7. Interoperability in practice

7.1. About this section

This section covers matters of concern when agencies interoperate in practice.

7.2. Governance of shared inputs

Agencies interoperate

• to make better use of ICT within government
• to deliver an integrated service directly to people or business.

In both cases collaborating agencies jointly provide inputs and must allocate the decision-making rights accordingly. Guidance on how to go about allocating decision-making rights is available from the E-government Unit.

7.3. Joint management of initiatives

7.3.1. Project management

Before committing significant expenditure on an initiative involving more than one agency, those involved should agree and put in place appropriate project management processes (see Guidelines for Managing and Monitoring Major IT Projects)

7.3.2. Operational management

There should be some form of agreement for on-going operation of any initiative involving more than one agency. The content of the agreement will depend on the nature of the initiative undertaken, but the following areas need to be considered:

• Roles and responsibilities of each agency
• Processes undertaken by each agency and the required service levels
• Performance measurement for each agency's service and problem resolution
• Data quality and problem resolution
• Cost recovery between agencies.