The CEAF adoption roadmap must indicate the business value and the strategic or tactical business benefits the government departments and agencies are planning to achieve. The simple fact is that the CEAF plan requires a “business metric,” not an IT metric, for delivery of the application. The business must define the main benefits it expects from the CEAF. Key areas for improvement are information management framework processes; the technology supporting them; and the culture of the organisation. The business must evaluate the key services—integration processes—and optimise them before initiating any IT projects. The existing organisational culture within various departments must be analysed and factored into the roadmap.
The CEAF will require a high-level analysis, and then a detailed analysis of current business processes, cultures, and IT-systems topology. Ample time must be allocated to building a robust roadmap. The projects should be recommended based on the roadmap, and will require a clear vision for the next three to five years, which must be included in the program of work of multiple years. This will require a change in process from the current annual program of work for two to three years, to a program of work for the foundation projects.
The CEAF needs the vision and its components defined before starting any technology projects. The “big picture” must include the “to-be” processes, organisation, and any cultural refinement required. Once the big picture is defined, a well-planned phased approach is required to optimise the gain from technology enhancement, and refining of processes and organisational structure.
Due to organic growth, the information distribution and complexity of each system might require many conversions of information before the new system can use it directly. This may create performance problems in accessing the data (i.e., transactional as compared to analytical data). The roadmap should consider any possible performance problems and design services, and processes to address them.