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Frequently asked questions

General information on the Digital Projects Dashboard

How the Digital Projects Dashboard operates

Roles and responsibilities

General information on the Digital Projects Dashboard

What is the Queensland Government Digital Projects Dashboard?

The Digital Projects Dashboard (previously the ICT Dashboard) makes it easy for members of the public to see all significant government digital projects and understand how they are tracking, including their status at a glance.

The Digital Projects Dashboard also makes it easy to see all ICT tenders and their stage.

Why was the Digital Projects Dashboard developed?

The Digital Projects Dashboard replaces the ICT Dashboard which was developed in response to the release of the Queensland Government Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Strategy 2013–17 on 1 July 2013. The Digital Projects Dashboard allows Queenslanders to gain an overview of projects agencies are working on as we evolve into a truly digital and responsive government.

Specifically, the dashboard contributes to a responsive government, helping to ensure Queenslanders feel like it is easy to do business with their government, and to ensure it does not become a frustration in their lives.

The dashboard addresses the need for information to be easily accessible, visible and available for reuse by the public in a timely manner. It provides information on the performance of government ICT investments.

This openness and transparency makes it easier to identify under-performing projects and focus action on the projects that need it most.

The Digital Projects Dashboard also provides procurement information including ICT tenders and their stage in the tender lifecycle.

Who is the intended audience?

The Digital Projects Dashboard provides information on the state’s significant digital investments for the general public, industry and all government agencies.

What do we define as a project?

On the Digital Projects Dashboard, a project is a substantial activity undertaken by an agency to improve its services. It may also refer to a program – a group of related projects and change management activities that together achieve change for an organisation.

Projects are dynamic, and require flexibility for changing circumstances, to ensure they continue to deliver for the current needs of the business.

What information does the Digital Projects Dashboard display?

The Digital Projects Dashboard displays department investment information reported by agencies to their internal governance committees. This includes:

  • high-level overview— a whole-of-government consolidated summary of the Queensland Government’s projects, cost and status, including a summary by department
  • project list— a summary of reported projects, their investment objectives, expenditure, timeframes and status, as well as any additional information provided by the relevant department.

The dashboard also displays information on public ICT tenders registered with the Queensland Government QTenders site.

Access is provided to ICT tender information via searches based on the stages of ICT tenders:

  • planned (forward procurement schedule)
  • current (tenders open for responses)
  • under evaluation
  • shortlisted
  • awarded
  • all offers declined
  • no offers received

Which departments publish data used in the Digital Projects Dashboard?

The following departments release data:

  • Department of Agriculture and Fisheries
  • Department of Child Safety, Seniors and Disability Services
  • Department of Education
  • Department of Employment, Small Business and Training
  • Department of Energy and Climate
  • Department of Environment, Science and Innovation
  • Department of Housing, Local Government, Planning and Public Works
  • Department of Justice and Attorney-General
  • Department of Regional Development, Manufacturing and Water
  • Department of Resources
  • Department of State Development and Infrastructure
  • Department of the Premier and Cabinet
  • Department of Tourism and Sport
  • Department of Transport and Main Roads
  • Department of Treaty, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships, Communities and the Arts
  • Department of Youth Justice
  • Queensland Audit Office
  • Queensland Corrective Services
  • Queensland Fire and Emergency Services
  • Queensland Health
  • Queensland Police Service
  • Queensland Treasury
  • Cross-government projects are also displayed on the Digital Projects Dashboard. These are collaborative projects involving multiple departments benefiting the whole government.

Are there any new features planned for the Digital Projects Dashboard?

The Queensland Government is always looking for ways to improve the Digital Projects Dashboard to make it more useful. You can submit feedback using the feedback feature at the bottom of each web page.

How can I find out more about a project displayed on the Digital Projects Dashboard?

Project information is available in the ’project journey and reasons for variance’ information for the project. Select the project name to view the project details. If available for the project, general information on the project is available by clicking on the ‘Learn more’ button.

Additional information on a project is available in each department’s data published on the Queensland Government Open Data Portal. Find a department’s Digital Projects Dashboard datasets on the portal by searching ‘ICT Dashboard’ or for the name of the department.

