principles will inform your evaluation as the project is progressed.
PRINCIPLE 1. Comply with relevant whole of government ICT policies and standards, including
Information Management, Data Centre Reform, Corporate and Shared Services Reform and Information
Security.
This also includes the NSW Government Enterprise Architecture Strategy and Framework, and other relevant
policies and standards.
Explain how the business case aligns to the principle with reference to where in the investment proposal
and/or business case this information is provided.
General response to the principle.
Does the proposal align with the Information Management Framework’s seven pillars (i.e. Govern, Collect,
Organise, Secure, Use, Share and Maintain)? Y / N / NA
Brief explanation:
August 2015
2
Will the project result in the creation of new datasets or other information assets? Y / N / NA
Brief explanation:
Will data be collected to document or facilitate delivery of services and the functions of the agency? Y / N / NA
Brief explanation:
Has the potential for data collection or aggregation been considered? Y / N / NA
Brief explanation:
Is information organisation or indexing an objective of the project? Y / N / NA
Brief explanation:
Is better information security an objective of the project? Y / N / NA
Brief explanation:
Is better information use or data analytics an objective of the project? Y / N / NA
Brief explanation:
August 2015
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Is information maintenance or preservation an objective of the project? Y / N / NA
Brief explanation:
Has the sensitivity of data in the system been considered in the development of the proposal? Y / N / NA
Brief explanation:
Has compliance with the Digital Information Security Policy and Privacy and Personal Information Protection
Act (PPIPA) been factored into the requirements? Y / N / NA
Brief explanation:
Has the lifespan or retention period of the data been considered in development of the proposal? Y / N / NA
Brief explanation:
Does the proposed solution manage and maintain core data and information assets in line with the Data and
Information Custodianship Policy, including:
-
plans for data management, including collection, conversion and maintenance?
-
adequate and appropriate storage of the data?
-
custodianship processes, arrangements and guidelines designed to facilitate access, irrespective of
what form it takes? Y / N / NA
Brief explanation:
August 2015
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Is the proposal aligned with Data Centre Reform? Y / N / NA
Brief explanation:
Have the Data Centre Market Place service offerings been considered? Y / N / NA
Brief explanation:
Does a Data Centre Marketplace offering exist? Y / N / NA
Brief explanation:
Does the proposal include provision for migration to the Data Centre or that the migration, and associated
costs, are provisioned for in the agencies data centre migration plan? Y / N / NA
Brief explanation:
Does the proposal alter the agency’s plans / timings for moving to the Data Centre? How does that align to
timings mandated by the Data Centre reform strategy? Y / N / NA
Brief explanation:
How is the proposal linked to the Corporate Shared Services Reform Program? Y / N / NA
Brief explanation:
August 2015
5
PRINCIPLE 2. Consider a service orientation, including as-a-service sourcing models.
Explain how the business case aligns to the principle with reference to where in the investment proposal
and/or business case this information is provided.
General response to the principle.
Have ICT as-a-service sourcing models been assessed in this proposal? Y / N / NA
Brief explanation:
Have alternative asset ownership models and Pay As You Go fee models been considered in the proposal,
including the risk assessment in relation to information security, including a risk assessment in relation to
information security? Y / N / NA
Brief explanation:
Is the proposed solution a Commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) solution? Does the COTS solution require
customisation to meet business requirements? Y / N / NA
Brief explanation:
If replacing existing infrastructure / assets, does the proposal consider the associated impact on the Capex /
Opex spend profile and resourcing capability requirements? Y / N / NA
Brief explanation:
August 2015
6
Does the proposal actively plan to rationalise and standardise agency software applications? Y / N / NA
Brief explanation:
Does the proposal consider the total cost of the solution options, including :
-
additional agility, scalability and upgrades provided by as a service solutions
-
the costs of owning and maintaining stand-alone infrastructure
-
the maturity of available as a service solutions for government application
-
the security of any IT environment in the context of business requirements? Y / N / NA
Brief explanation:
August 2015
7
PRINCIPLE 3. Consider online access and support the sharing of data, as appropriate
Explain how the business case aligns to the principle with reference to where in the investment proposal
and/or business case this information is provided.
General response to the principle.
Does the proposal demonstrate how the solution addresses government principles of transparency,
participation, collaboration and innovation? Y / N / NA
Brief explanation:
Is information sharing an objective of the project? Y / N / NA
Brief explanation:
Does the proposal identify which parties will share the information? Y / N / NA
Brief explanation:
Does the proposal plan for services to be delivered online, and for services and information to be accessed
through multiple channels? Y / N / NA
Brief explanation:
August 2015
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Does the proposal prioritise the use of Service NSW as a delivery channel for new services, where
appropriate? Y / N / NA
Brief explanation:
Does the proposal support simple, straightforward customer transactions that can be accessed through
multiple channels? Y / N / NA
Brief explanation:
How does the proposal improve industry and community consultation, participation and access to information
through digital channels? Y / N / NA
Brief explanation:
Does the proposal support increasing the public release of agency data and information (For example,
through opengov.nsw.gov.au, data.nsw.gov.au and the Information Asset Register)? Y / N / NA
Brief explanation:
Will the agency supplying the data be established as a ‘Centre of Excellence’ or single source of truth for a
core value dataset used by other agencies? Y / N / NA
Brief explanation:
Can the ICT Leadership Group be confident that the proposed solution does not introduce multiple sources
of truth and/or duplication across agencies? Y / N / NA
Brief explanation:
Has the re-use of existing data sources been considered (For example, the data.nsw.gov.au website and
those listed in the Information Asset Register)? Y / N / NA
Brief explanation:
August 2015
9
PRINCIPLE 4. Focus on collaboration and re-use by demonstrating that there are no existing ICT
solutions that can be leveraged
Explain how the business case aligns to the principle with reference to where in the investment proposal
and/or business case this information is provided.
