New technology cannot be implemented quickly without running the risk of failure, in most cases. This is particularly true in the electoral field, where election-specific technology must work effectively the first time. With an election, there is usually only one chance to get it right.
The amount of time needed for the development and implementation of new technology will depend on the complexity of the technology being implemented. If the technology is a standard off-the-shelf product, it may be implemented relatively quickly.
However, many electoral applications of technology involve more than standard products. In some cases standard products may have to be adapted or modified to perform tasks other than those for which the products were designed. In other cases, new products may have to be designed and built to meet a specific electoral need.
In these cases, the amount of time needed to complete a project development process should not be underestimated.
Options for project development and implementation methodology for new technology for electoral purposes are set out at Project Development and Implementation Methodologies. The checklists contained in this section provide a good indication of the number and complexity of tasks that must be completed before electoral technology can be implemented.
It can be seen that the tasks required to implement a complex technological project such as a computerised voter register or an electronic voting system may take months or even a year or more to implement. In many cases, the more time available, the more likely that the project will be a success.
It is not practical to state an 'average' time for implementation of an electoral technology project, as the time needed will vary with the complexity of the project and the resources available to carry out the various tasks. However, some guidance can be given, as can some examples of real-life electoral technology projects.
The implementation of a particular type of electoral technology should be part of an election management body's (EMB's) overall information technology strategy. This strategy should place the particular project in the context of the EMB's overall information technology needs and ensure that time and resources are available for the project.
The timing of the EMB's particular electoral cycle will impact heavily on the time available for completion of projects. For EMBs with a short election cycle (2 years between major elections, for example), a choice has to be made as to whether it is possible to implement new technology within that short window of opportunity, or whether it is necessary to start planning and development for new technology to be implemented for an election after the next election due in the cycle.
EMBs that have longer election cycles - 4 or 5 years between major elections - have the luxury of significantly longer windows of opportunity.
It may be a mistake, however, to allow too much time for completion of an electoral technology project. The rate of change in technology in the 2000s is so rapid that some items of technology only have a 1 to 3 year life span. This factor is a reason for delaying actual purchase and installation of hardware and software until the last practical moment. This does not, however, mean that planning and development stages have to wait until the last moment as well. A project plan can commence and the early stages of the project can be completed in anticipation of more advanced technology becoming available towards the end of the project cycle.
There are essentially 4 stages to the recommended project development and implementation methodology:
Sufficient time needs to be allocated to each stage to ensure that the technology is implemented effectively.
The first stage, where needs are assessed, approval and funding is sought through preparation of business cases and products and services are sought following development of specifications, can take more time than expected. As external stakeholders may have to be consulted during this stage and external events often have to take place, such as approval by government and passage of enabling legislation, the EMB often has little power to speed up the process.
In particular, requests for funding may have to be built into the standard governmental budget cycle, with the result being that there may only be one window of opportunity in a financial year for funds to be sought. If that window of opportunity is missed, an EMB may have to wait up to a year for it to come around again.
One way of speeding up this stage of the project cycle is to undertake several strands of the process concurrently rather than consecutively. For example, once the need for new technology has been established and in-principle approval has been gained, such diverse elements as business cases, financial approval, stakeholder consultation, specifications and legislative or regulatory changes can be pursued concurrently. However, care must be taken to ensure that the EMB does not overreach itself by, for example, having finance refused for lack of a sound business case.
The timing of the second stage, project development, will depend on the complexity of the project. Potential suppliers should be able to provide an indication of expected timeframes for particular projects. Again, off-the-shelf products will be developed more quickly than products that have to be specially designed, programmed or manufactured.
Note that the EMB may have to provide staff resources to assist suppliers to enable them to meet development deadlines, particularly where products are being tailored to the EMB's particular circumstances.
The third stage, the testing process, again may take longer than expected. The amount of time needed will depend on the complexity and novelty of the project. A specially tailored product will generally take some weeks or months of testing. More time will be needed for further development and testing if tests indicate the product requires amendments or changes.
It is very important to resist the temptation to cut corners at the testing stage, as thorough testing can serve to identify flaws that might otherwise lead to disaster.
Liaison with other EMBs or agencies in other fields may identify similar projects to the one under consideration, which may help to determine the amount of time needed for the various stages of the project implementation.
Finally, the implementation phase is the stage at which the technology is deployed and readied for use. The list of tasks to be completed at this stage is long and varied (see Implementation Process). As effective implementation is crucial to the success of the project, sufficient time should be allowed for this process.
Again, it should be possible at the implementation phase to run several activities concurrently. For example, system deployment could occur concurrently with user training; preliminary data entry can occur concurrently with backup planning; and so on. However, some activities have to take place before others can commence. For example, training documentation has to be prepared and staff recruitment has to take place before user training can commence.
To sum up, developing and implementing new technology generally takes longer than expected, and every effort should be made to devote the maximum amount of time possible to any new technology project.
