Analysis Grids : Democratic dialogue & Citizenship
Component analysed: IT project
An IT project is a project carried out by humans, just like any other project. It is therefore important not to confuse the IT project with the IT system that results from the project.
An IT project involves a whole range of stakeholders: financial decision-makers, business managers, digital consultants, developers, users, etc. In addition, numerous decisions of all kinds will be made throughout the project.
An IT project is therefore a indicator of the vitality (or very existence) of democratic dialogue around digital technology, organisational democracy and, in particular, democratic debate.
We will examine which members of the organisation are truly citizens of the IT project, but also which stakeholders (such as consultants from digital services companies) could (unduly, in our view) have the status of project citizens.
Organisation of democratic debate on the IT project
Project bodies
• Which project bodies will facilitate debate?
• Who decides on the composition of these bodies?
• What types of stakeholders/representatives are present in these bodies?
• Do they have the right/duty/time to participate?
• Is the frequency of meetings for each body appropriate for the pace of the project?
Information about/during the project
• Which stakeholders were informed about the planned meetings, the decisions taken, etc.? By whom?
• How were they chosen? Does this choice seem legitimate to all project stakeholders?
• How were stakeholders informed about the topics of discussion and deliberations? Was the information only communicated downwards?
• What explanatory documents were prepared for the meetings and who received them?
• Can the participants in the debate be considered to be well-informed (sufficiently informed)?
• Who writes the minutes of the meetings?
• Who approves them and who can amend them (all participants?)?
Management of meetings (steering committee, project committee, user groups, etc.)
Topics of debate/agendas
• How are the topics of debate/meeting agendas defined? By whom? In what context/forum?
• Which stakeholders were consulted to define the topics for democratic debate? How were they chosen? Does this choice seem legitimate to all project stakeholders?
• Is there room for new questions? Additions to the agendas? Are there blank fields on the questionnaires to add questions?
• Have certain topics (considered by project stakeholders to be subject to debate) not been discussed or deliberated upon?
Conduct of meetings
• How and by whom is speaking time allocated during meetings? (Is there a systematic round table discussion at the beginning of the meeting? Are the meetings truly participatory?)
• Are there any means (tools, methods, etc.) for seeking consensus or consent? Which ones (non-violent communication, etc.)? Who is trained in them?
• In addition to meetings, what tools have been put in place to discuss the IT project? Questionnaires (if so: who defines the questions, who can amend them, participation rate, etc.)? A forum (if so: is there moderation, and if so, by whom)?
• Is the decision-making process (discussions and deliberations) explicitly formalised? Who decided on it?
• In the event of disagreement(s), what means (tools, methods, etc.) are available to reach a decision?
• Does project management include conflict management: are there plans to have a body or procedure for conflict management?
Citizen and non-citizen stakeholders in the IT project
• How and by whom are the stakeholders who will be involved in the democratic debate (participation in deliberations) chosen?
• Does this choice seem legitimate to all project stakeholders?
• Who decides what information is given and to whom?
• Does this choice seem legitimate to all project stakeholders?
• What information has been given to people who are not part of a project body?
• Can requests for information be made, and if so, by whom and to whom?
• In particular: can users validate the minutes of a meeting in which they participated (for example, as part of the requirements gathering process)?
• Are the documents produced before (agendas, preliminary information, etc.) and after the meetings (minutes of discussions, records of decisions, etc.) easily accessible? Who has the right to consult these documents?
• How is time set aside during working hours to allow those involved in the debate to be informed and to participate?
• Have those involved in the debate set aside time to analyse the information provided to them, form their own ideas about what the aims/objectives/stages of the IT project should be, and propose alternatives?
• What is the role of external consultants (IT services companies, particularly project management assistance, etc.) in the democratic debate? Do they participate fully in the debate?
• How are decisions communicated to all stakeholders (even those not participating in the debate)?
Democratic life according to the stages of the project
Decision to launch the project
• Which stakeholders were involved in the decision to launch the project? By request, consultation?
• What communication (how, to whom, etc.) was there regarding the decision to launch the project?
Initiation stage
• Which stakeholders were involved in scoping the project? In what capacity? Consultation? Decision-making power?
• Which stakeholders were able to discuss or even question the project’s objectives? In what context/forum, and with what information?
• How was communication handled (how, to whom, etc.) regarding the objectives of the system to be built and the content of the project scope document?
• Were users involved in expressing the need? Were users able to question the existing situation and propose alternatives? In what context/forum, and with what information
Planning/Design/Development: Who is informed, who participates, and with what powers (consultation, decision-making, etc.)?
• Which stakeholders participated in the design phase? In the development phase?
• In what capacity? Consultation? Decision-making power?
• What communication (how, to whom, etc.) took place regarding the choices made in terms of design and development?
Delivery and user testing
• Which parties were involved in the delivery and acceptance phases? Who determined the test sets and acceptance criteria? If there were differing opinions among the various parties involved in the acceptance process, how was consensus reached?
• What communication (how, to whom, etc.) took place regarding the results of the tests performed?
Deployment/maintenance/evolution
• Which parties were involved in the deployment?
• Who determined the content of the training courses and who participated in them?
• Were the training courses evaluated by the participants, and if so, when (at the end of the training course and/or after a period of using the system)?
Project management, management of the system itself
• What is the expected duration of the IT project?
• Where does the project life cycle end, and in particular, what is the scope of the final stage (maintenance/evolution)?
• What opportunities are there to participate in the evolution of the system after the end of the project?
• Is there a project management plan for the medium- and long-term evolution of the tool?
• Are there any bodies that continue to exist throughout the life of the SIN? Which ones?
• If users are represented in these bodies, who represents them?
• How often do users meet in this body, if it exists?
• Do users have a duty to participate, and the time to do so?
• Who appointed the representatives in these bodies and how?
• Were these procedures for appointing representatives discussed in advance? In what context/body?
• Are these procedures considered legitimate by users?
• How do these bodies ensure that organisational learning is retained?
• How are requests for changes and error reports escalated? To whom? In what context/forum?
• Are there pre-established limits to the possibilities for change?
• How and by whom are requests prioritised? Are the prioritisation criteria known? Have they been discussed?