General response to the principle.
Does the proposal demonstrate a market scan of existing solutions in NSW Government and other
jurisdictions? Y / N / NA
Brief explanation:
Have the NSW Government ICT Architecture Portfolio Model and the Central Contracts Register been
considered? Y / N / NA
Does the proposal include analysis of shortlisted candidate solution options? Y / N / NA
Brief explanation:
Does the proposal consider existing solutions to address the business problem, including alternative services
that may already be in place within NSW Government and other jurisdictions (For example, using existing
satellite imagery instead of new aerial photography for land and object tracking)? Y / N / NA
Brief explanation:
August 2015
10
Have the Central Contracts Register and the NSW Government Enterprise Architecture Portfolio Model been
consulted? Y / N / NA
Brief explanation:
Is it possible to piggyback on existing contracts which satisfy similar business needs? Y / N / NA
Brief explanation:
Does the proposal identify whether existing solutions are available for extension or reuse? Y / N / NA
Brief explanation:
Does the proposal identity opportunities for wider collaboration? Y / N / NA
Brief explanation:
Does the proposal maximise ICT contract alignment of the whole of government procurement and technical
standards, and the ProcureIT framework? Y / N / NA
Brief explanation:
Have opportunities been considered to reuse/leverage existing solutions, knowledge or information (a) in
NSW; (b) in other jurisdictions, relating to:
-
-
information security, governance/custodianship, data collection, information sharing, data analytics,
information maintenance or preservation (e.g. Centres of Excellence; Digital State Archive)
Lessons learned and best practice approaches in program/project management and documentation?
Y / N / NA
Brief explanation:
August 2015
11
PRINCIPLE 5. Demonstrate standardisation and interoperability of technologies and solutions
Explain how the business case aligns to the principle with reference to where in the investment proposal
and/or business case this information is provided.
General response to the principle.
Will the solution adopt common definitions and open technologies? Y / N / NA
Brief explanation:
Is the investment proposal or business case supported by an Architecture Blueprint? Y / N / NA
Brief explanation:
How does the proposed architecture relate to the whole of government architecture building blocks identified
on the NSW Government ICT Architecture Portfolio Model? Y / N / NA
Brief explanation:
How does the solution align to the NSW Government ICT Architecture Portfolio Model? Y / N / NA
Brief explanation:
Where a relevant procurement and technical standard exists, has the proposed solution considered the
standard? Y / N / NA
Brief explanation:
August 2015
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If a standard is not available, what has been done to communicate the need for a standard to DFSI? Y / N / NA
Brief explanation:
Does the proposal demonstrate the adoption of open (vendor-independent) standards and the minimisation
of proprietary solutions? Y / N / NA
Brief explanation:
Does the proposal actively support the information management framework by demonstrating interoperability
between cluster/agency systems and those used for central reporting? Y / N / NA
Brief explanation:
Does the proposal include reference to information management responsibilities? Y / N / NA
Brief explanation:
Does the solution maintain common definitions and a standardised approach to the classification and
collection of information? Y / N / NA
Brief explanation:
What data interoperability standards have been factored into the requirements? Y / N / NA
Brief explanation:
August 2015
13
PRINCIPLE 6. Demonstrate better value to government and/or citizens over the life of the investment
Explain how the business case aligns to the principle with reference to where in the investment proposal
and/or business case this information is provided.
General response to the principle.
Have full lifecycle costs have been considered including:
-
Purchase costs
Implementation / deployment costs
Operating costs
Retirement / transition out costs
Price and non-price factors
-
Proposed solution was included in agency procurement plan submission? Y / N / NA
Brief explanation:
What is the total cost of the proposal with:
-
costs split between ICT and non-ICT components, and
-
costs split between operating and capital expenditure? Y / N / NA
Brief explanation:
What is the life of the investment in years? Y / N / NA
Brief explanation:
How are the benefits split between government and citizens? Y / N / NA
Brief explanation:
August 2015
14
Does the proposal demonstrate that the agency has the capability to manage the project and develop the
ICT solution? Y / N / NA
Brief explanation:
Is a recognised program/project management methodology being used? Y / N / NA
Brief explanation:
Does the proposal estimate the number of vendors used for the project? Y / N / NA
Brief explanation:
Does the proposal make explicit adjustments to cater for potential optimism bias, such as:
increasing estimated costs by adding a contingency
decreasing the estimated impact of benefits
-
delaying the predicted date of delivery? Y / N / NA
Brief explanation:
Does the proposal consider staged implementation, including pilots or 'proof of concept' solutions, to enable
evaluation before investment proceeds? Y / N / NA
Brief explanation:
Is the project too large? Could success be ensured by segmenting the project into smaller, discrete
sequential projects? Y / N / NA
Brief explanation:
August 2015
15
Does the proposal include a formal risk assessment in line with TPP07-5, Section 12.1? Y / N / NA
Brief explanation:
Does the proposal include a benefits realisation plan and register in line with the Benefits Realisation
Framework and Circular C2013-08 Program Evaluation and Review? Y / N / NA
Brief explanation:
What are the governance arrangements for the project? Y / N / NA
Brief explanation:
August 2015
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