Important: It is not possible to seek further information relating to a project via the feedback link located on this site, as this function relates to how the site itself is working. Consequently, any requests for information received by agencies will not be processed.

If you are a member of the media and you have questions about the Digital Projects Dashboard site, contact media@tmr.qld.gov.au. If you have questions about a particular department or project, contact the relevant Minister’s office for comment.

What do we define as a tender?

A tender is a major procurement activity that invites responses from industry to supply goods and services to the Queensland Government.

Tender may refer to:

  • an invitation to offer (ITO)
  • request for offer (RFO)
  • request for interest (RFI)
  • expression of interest (EOI).

Are all ICT tenders listed on QTenders?

Some ICT tenders may not be listed on QTenders. This is more likely to occur for ICT tenders that have reached the awarded status.

The Queensland Government publishes details of awarded contracts over $10,000 on the Queensland Government’s open data website (Opens in new window) each year. Some agencies also publish details of awarded contracts on QTenders.

How can I find out more information about a specific tender?

Questions relating to a specific tender should be emailed directly to the contact officer listed in the detailed information on the tender in question.

How can I find out more information about the QTenders system?

Use the QTenders enquiry form to submit your query about the QTenders site.

Which web browsers are supported on www.qld.gov.au?

Information about supported web browsers can be found at the following address:

http://www.qld.gov.au/web/guidelines/browser-support/browser-support-list/

Why do I receive the error message "Error loading data' when trying to view the Digital Projects Dashboard?

‘Error loading data’ means that the Dashboard is unable to, or is receiving errors while trying to read the project information data. Usually this is a temporary situation and is resolved after a short while. However, it is possible that a firewall (if installed in your network) may be blocking access from your device to data.qld.gov.au where the project data is stored. If this is the case, as shown in firewall logs, please allow an exception for, or whitelist data.qld.gov.au

How the Digital Projects Dashboard operates

Which projects are displayed on the Digital Projects Dashboard?

Each department decides what projects are reported on the dashboard based on standard criteria across the sector.

Departments have a structured governance approach for their projects. These governance bodies are responsible for overseeing the projects and deciding what status to give the project. The most senior governance body of each department is generally the Information Steering Committee (ISC). Typically, digital projects reported are overseen by the ISC.

What information is included on the Digital Projects Dashboard?

The Digital Projects Dashboard displays information on each agency’s current digital projects and ICT tenders. Please refer to ‘What information does the Digital Projects Dashboard display?’ above.

Does the Digital Projects Dashboard show the public all project information?

Although a key goal of the Digital Projects Dashboard is to improve accountability and performance through transparency, not all data compiled is suitable for public release. Processes have been put into place to ensure sensitive information is not publicly displayed.

Data not included on the Digital Projects Dashboard includes:

  • forward expenditure— planned ICT spending levels for the financial year
  • completed projects— costs of projects that are finalised/implemented. However, closed projects remain on the Digital Projects Dashboard for one reporting cycle after closure
  • national security or classified data —the Digital Projects Dashboard does not collect or display any classified or national security-sensitive information
  • procurement-sensitive data— any data related to government procurement that, if released to the public would adversely impact the government's negotiating position
  • accountable/responsible officers— individual government and/or implementation partner/s will not be identified or published.

Who sits on each department’s Information Steering Committee (ISC)?

The membership of a department’s ISC is their decision. Each department is accountable for the governance decisions they make.

How often is project information updated?

Each department is responsible for updating their project data on the Digital Projects Dashboard. The frequency of these updates is dependent on the department’s internal governance processes. Departments refresh their data in line with their governance board approval which can range from monthly, every six weeks, or every two months.

How are projects given a status of ‘On track’, ‘Closely monitored’ or ‘Action required’?

A project is tracked against certain parameters such as schedule dates or estimated project costs, which are reflected in its status.

At any given time, each project is allocated one of the following statuses:

  • On track – which may be represented by the symbol .
  • Closely monitored – which may be represented by the symbol . These projects will need to be closely monitored by the department’s management.
  • Action required – which may be represented by the symbol . These projects will require action by the department.

