Maine State Government
Dept. of
Administrative & Financial Services
Office of
Information Technology
Information Technology Acquisitions/
Investments Policy
I. Statement of Policy
All information technology (IT) acquisitions and investments
throughout the State of Maine must be approved by the Chief Information
Officer, whether financed through grants, agency funds, or an allocation from
the Legislature according to 5 MRSA, Chapter 163, Section 1973.
II. Purpose
The purpose of this policy is to ensure technology
investments align with accepted State of Maine’s policies, strategic objectives
and opportunities for collaboration across state agencies and reviewed before
initiatives are approved and funded.
III.
Guidelines & Procedures
1. The Agency will complete a business case for their
proposed initiative and obtain appropriate agency approval(s) to move forward.
2.
Upon Agency approval the business case is submitted to Project Portfolio
Management (PPM) within the Project Management Office’s (PMO).
3.
The Project Portfolio Manager (PPM) will review the business case
with appropriate subject matter experts to ensure the proposal aligns with the
State of Maine’s technology strategies, all appropriate policies and standards.
4.
Upon successful completion of this effort the Project Portfolio Manager
will submit the proposal into the project portfolio as an approved initiative
and notify the agency and the Technical Business Consultant assigned to that
agency of that submission.
IV. Applicability
This policy applies to all State Agencies.
V. Responsibilities
1.
Agency – The Agency is responsible for their specific project
portfolio and prioritization of the projects within their portfolio. Each
business case for a new initiative must be approved based on the ROI, level of
need, feasibility (staff and funding) and a review of alternate solutions to
the proposal.
2.
Chief Information Officer (CIO) – The CIO (or designee) is responsible
for all final decisions related to information technology acquisitions.
3.
Project Management Office (PMO) – The PMO is responsible for the
oversight of the portfolio and to assist the agencies and/or Technology
Business Consultants through this process and throughout the life of the
project.
4. Technology Business
Consultants (TBC) – The TBCs are responsible for working with their peers
to identify opportunities for collaboration across agencies.
5. Procurement/Contract
Manager – The Procurement/Contract Manager is responsible for assisting
throughout the IT acquisition process.
VI. Definitions
1.
Information Technology: The study, design, development, implementation,
support and management of computer-based information systems
2.
Lifecycle costs: The cost of an IT investment starting with procurement
and ending with the retirement of the asset.
3.
Project Portfolio Management: An approach to achieve strategic goals by
selecting, assessing, and managing projects, programs and other related work
based upon their alignment and contribution to the organization strategies and
objectives. Portfolio Management combines (a) the organization’s focus of
ensuring that projects selected for investment meet the portfolio strategy with
(b) the project management focus of delivering projects effectively and within
their planned contribution to the portfolio.
VII. References
2. Business
Case template http://inet.state.me.us/oit/services/portfolio/portfoliotemplates.htm
VIII. Document Information
1.
Document Reference Number: 22
2.
Category: Computer Environment and Platform
3.
Adoption Date: 02/04/2010
4.
Effective Date: 02/04/2010
5.
Review Date: Annually
6.
Point of Contact: Stephanie Parker, IT Portfolio Manager, Office of
Information Technology, 624-9418.
7.
Approved By: Richard B. Thompson, Chief Information Officer
8.
Position Title(s) or Agency Responsible for Enforcement: Agency Information
Technology Directors and the Chief Information Officer
9.
Legal Citation: 5 M.R.S.A. Chapter 163 § 1973. Responsibilities of the
Chief Information Officer, paragraph 1B “Set
policies and standards for the implementation and use of information and
telecommunications technologies, including privacy and security standards…”
