Army Information Plan

The Army agreed its first Information Strategy in 2000 and then set about turning the strategy into reality.  Ian produced the first Army Information Plan and subsequently expanded this into a 4-year Campaign Plan.  This set out to draw together the various strands of activity covering the four main areas: Information Management, Information Workers, Information Infrastructure and Information Systems and Processes.

The plan became the primary tool for the director-level board that was charged with implementing the Information Strategy by the Executive Committee of the Army Board.  Its construction involved extensive research and consultation with stakeholders plus workshops to examine the detailed measures that it eventually contained.

In line with Ian's philosophy of producing plans that are useful and achievable, the published version was succinct and illustrated with colour diagrams and tables, and was supported by a simple reporting procedure.  The colour performance reports were given to board members at their routine meetings and discussion on progress was always an early agenda item.

In support of one the objectives within the plan, Ian also produced the Army's first policy guide for Electronic Working Practices.  This focused on how to use Microsoft Office in the networked environment without the benefit of an Electronic Document and Records Management (EDRM) system or other collaborative tools.  The guide, illustrated on the right, was enthusiastically welcomed and the guidance communicated widely in the Army, where it still forms the basis of the procedures to be followed by staff at the unit level.