The critical aspect is that all projects are professionally managed and reported within an active, empowered and responsible governance environment where issues are identified in a timely manner, evaluated and appropriate action is taken.

Why do projects change status between ‘On track’, ‘Closely monitored’ and ‘Action required’?

Departments have a governance structure for their projects. These bodies are responsible for overseeing the department’s projects. They also approve the status for a project, taking into account its specific business priority, risk profile and context, at that point in time. The most senior governance body is generally the department’s Information Steering Committee.

The status of a project can change over its life. A status of ‘Closely monitored’ or ‘Action required’ highlights to the relevant department the need to respond to a change in the project’s circumstances, gather and evaluate new information and then potentially take appropriate action.

A change back to ‘On track’ status is possible when the department remediates the issue that caused the ‘Closely monitored’ or ‘Action required’ status.

The critical aspect is that all projects are professionally managed and reported within an active, empowered and responsible governance environment where issues are identified in a timely manner, evaluated and appropriate action is taken.

If the status for a project is ‘Closely monitored’ or ‘Action required’, will you explain why?

Yes. Projects showing a ‘Closely monitored’ or ‘Action required’ status will include a summary explanation for this status in the ’project journey and reasons for variance’ field for that project.

Why is the Project commencement allocation lower than the Approved expenditure for some projects?

Project commencement allocation reflects the initial scope of a project, but projects tend to progress from a minimum viable product. The Project commencement allocation assumes an unchanging policy environment and does not account for scope changes reflecting policy changes during the project’s life.

Projects can run over several years with dependencies between multiple tranches of work. Funding may be allocated to a project in two or more financial years. The Project commencement allocation can be significantly less than the current Approved expenditure.

Variances often occur in building projects. Variances are a regular occurrence to handle changes to scope – digital projects are no different.

When are projects replanned?

At the project outset a plan for the implementation is developed. This plan includes expected benefits, scope, timescale and cost, and it is against these factors that the project is monitored and controlled. Project plans can be adjusted when the relevant governance body agrees that the project is still achievable with the approved changes. An example of a change is a decision by the governance body to allocate extra resources to a project, based on updated information.

Project management is about dealing with constant change and making controlled and measured adjustments to the plan to ensure the business value of a project is still being achieved in light of updated or new information.

How are variations in project cost managed?

As projects progress, changes in cost may be identified for a number of reasons including increased or reduced scope, or higher/lower than anticipated supplier costs. These cost variations may be acceptable to the department as long as the business case value remains. For example, an agency may decide to allocate extra resources to a project thus incurring additional costs.

Departments have a structured governance approach for their projects. These bodies are responsible for overseeing the department’s projects. See “Why do projects change status between ‘On track’, ‘Closely monitored’, and ‘Action required’?” above.

When are projects removed from the Digital Projects Dashboard?

Projects are removed from the Digital Projects Dashboard in the next publishing cycle following project closure. In other words, closed projects remain on the dashboard for one publishing cycle.

Why does the look and feel change after following a link to display ICT tender information?

Information on public ICT tenders is published on the Queensland Government QTenders website, which is a separate site to the Digital Projects Dashboard.

Why does the look and feel change after following the Learn more button link in the project details display?

General information on a project resides on a separate government website to Digital Projects Dashboard.

Roles and responsibilities

What is the role of the Queensland Government Customer and Digital Group?

The Queensland Government Customer and Digital Group is the custodian of the Digital Projects Dashboard.

The Queensland Government Customer and Digital Group:

  • manages the day-to-day operational running of the Digital Projects Dashboard website
  • when required, assists departments in the publishing of their data
  • regularly reviews the Digital Projects Dashboard for opportunities to improve its usability and make it more useful for Queenslanders.

The Queensland Government Customer and Digital Group also has an observer role on a number of departments’ ISCs and has board membership or advisor status on a number of significant department and cross-government projects.

What is the role of individual departments?

Each department is responsible for maintaining and publishing its project data as well as answering queries about their projects.

Each department is also responsible for publishing its tender information on QTenders, which is managed by the Department of Energy and Climate.

Last updated:
12 March 2024
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